Using Blood Tests to Optimize Nutrition and Supplement Programs
by Mark Williams
"Which supplements do I really need?" "How do I know what I am taking is working?" These are common, but very difficult questions to answer, especially for health food stores. One of the effects of not answering these questions is that supplement sales typically taper off after a large initial purchase.
 Your Future Health (YFH), Tavares, FL, an independent nutritional blood testing and education company for over 23 years, has developed a program that helps minimize the problem of tapering supplement sales.
YFH marketing director, Brian Cullen, explained, "We provide our clients with comprehensive blood analysis that we use to generate a 200 page report (called HealthPrint) that highlights the foods and supplements that are optimum for that client's unique biochemistry. We don't, however, sell nutritional products or recommend brands-there is no conflict of interest and we are very proud of that."
"As our clients continue testing with us on an on-going basis, they are able to see the impacts of their nutritional choices-and therefore see the return on their supplement investments," Cullen continued.
SUCCESSFUL RESULTS*
Diana Rhoads, manages the 33,000 sq. ft. Mustard Seed Market & Café in Akron Ohio. "The idea of being able to directly quantify supplement benefits to customers looked phenomenal when YFH first presented to us. We haven't yet tabulated hard numbers, but the people who are doing HealthPrints with us are your key supplement shoppers, and they are definitely buying more product post-HealthPrint than pre-HealthPrint. Before, these people might have been doing blood work, and would have no idea what to do nutritionally to improve their results. HealthPrint gives them a road map that dovetails perfectly with our product lines," she added. "One other immediate benefit is that HealthPrint seminars are popular and well-attended. We've had a spurt in sales immediately after every seminar we've held."
Jack Konold is the owner of Sunspot Natural Foods, a two store, 6,750 total sq. ft. chain in Kokomo Indiana. "We've been doing HealthPrints for over two years now. YFH makes it easy to get started-I'd say this is one of the easiest programs we've ever done, since it's taken no money and very little time on our part. The main benefit is that clients get so much more involved with the specifics of their health, and it gets people away from just blindly taking supplements. Because the blood work is ongoing, clients see the benefit of what they're taking and are more likely to keep taking supplements long term. As far as YFH influencing the brands we push, they simply don't. They don't sell supplements themselves, so they don't use HealthPrint to tell us what we should sell to our customers. It's about as clean a relationship as possible. For us, we've used HealthPrint to turn a number of average, low volume customers into high-volume customers, and to increase their shopping frequency."
John Fuhler, owns the 2,000 sq. ft. McHenry Health Food Store in McHenry IL. "If anything's a silver bullet in this business for customers, HealthPrint is it. It makes our job infinitely easier because customers know exactly what they need. Because nutritional blood testing is scientific, it has more import, more credibility. Customers spend more on a greater range of supplements, and tend not to raise questions about whether they need what they're buying-since they've got the results of their blood tests right in front of them, and if it says they need something they know they need it."
*Quotes in this section are from the May 2002 issue of Vitamin Retailer
THE HEALTHPRINT RETAIL PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM
The HealthPrint Retail Partnership Program includes opportunities for employee discounts and a referral program that allows partner stores to earn free HealthPrints. The program is free and is easy to roll out by using the following resources to tell customers about HealthPrints:
 Normal Blood Test Scores Aren't Good Enough! Book by Ellie Cullen, YFH Founder & CEO (retail price is $13.95; available at NutriBooks, Amazon.com and directly from YFH)
- HealthPrint: Take Back Control of Your Health Seminar video featuring Brian Cullen, YFH Marketing Director (currently only available directly from YFH)
- HealthPrint brochures and display holders (provided free once the retailer has been qualified by YFH)
SUMMARY
With an increasing number and variety of supplements being introduced into the market every day, it is easy to understand how customers can begin to feel overwhelmed and confused. HealthPrint further develops trust and loyalty between customers and store staffs and can provide a credible, independent and objective means to helping your customers know which foods and supplements they really need.
For more information on the HealthPrint Retail Partnership Program, contact YFH toll-free at 877-468-6934 or visit them on the web at www.YourFutureHealth.com.
About the Author:
Mark Williams is a former editor of Playboy Magazine, and has been published in The Chicago Tribune, Outside Magazine, Bicycle Guide, Puerto Rico Today and elsewhere. He wrote the screenplay for Modern Love, a made-for-television movie, which has been broadcast in the United States and 27 other countries. From 1986 until 2000, Williams served as CEO and President of West Indies Partners, Inc., a management-consulting group with emphasis on international business development and new media.
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