Working in natural foods retail for over 10 years, I've been amazed by the impact felt in the store from customers rushing in to purchase the latest thing recommended by Dr Oz. There is no one in the media or the industry who has inspired such a large percentage of the population to take charge of their health and inspire them to the extent that viewers run to stores immediately after the show to scoop up the latest recommendation by Dr Oz.
My goal with this blog is to provide more detailed information on products recommended on The Dr. Oz Show combining research along with my over 10 years of personal experience with supplements.
So who am I and where do I get off trying to improve upon a top-rated health information show? I'm a viewer, I'm a consumer, I'm a mother and wife, I'm a writer and, and as stated, I worked in natural foods for a long time in varying positions from vitamins staff to Grocery Manager and all the way to the top as Store Manager.
During my tenure, I attended lectures, seminars and trainings, I viewed company training videos, read books, read handouts and had access to consumer and industry magazines and newsletters all with the focus of achieving balanced health through the use of supplements to address general and specific concerns.
As a viewer of the show, I feel there could be more information provided about the recommended products. After watching a show, I'm left with questions and sometimes I feel a little disappointed that the structure of the show doesn't allow for more information to be presented about a given product, knowing that there is an amazing amount of information available.
The company I worked for has been in business for nearly 60 years, and is growing each year. One part of the company's mission statement is to provide information so that customers can make informed decisions. This is what sets the company apart from it's competitors. We didn't tell people what to take to support their health, rather we informed them on how products work in the body and allowed them, the customer, to choose the product that made sense for them.
From the perspective of a retailer, Dr Oz is a friend to the bottom-line. When Dr. Oz says a product is the best or a must-have or a top choice people rush to the store with wallets in-hand and they buy it up.
On a recent episode Dr. Oz went through 7 different topics with 23 different products and actions all within the standard 43 minutes, or so, of air time. When I looked critically at how much time was spent on each product or recommendation I found that as little at 10 seconds and as long as 1 minute was allotted.
Customers have called the store during the show to ask if we carried a product. They come into the store immediately after the show to buy a “that thing” Dr. Oz talked about.
Fulfilling our goal to provide great customer service we would ask the name of the product and a blank stare was the only answer. All too often people aren't entirely clear why they are buying the recommended product and more often than not they didn't remember the name of the product, they just know it was on The Dr. Oz Show and therefore they have to have it.
When products sell, retailers are happy. When products sell at a health food store, the hope is that people are making informed choices that can create lasting positive benefits.
Dr Oz is doing an amazing job to bring attention to natural products. I believe that he has created the biggest, consistent positive impact on natural products sales ever in the history of natural foods. However, on the show viewers are exposed to products which can potentially address their health concerns but discussed so quickly that it's hard to get a good sense of the function or even the name of a product.
There is no doubt that Dr. Oz is changing the way people are looking at health. His show brings attention to supplements five days a week that can provide life changing support for a phenomenal amount of health concerns.
Can a person make an inform decision based on a few seconds of information? Not usually.
In the store where I worked there are a number of product options for any given concern. Take sleep support – there is a four foot section of shelf, 7 feet high filled with sleep products. For every product in that section there are choices of dosage and products with a either a single ingredient or combination of ingredients. There could be 100 choices in that section alone. How do customers make a choice?
They get informed.
Watch the show and get inspired then tune in to my blog so you can get the knowledge to make informed decisions about your health!
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Great idea! Jason has commented on the impact of Dr. Oz on his store as well...
ReplyDeleteJason can check my blog and find out what's on the show to better help customers!
ReplyDelete