In preparation for a new year of growing sales, now is the time for health brands to start considering the market environment and asking themselves what 2021 holds. Consider the following trends and predictions when planning out your next year and land more sales.

Rise of Loyalty Programs

Increased competition and focus on customer satisfaction has led to an increase or complete overhaul of loyalty programs. This change started with some of the biggest names in retail—such as Lord and Taylor, Nordstrom, and Kohls—but it has continued with businesses like Starbucks and smaller, more local businesses. 

The reasons aren’t hard to understand. For one—existing customers spend 67 percent more than new ones and according to one study, 49 percent of customers agreed that they shop more with a company after signing up for a loyalty program. Loyalty can have other benefits, too. It offers you an opportunity to build a relationship with your customers—and for health and wellness brands—these types of relationships can run deep, since many of your products may be considered part of a lifestyle. 

Part of building up that relationship means added personalization and customization. Loyalty programs allow you to connect with your most frequent customers, build an understanding of their behavior, and find unique ways to meet their needs. It’s also worth noting that the information you glean from a loyalty program could make you more successful with future customers, too.

Digital Activation Trends

In the same way that getting more familiar with your existing customers can benefit your health brand. Using microtargeting and intent-based strategies can help you connect with new customers. By focusing on a key benefit of your product or service, and directing it to a key audience that is already engaged in that market, you’ll improve your chances of engagement. 

In 2021, expect to choose more than one digital channel and aim to keep the program integrated. Your messages don’t have to be exactly the same in a Google ad versus a Facebook message, but having a common theme can be helpful.

Privacy and Identity Compliance 

With the number of data breaches over the past few years and increased skepticism over major tech companies. Protecting your consumers’ privacy has become more critical than ever. On the consumer-facing side, it’s important to be clear about what data you’re collecting and what you intend to use it for. If you’re collecting an email, reassure your consumers that you won’t be sharing it. If you need even more private information, like a credit card or zip code. Be sure to tell your consumers why you’re collecting that information.

On the back end side of this, it’s important for companies to be good stewards of data. Having processes like data remediation will help you keep track of what customer data you have and where it’s stored. It could also help you decide when it’s time to get rid of old data that poses a possible liability. 

Educational Content and Gamification

Educational content allows for increased engagement and gives businesses the opportunity to teach users about their products or services. When paired with gamification, it can have a huge impact on your numbers. One study revealed brands that incorporate gamification into their customer engagement strategies see a 47% rise in engagement, a 22% rise in brand loyalty, and a 15% rise in brand awareness.

You can also use educational content to improve your overall SEO strategy. It means it will be easier for customers to find you. Understand the benefits you offer, and engage with your brand in meaningful ways.

Social Commerce Trends

This last point could be particularly important for health and wellness brands. A lot of your interactions with customers might be through social accounts. Whether that means sharing workout videos. Recipes for using a powder in a shake or the stories of customers who use your product. Just don’t forget that these are also opportunities to link to e-commerce activities.

Social platforms are also making this process simpler. Take Facebook Shops, introduced in May of 2020, that allows businesses to sell products directly to their customers without them having to leave the social platform. 

Final Thoughts

There are other things to keep in mind, besides the trends above. We are still deep into the age of the consumer. It meanss more personalized content overall, deeper relationship building, and versioning content to cater to specific audiences. Combining these ideas though, with a landing page audit and a fresh look at some metrics you may have forgotten about lately, will help you bring your brand into the new year.