6 Signs Your Wellness Business Needs a Check-up

6 Signs Your Wellness Business Needs a Check-up

by | Apr 8, 2026 | BG Blog, Brand, Business, Digital Presence, Health & Wellness, Marketing, Websites

Wellness Business 6 Signs

Running a wellness business requires wearing multiple hats. The stuff that got you inspired to start the business, like creating the most effective treatments for clients, can get overshadowed with tasks like handling billing, patient follow-up and promoting the business. It’s important to balance business needs with genuine care for clients. Here are 6 signs that suggest it’s time for a Wellness Business Check-up:

1. You’re Overwhelmed

You find yourself overwhelmed by the demands of marketing your business while also managing other aspects of your operation. DIY was great to get your business off the ground, but you’re a health expert, not a marketer. How would it feel if you had more time to focus on your clients and their personalized wellness programs because you have marketing support from someone you trust—someone who understands and aligns with your values?

2. You Struggle to Convey Your Unique Offerings

You may present a unique combination of modalities or offer original, customized products, but you struggle to effectively communicate about them to your audience. Since what you do is not the mainstream standard, you could use some materials that articulate these benefits in a compelling and understandable way. If you don’t feel your marketing materials reflect your particular capabilities and/or you’re embarrassed to present them, this is a sign your wellness business needs a check-up.

3. Crickets are Chirping

If your current marketing efforts aren’t reaching or resonating with the people that you are meant to serve, it’s probably time to look at what’s working and what’s not with your outreach and advertising to determine where the gaps are.

4. You’re Unsure About Compliance

The health and wellness industry is often subject to strict advertising regulations, especially regarding product or treatment claims. For example, “Ayurvedic practitioners cannot call themselves ‘doctors’ in the United States, even if they have a valid Ayurvedic degree from India where it is natural to do so. Ayurvedic practitioners cannot make a diagnosis according to allopathic medicine unless they are also medical doctors.” source  If you’re unsure how to market your wellness business effectively while staying compliant, it’s important to have the correct information.

5. People Always Ask: “What are your fees?”

If you’re finding that the main question prospective clients ask is about cost, it’s going to be a race to the bottom. This is a sure sign that your business is struggling to differentiate itself from competitors. Whether or not you take insurance may be a factor, but if people see a unique benefit to working with you that they can’t get with anyone else, the questions—and decisions—will change.

6. You’ve Got “Digital Paralysis”

In today’s digital age, a strong online presence is crucial, even for a brick and mortar wellness business that requires in-person consultations. If it feels like trying to update your website, social media promotion, or online advertising is technical torture, it’s time to get help with your digital marketing strategies.

How many items did you check off the list? Are you thinking it might be time for you to get some help? 

And if you want to explore…

Discover our Wellness Market Mastery Suite

» Attract quality, long-term clients

» Charge the prices that will sustain your business

» Reduce the sales cycle, making it an easy “yes” for new clients

Right-click to download this handy infographic and feel free to pass it on!

Wellness Business infographic

Book a Free Call for a no-strings-attached Check-up for your wellness business!

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What Makes an Exceptional Wellness Brand?

What Makes an Exceptional Wellness Brand?

by | Nov 21, 2025 | BG Blog, Brand, Business, Health & Wellness, Marketing

Woman looking in a mirror at herself © Lindy Bostrom

GREAT BRANDING MAKES PEOPLE REMEMBER your business and helps potential customers understand if your product or service is right for them.

Know Your Customers

The single most important factor when defining your wellness brand is to know your customers and their questions and concerns.

There are endless specialties in the health & wellness industry, from chiropractics to nutrition; physical therapy to Ayurvedic medicine. Whatever your specialty, take some time to make a list of common questions and concerns you get from your customers. If you’re just getting started, type some questions into Google and see the suggestions that pop up.

Again and again we have seen that the biggest stumbling block for new entrepreneurs is not being clear who their target market is.

Exceptional branding provides an experience to people. There are several forms of the word “Brand” that have subtle differences.

Your Brand is the impression your business has on the world.

Branding is basically the marketing strategy you have in place to promote your business.

A Brand Identity is the collection of assets that your company utilizes to convey your brand to the world.

The Health & Wellness Crowd is not Mainstream

When your target audience is interested in health & wellness, the things they care about are different from the mainstream. They are interested in alternatives and seek answers to more complicated questions concerning particular health issues.

Your Unique Approach

Take a look at your products/services. While there will be many things your organization has in common with others in your field, consider the things that are unique to you that you might not even think about. This is commonly called your “Unique Selling Point” and while it may take some time to formulate or communicate it clearly, remember that this is going to be something that is already baked in to what you do—it’s not something clever that you create superficially.

Think about the “Why.” Beyond profitability for you, what is the ultiate purpose of your products or services for your customers? Your might have specific focus areas, like all organic, serving a segment of the overall audience, like 50+, or 1:1 relationships. Once you get clarity on your unique approach, then follow it down to the need that it addresses. The more specific you are, the more likley the people with like interests are going to pay attention to your message.

Your Voice to Their Ears

Getting past the “what,” think about “how.” How do you relay your messages to your audience? This is called your “Brand Voice.” If they’re a Gen Z crowd, they might relate to words like “rizz” and emojis. But if they’re Gen Xers, definitely not! Use full sentences and perhaps words like “bodacious” if you have a bit of humor in your brand.

Where do You Go from Here?

After giving careful, specific thought to your audience, your Unique Selling Point (also called your “Value Proposition’) and your Brand Voice (or messaging,) it’s time to investigate where you’re going to find your tribe. What social media platforms are they on? What do they read? Where do they shop?

This means that while color, shape and other design elements will influence that experience, they should reflect the messaging and unique selling points that are the foundation of it (and if they are not, then they may be doing more harm than good.) It is important to understand who your ideal customers are, what is important to them and what kinds of stories will touch them.

Wellness Branding: 10 Common Mistakes

Wellness Branding: 10 Common Mistakes

by | May 12, 2025 | BG Blog, Brand, Health & Wellness, Marketing

10 Common Branding Mistakes Wellness Professionals Make - Illustration of guy looking at cryptic sign in chiropractic office

IT’S NOT EASY RUNNING A WELLNESS BUSINESS. There are unique challenges, like gaining an elevated level of trust with skeptical prospective clients, assuring compliance with often stringent regulations and integrating advanced technology to differentiate and streamline the customer experience.

It’s challenging to strike a balance between offering a compassionate, human-centric approach and showing the science behind the business. It’s no wonder wellness brands struggle to rise above the noise and create the credibility necessary for long-term success.

We’ve compiled a list of the 10 most common mistakes that wellness pros make in their branding. Take a look at specific things to avoid or change in your approach to promoting your business…

  1. No Clear Brand Strategy or Values
  2. Feature-Focused Messaging
  3. Inconsistent Branding
  4. Generic or Unoriginal Branding
  5. Vague Audience Definition
  6. Ignoring Analytics
  7. Neglecting Brand Evolution
  8. Imbalance of Expertise and Branding
  9. Poor Online Experience
  10. Overly Scientific Language

Let’s get into more detail on each of these points:

1. No Clear Brand Strategy or Values

Many wellness businesses launch without defining their brand strategy and clarifying their values. This leads to confusion internally and externally. It can also confuse potential customers, making it difficult to connect with the brand or understanding what distinguishes it from other brands.

As a wellness professional, you’re likely to have strong and clear values. The definition of your business values and brand strategy can and should be in alignment with your own true values.

2. Feature-Focused Messaging

The features of your products or services have been carefully thought out and designed, so leading with this type of information might feel natural and even exciting. But If you don’t start with the outcomes that the features bring your customers, you’ll miss an emotional resonance that creates the foundation for further engagement and connection.

3. Inconsistent Branding

When your messaging and/or visual elements are different on social media than they are on your website, for example, it can cause confusion (ie: “Is this the same company I saw someplace else?”) and weaken trust. In the same way, your “voice” will also have a familiar ring when your brand is consistent. It may be a warm, casual way of writing and speaking, or perhaps it’s more of a supportive, informative tone. Whatever it is, it’s important that it comes across wherever your people find you.

4. Generic or Unoriginal Branding

Sometimes it’s enough when you’re just getting started to have some materials and copy that look and sound “professional.” There’s so much to do and you may have diminishing energy, time or resources to dedicate to creating a brand that resonates with the true you.

If that’s the case, it might be time to revisit those materials if they’ve been around for some time as you’ve grown. Updating your brand so it reflects the uniqueness of your offerings can have a strong impact on new and potential clients as well as existing onesthat may be more likley to refer people to you when your brand feels like something special and real.

5. Vague Audience Definition

It is said that marketing to everyone is the same as marketing to no one. However, it can feel counterintuitive to target a small segment of folks. After all, what if someone who doesn’t fit that segment skips over your business because they think it’s not for them?

The reality is, these days we swim in a vast sea of information, and oftentimes the only compelling reason to choose one business over another is literally because you have a clear offering specifically for people like them. If you have the courage to say “it’s not everybody,” your chances of getting the attention of the people it is for increase exponentialy.

6. Ignoring Analytics

Marketing is always an experiment. You throw the mud against the wall and see if it sticks. But if you throw the mud and then walk away before you see where it lands, you’ll never know the real value of the effort and whether or not it’s worth repeating.

Analytics might seem like daunting technical stuff, but an installation of some simple software on your website, and making the time to keep track of what it says, is really just a habit that hasn’t started yet.

7. Neglecting Brand Evolution

When you started your business you couldn’t possibly have known what you do now. The types of clients that you engage with, the treatments you offer, even the way your space is set up might now be vastly different from what you started with. But your brand looks and sounds like it hasn’t moved forward with the rest of the business.

Revisiting your brand strategy and guidelines periodically can infuse new energy into your business and even get the attention of new prospective clients.

8. Imbalance of Expertise and Branding

Many wellness professionals have gone through years and years of education and certification training. You’ve put a tremendous amount of effort into building your skills and knowledge.

Now that you’ve hung your shingle, it’s important that your brand reflects your credentials and expertise. Cheesy stock art and poorly written copy will undermine all that you’ve invested in becoming the professional you are.

9. Poor Online Experience

Every business that wants a piece of the market needs a website and some level of social media presence. But just slapping something up there with a DIY platform or a social media profile that just sits there with no character can do more harm than good.

You don’t get a second chance at a first impression. Make sure what people are experiencing online is easy to navigate, contains the most sought-after information that people are looking for regarding your area of expertise, and the look and feel reflect your honest brand.

10. Overly Scientific Language

Being immersed in your profession as a wellness expert means that there are terms and ideas that you use all the time, but they’re often not heard in the everyday language of your average client. Be careful of using jargon, acronyms or uncommon words. Even if you think it’s common knowledge, you may not realize how many people aren’t familiar with it.

Did you recognize any “mistake” in the list that you might have fallen into? Not to worry, just like health issues, the first step to improving your brand and your business is becoming aware of them.

Wondering what you can do to make some improvements? I love helping wellness professionals grow and thrive while maintaining their values and integrity! The doors are open to you. Feel free to book a heart-to-heart, no obligation call with me.

BOOK A FREE CALL
What’s Your Brand Building Strategy?

What’s Your Brand Building Strategy?

by | May 16, 2022 | Brand, Business, Marketing

Pie chart representing brand divided

Can You Separate the Visuals From Your Brand?

A prospective client recently asked me to help them with a brand building strategy, but they didn’t think they needed a logo and weren’t particularly interested in the visuals. They needed to hone in on their messaging and target audience—what were they saying, and to whom? This way of thinking was refreshing to me, as so many business owners think of the logo as their brand, and it is hard to explain that there is a lot of strategic thinking that needs to go into an effective brand strategy.

Even so, at first I was thrown off. For many years I identified my profession principally as a designer, although I have always taken a very informed approach to a brand strategy framework — researching and formulating marketing objectives, helping to develop messaging and positioning. All of this research, however, has been in partnership with the visuals. I never considered isolating this part and leaving the visual development off, or really, leaving the visuals as they were prior to the brand development.

The question is: Can you approach a brand building strategy without visuals?

I thought it would be an interesting approach, so I dove in. As I formulated all of the questions and went to work seeking answers, researching the company’s history and objectives, and looking at the competition, I kept stumbling on visuals. At every turn, whether it was in the way a document was formatted with font choices and styling, or social media posts that included photos or memes, there was no getting away from the visual aspect of any communication.

Coming back to my design roots, I had to respect the fact that, while it is clear that words communicate, unless you’re only doing radio and podcasting, there is no way around addressing the visuals of your brand. Even if you choose not to use images, words — when not in audio format — are written, and therefore visual.

It reminded me of a lesson given by one of my first teachers at Parsons School of Design, Ray Hooper (Senior Designer for Abrams Books at the time.) He was a wonderful teacher who made learning fun, yet instilled in us very important lessons. The first day of class he told us to look around the simple, stark classroom and choose anything we saw inside the room to focus our attention on. Anything at all, whether it was a window frame, a light fixture, a white board, or a chair. He told us to look at it closely. Then he made the point that no matter what the object, someone, at some time, designed it. Design is all around us — all the time! Every physical thing we interact with that has been created by humans, has been designed by humans!

I am called to revisit this early lesson as I chuckle at being lead so far astray as to think I could create a brand without considering the visuals. It turns out, you can’t. If you don’t consider the visuals, it doesn’t mean there aren’t any, it only means you did not take them into consideration when you put all of your hard work into the other components of your brand building strategy; your target audience, positioning, marketing messaging and content development. 

Another point comes from Master Marketer, Seth Godin as he says in Debbie Millman’s breakthrough book, Brand Thinking:

“The reason we keep refreshing the way so many things look is because of our ceaseless race to leverage the feelings of safety and nostalgia this old thing imparts, while simultaneously injecting a sense of newness to seduce us into reengaging in the experience.”

– Seth Godin

In other words, even successful, longstanding brands need to revisit not only their messaging, but their visual representation from time to time. It’s a huge part of what human beings respond to.

But Where and How do the Visuals Come into Play?

1. YOUR LOGO
Acknowledging the fact that a logo is not a brand, it would be a mistake to deem it a useless investment. Since it will be seen and used everywhere from the header of your website to your printed materials, social media pages and advertising, your logo is the ultimate visual representation of your brand. The meaning held in the symbolism of the object or letterform(s), the color choice(s) and the shape will all say something about your business’ values and personality.

2. YOUR DIGITAL IMAGERY
Do your website pages, social media posts, newsletters, blog stories and promotional materials use visuals? Are they as consistent in their look & feel as your messaging? This is critical to brand recognition, and too often overlooked.

3. YOUR IN-PERSON PRESENCE
From conventions and trade shows to in-person networking events, real live encounters are now coming back into play in the business world. You will have printed materials to hand out, displays for your booth and/or presentation materials that must be consistent with your brand in order to ensure people will remember you.

In conclusion, your visuals are the microphone through which your brand speaks. If the “sound” isn’t clear; if it crackles and squeaks, or muffles your voice, it doesn’t matter what you have to say, you will lose a large portion of your audience. If, on the other hand, it does what it is supposed to, all that will be heard is the clear, sweet sound of your newly branded voice.

I offer a number of approaches to take the next step in developing your brand, depending on your needs. If you’re ready, schedule your free, no obligation consultation today.

SCHEDULE A FREE CONSULTATION
4 Reasons Your Marketing Isn’t Working

4 Reasons Your Marketing Isn’t Working

by | May 26, 2021 | BG Blog, Brand, Business, Marketing

4 Reasons Your Marketing Isn’t Working

4 Steps to Better Branding

Images © 2021 Lindy Bostrom

SO YOU WANT TO GET YOUR WEBSITE OFF THE GROUND, get going with some social media activity and start networking more. You know you need to do these things to bring in more business, but you find yourself floundering every time you try to start.

What should you say?

Where should you post?

How much text is too much on your home page?

How do you reach out to people without seeming like a slimy salesperson?

If you find any of this familiar, you’re not alone. Many businesses are flying by the seat of their pajama bottoms when it comes to marketing. They post regularly to social media, send out monthly emails, throw all kinds of info on their websites, but they’re not seeing any real interest.

WHY? Should they post more often? Start making cold calls? Hire an expensive lead generation company? Start learning SEO?

Well, if you ask me, that’s putting the cart before the horse.

If you’re getting out there on a regular basis and your marketing isn’t working, chances are it’s not because you’re not doing enough of it. It’s because you really don’t have a brand. There, I said it. It’s BRANDING.

Before I offer a breakdown on the meaning of this ubiquitous word, let me share with you what a brand is not, despite rampant consensus otherwise:

A Brand is Not:
• A logo
• A set of company typefaces or fonts
• A color palette
• A folder of photos shot by a pro
• A collection of templates
• A tagline or mission statement

After more than 20 years working with clients on promotional materials, I have come up with an easy-to-follow, 4-step formula for getting a handle on your brand (and marketing!)

4-Steps-Branding

4 Steps to Better Branding:

  1. WHO: Know Who You’re Talking to
  2. WHAT: Know What You’ve Got That Others Don’t
  3. WHY: Give them a reason; Tell a Story That’s About Them, Not You
  4. HOW: Make a Clear, Specific Offer

Here’s the juice:

A Brand is an experience.

When someone has an exceptional experience, they remember it. They talk about it. They return for more.

Yes, it’s that simple. But as a beloved mentor once told me, “Simple is not easy. Don’t confuse the two!” The question is, how do you create an experience that your prospects and customers are going to talk about?

Here are the 4 steps in more detail:

Step_01_WHO

1. Know Who You’re Talking to

Known as your “Target Audience,” the ideal customer for your business is not going to be everyone. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you could lose business if you zone in on a specific type of customer, thus losing potential customers that don’t fit the profile. As Seth Godin says: “Trying to please everyone is a race to the bottom.” Gone is the time when businesses catered to everybody. Even “one size fits most” has become a lie. We have Google. We want exactly what we want, not something kind of like it! Find your Niche! And if you need some help with that, check out my Marketing Mentor, Ilise Benun’s Pick a Niche Kit. It’ll help you focus in on your ideal customers.

BUYER PERSONAS
Once you start evaluating who your #1 target is, then you can start to imagine you’re talking to them in a live conversation. That’s when the words will start to flow. Creating Buyer Personas is a great way to create messaging that prompts your readers to take action. You can get a free download of my Buyer Persona Workbook just for opting in to my mailing list.

Step_02_WHAT

2. Know What You’ve Got That Others Don’t

What sets you apart from others that are also doing what you do? This is what I call your “Unique Value Proposition.” The important thing here is not to get clever. Most people instinctively know what is unique about their offering. And the truth is, even if you tried to be just like someone else, you couldn’t. You and your business are unique. You just need to uncover what it is.

Step_03_WHY

3. Tell a Story That’s About Them, Not You

How many websites have you visited that go on & on about what they do, their experience, the details of their products or services, their history, bla bla bla bla bla…NEXT! My eyes are getting that glazed-over Google-search fatigue just thinking about it.

What if you got to a website that was about YOU? Where you said to yourself: “That’s ME!” That’s what I’m looking for/need/want…or the exact problem I’m trying to solve!” Now you’re interested & engaged, right?

The story starts with the problem your prospective customer (your Target Audience) has. Then you swoop in with a solution. The story ends with a satisfied customer – and an offer to join the club.

Step_04_HOW

4. Make a Clear, Specific Offer

Don’t underestimate the offer! Nothing is more frustrating than deciding that you want to buy and not being able to find the opt-in button or what to do next to get to the offer. You could get them right to the finish line and lose them—it happens all the time!

Make sure you’re crystal clear with your “Call To Action” – spell it out so a 2-year-old would know what to do.

So that, my friend, is branding in a nutshell. The 4 steps come first. Once you have that, the colors, fonts, logo and messaging fall into place and reflect what you’ve built as the foundation.

Want to take a deeper dive into setting that foundation? If you are a small business in health & wellness struggling with too little return on your marketing efforts, this is for you. I offer customized Branding Program Packages, depending on where you’re at in the game. Take a look, then give me a holler & we can get started. Your marketing strategy will be happy you did.

Lindy Bostrom Photo

Lindy Bostrom

Lindy Bostrom officially launched Bostrom Graphics in 2003 in California after working for more than a decade as an Art Director and Graphic Designer in NYC. Bostrom Graphics develops branding and marketing strategies for small businesses. We have vital interests in working with businesses with humanitarian causes, health & wellness, and advocates for freedom of expression using mediums like filmmaking, writing and public speaking.

We take pride in maintaining the highest level of integrity and accountability in building trusting, growth-oriented relationships.

5 Ways to Plant Your Virtual Seeds

5 Ways to Plant Your Virtual Seeds

by | Apr 30, 2020 | Brand, Digital Presence, Marketing

5 Ways to Plant Your Virtual Seeds

DIGITAL ACTIVITY HAS GROWN at an unprecedented rate during this time. Since early March, online shopping tripled — from 12% to 36% of consumers who once shopped in physical stores for non-grocery items. In general, the digital growth, and the decline in physical shopping, will likely be permanent. (source)

Historically, businesses that have chosen to refocus spending during a recession have outperformed businesses that tightened their budgets, according to studies that analyzed recent recessions. (source)

How about planting some virtual seeds to grow your business?

Consider your current digital presence. In the absence of in-person networking and events, how much effort are you putting into being noticed online? Check out the list of 5 things to look at when evaluating your digital presence that I recently put together.


1. Find Your Target Audience

From Facebook to YouTube, The New York Times to Ted Talks, where are your customers frequently found online?

2. Keyword Your Messaging

Aside from working on addressing the top-most concerns of your audience, it would benefit you to do some research on the best keywords to use in those messages so that they’ll be found.

3. Social Media

How are your Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram pages? Did you slap something up there 2 years ago because you thought you should? If your social media pages have content that is over a week old, get a plan in place! And look around – there are a lot of opportunities to interact and network on social media – without pushing any hard sell.

4. Video

More than 50% of consumers want to see videos from brands … more than any other type of content (source). Do you have any video content? It’s easier than ever these days to create a short video with a Zoom recording and your computer’s camera. Try searching for DIY video marketing and explore!

5. Virtual Meetings

Suggest having a Zoom meeting with a prospect or client. Nothing takes the place of an in-person meeting, but seeing a person’s facial expressions and body language creates a far superior experience than voice or text only. Not only can you read them better, you can create a stronger connection with them through your own personal presentation.

Of course this list is just a way to get your wheels turning. Remember, doing one thing with commitment is better than trying to do 10 with none. Start small and work your way to more.

What other ways are you approaching your digital presence? Share with me in the comments below.