Message to all health and healthy lifestyle brand marketers…

Now is the time to rethink long-held strategic assumptions inside your company, to challenge decades of conventional wisdom in your industry, and to push yourself to learn, grow, and innovate. This is the advice of Bill Taylor, co-founder of Fast Company in his article The 10 Questions Every Change Agent Must Answer.

He believes that it’s time to think – and do – something different given the backdrop of an economy where there are too many competitors chasing too few consumers with products and services that tend to be too much alike. That if you can summon the nerve, these hard times can be a great time to separate yourself from competitors.

He suggests these ten questions that leaders should ask of themselves and their organizations. And he adds that the leaders with the best answers win. I’ve added my own commentary in the form of organizations that I think have really good answers.

1. Do you see opportunities the competition doesn’t see? By placing the customer in the center of their universe (as opposed to competing with other providers), Hello Health is redefining the game within healthcare.

2. Do you have new ideas about where to look for new ideas? Afterheels in the UK challenged the shoe industry’s prevailing assumptions and found their inspiration on the dance floor.

3. Are you the most of anything? Walmart is (and owns the position of) the most affordable, while McDonalds is the most accessible.

4. If your company went out of business tomorrow, who would miss you and why? Know this is an easy (and too often used) example, but Apple.

5. Have you figured out how your organization’s history can help to shape its future? Puma’s figured it out, reinterpreting its past to stake its place in the future.

6. Can your customers live without you? For most of us, a world without Google would be unimaginable. And though we don’t want to admit it, we’d probably say the same about our Blackberry’s.

7. Do you treat different customers differently? Amazon and Zappos could be two of the most customer-centric companies in the world.

8. Are you getting the best contributions from the most people? SAS is. It’s been on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For 12 consecutive years; as it’s one of the best for healthcare, childcare and work-life balance.

9. Are you consistent in your commitment to change? To quote from Zara’s website – Zara interprets, adapts trends in record times and offers new items twice weekly.

10. Are you learning as fast as the world is changing? Mayo Clinic is the pace-setter within the healthcare space when it comes to employing social media practices to engage and connect its various audiences.

I welcome others to contribute the organizations they think had/have the best answers.

Related Posts:

• Health and wellness inspiration & insights: PSFK’s Future of Health Report
• What’s your health brand story? Is it theirs?
• Devitt Insurance: creating healthy conversations and greater value for customers
• Co-creating new value for health brands