Website Direction

Gordon, Dien and the SOW Gang,

I am putting togather a site to market natural, homeopathic products which addresses such medical problems as heart disease, cancer, high cholesterol and blood pressure, etc. I know the products work and are high in quality for my family and I have tried them with great success. I have two possible scenerios for a website. One is geared directly to people with medical problems and will address many medical problems and how these products can help. The second scenerio is to couple the concept of health (and these products)with the concept of success, sort of a "success and wellness", how to be successful while maintaing your health type site. Any ideas or direction you may be willing to share?

Thanks in Advance

Mitch

Hi Mitch,

Good question....

> I am putting togather a site to market
> natural, homeopathic products which
> addresses such medical problems as heart
> disease, cancer, high cholesterol and blood
> pressure, etc. I know the products work and
> are high in quality for my family and I have
> tried them with great success. I have two
> possible scenerios for a website. One is
> geared directly to people with medical
> problems and will address many medical
> problems and how these products can help.
> The second scenerio is to couple the concept
> of health (and these products)with the
> concept of success, sort of a "success
> and wellness", how to be successful
> while maintaing your health type site. Any
> ideas or direction you may be willing to
> share?

Here's a suggestion....

As you say yourself, with your two different scenarios you are really targeting two very different markets....

Your first scenario is targeting people who are already sick in some way, and who are looking for a cure. Your second scenario is targeting people who are already healthy and want to maintain their health as well as their success.

I honestly don't know which would be "better".... I think if it was me, I'd probably first try the first scenario, because to me it sounds easier to implement. However, you could try "testing" aspects of your ideas....

You can do this by asking people you know who fit into the two target markets.

Ask them something like, "would be willing to pay for.... (insert your offer here)". Then see what kind of responses you get.... That's a very simple and inexpensive method of getting some feedback, by just asking people who are in the two target markets. There are other ways of asking too....

You can also try asking in relevant discussion forums (try www.forumone.com) or newsgroups (try www.deja.com and click on "search discussions") which your target market would read.... Be careful, though, to be sure your message doesn't sound too "commercial" and is not misinterpreted.... People can be very protective of their discussion forums and newsgroups....

I hope that helps.... Anyone else have a suggestion?

Dien

This is my .02 based on personal experience...

I was diagnosed about a year ago with a brain
tumor called an acoustic neuroma. I was devastated
and I hit the internet ground running. The eventual outcome,if this thing grows larger is
MAJOR SURGERY with sometime devastating effects.

First I looked for any site pertaining to just
that "one topic"...then I surfed from the links
on the major topic sites to any sites which had
alternative remedies. I participated in discussion
groups as well...

My recommendation based on personal experience
and from the people with the problem as well, is
to set up a website for instance which discusses
every thing dealing with High Blood pressure(for
example).

give all the "free' reports,information , articles
resources, best dr's in the field, listings of
naturopathic dr's etc, newsletter links and
of course most important a "discussion board"...
when people are in a medical crisis they look
for support.

Participate in the discussions,offer support and
they will come back ,and have links on your site
for the products related to the condition. Also
offer testimonials.

The most effective sites for medical related
problems have to be "sticky" and offer alot
of support...support is your unique selling
position, because unless you are d... lucky
to get an excellent dr you won't get it in
the medical systems today.

I hope this helps; feel free to email me...I
have other health problems as well(we won't
go there) I believe in using natural remedies
as well as consulting traditional medicine for
information as well.

Many people who sell natural products neglect
to be supportive of the relationship which
customers have with their m.d. Don't make that
mistake because old habits die hard. When people
are very ill they tend to vascillate between
traditional medicine and alternative medicine.

Dr Andrew Weil recognized this and has embraced
a little of both schools of thought.

Hope this helps....

Sandy,

I know this sort of thing is difficult to share....

> I was diagnosed about a year ago with a brain
> tumor called an acoustic neuroma. I was devastated
> and I hit the internet ground running. The
> eventual outcome,if this thing grows larger is
> MAJOR SURGERY with sometime devastating effects.

Sandy.... I've alluded to my mother's health problems here before, but I never said exactly what they were.... My Mom has a tumor in her liver (as well as some other complications).... That's why I'm trying to be near her to support her as much as I can....

I also believe in that many natural health remedies can help -- many modern medicines are in fact derived from these earlier remedies, and medical science still doesn't know everything yet....

So far my Mom is trying out Sterinol (check out www.moducare.com) -- the studies which have been done look potentially promising (more details on the web site)....

Thank you for sharing, Sandy, your many writings are not only precious to me personally, but to many of us here....

Dien

Mitch,

Just a few words about your proposed website...

I would favor a site geared more toward success and prevention/maintenance of health rather than offering a "cure" site.

If you are located within the U.S.A., you will run into problems "practicing medicine" if you have a "cure" site (unless, of course, you are a licensed medical practitioner.)

However, if you simply offer your alternative products as supplements that "may" help improve your body's natural ability to fend off disease, the medical swat team will probably not bother you.

You can always load your website with bonafide testimonials from customers who have had success with your products. Have a discussion board for folks to discuss their favorite remedies and herbal solutions. This would offer the opportunity to "recommend" (NOT PRESCRIBE) a remedy that you know you or others have used to help in a situation. The key is to be very careful about the words you use. (See the P.S. below.) You may even need a "disclaimer" with the d-board to protect yourself from claims made by visitors to the board. (This whole legal thing is why many expert marketers stay away from the health field.)

Let me assure you that I am very much PRO- alternative remedies. I take at least nine different capsules/tablets of various vitamins and herbs every morning along with a vitamin/mineral/herb drink. So I am on your side of the fence when it comes to a healthy alternative to medicine.

The flip side of this issue takes into consideration the element of human nature. Many people would rather ignore their body's well-being, stuff it with cheeseburgers (aren't they so good?!) and then try to fix the problem of overweight, high blood pressure and cholesterol, etc. after the fact. Watching our diets so as to prevent a problem is foreign to most people. However, there is hope...it is purported that the "baby boomer" generation is more concerned with good health and prevention...so maybe, Mitch, you are climbing up on a wave you can ride into the next millennium.

I wish you well...

Be blessed,

JDB

P.S. A few words? Oh, well...Choice of words is very important. When I tried to post this the first time, I was blocked for using a "naughty" word. I scanned the text looking for a bad word. I deleted "assist" and "assure"--not the problem. I deleted "kill"--nope, that wasn't it. Guess what? The dirty word was in reference to my herbal drink that I have every morning. I used the word that means a mixed drink like a martini that you may have after dinner...you know, it's called a roostertail! HA! Choose your words carefully!!!

THIS BOARD...
When you ask for help you get all
different perspectives... This board
is hot!

>

> Sandy.... I've alluded to my mother's health
> problems here before, but I never said
> exactly what they were.... My Mom has a
> tumor in her liver (as well as some other
> complications).... That's why I'm trying to
> be near her to support her as much as I
> can....

When you're ill you definitely need support...
Your Mom is extremely lucky to have her children
there for her. One of the positive things about
sickness is it makes all appreciate "life" while
we have it....
I like Gordon's time line which just puts it
right out there ....we go from birth to death...
and where are you on the time line and what
experiences do YOU want to have...enjoy these
moments with your mother and it's the little
things which perk up a person when they're down.

Try to make her smile...she's in my prayers.