5 Insights From an Inc. 5,000 Fastest Growing Company in the Health, Wellness and Fitness Market

In the ever changing world of health marketing, it is not only difficult to keep up with the market and consumer demands but also grow. With so many health and supplement companies out there  copying one another, or more politely modeling what they “think” works, there is one company that refuses to model anyone. It continues to buck all the rules and has grown 921% in 3 years.

That company is Onnit, one of the most innovative brands in the health & fitness industry.  An Austin, TX based health and wellness company, Onnit focuses on peak performance through a combination of unique products. They offer nutritional supplements and functional foods, based upon the latest ingredients, science and dietary research, as well as functional fitness equipment designed to enhance strength and endurance for complete Total Human Optimization.

But it is not only the products that sets Onnit apart, it is a set of key principals that has enabled them to reach #496 on the Inc. 5,000 Fastest Growing Companies chart in 2015.

In a recent interview with Mike Spadier, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Onnit Labs we uncovered not only what it takes to be successful in the competitive health space but also grow exponentially.  We distilled it into five key principals to growing a passionate tribe and a thriving business in the health and wellness space.

According to Mike..

“The passion that we inspire in our customers comes from within the organization itself. Many of us that work at Onnit have a blurred line between our personal and professional lives. This creates exponential growth in both.”

As you can see, there are many benefits to being a company whose core mission is optimizing humans.  They can branch out from supplements into a respected gym, yoga center, and even smoothies—all without straying from their primary goal.

But, what truly sets Onnit apart from the standard eCommerce company, selling health supplements, food, and fitness equipment online is their approach to passion…

Let’s dive in…

Get marketing inspiration from completely unrelated experts

With a culture of optimization at its core, it is no surprise that Mike follows people like Tim Ferriss and Gary Vaynerchuk just to name a few.  He is also an avid reader of marketing and productivity sites like Fast Company and Lifehacker.

But he says his best inspiration comes from people whose expertise is nowhere near the marketing and business growth crowds.

One such example is a podcast called Freakonomics, a show devoted to talking about the hidden side of everything.  It is not a business or marketing podcast, it just seeks geeky truth about nearly every topic you can think of.

How does that translate into marketing inspiration? I listened to an episode to find out.  One episode was about how everyone can get “grit” in their lives.  In short, “grit” is defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals.  It is a very personal-improvement type of topic.

But one thing mentioned in the episode was this:  “It’s human nature to get bored and to want to explore novel things.  But I suggest trading in nuance for novelty.”

How does this translate? From a marketing standpoint, that could mean adding nuances to your current marketing plan instead of chasing an entirely new strategy.  From a business growth standpoint, it could mean approaching your same channels in new ways before trying to break into new channels all together.

The key takeaway is that marketing inspiration can come from completely unrelated sources, and often times alternative sources can spark creativity by thinking outside the usual marketing box…   Give it a try.

Don’t rehash what is already out there.  Build something you’re excited about

Most of us take this approach to product development.  You got into business in the first place because you didn’t see anyone else creating what you wanted to create.  You were excited about it, you built it, and you did it different from everyone else.

But why stop approaching your business that way when it comes to designing your websites, your funnels, or your product pages?

Mike and his team at Onnit decided to take their product page design in a direction hardly any other eCommerce site heads in.  From a design perspective, each product looks like the landing page of a newly funded tech startup.  Its full-width, nearly full-height sections each are stylized with unique typography, illustrations, videos, expert quotes and testimonies, and celebrity endorsements.  It is hard to even call it eCommerce.

How did they arrive at designing their product pages like that?  By pulling from the diverse backgrounds of their team.  Some came from advertising; others from action sports; and others, software as a service companies.  But they all consider themselves artists first.

You don’t have to have a team full of diverse artists to pull this sort of freshness off for your own product pages.  The question to ask is, how can I present my products in a way that no one else in my industry is?  And take the advice of point number 1 to find inspiration outside your industry, and outside of marketing.

When making an ice cream sundae, don’t forget the ice cream

Mike used a metaphor that we think is a helpful approach to prioritizing and balancing ideas.  With a team of artists, they get a lot of creative ideas, each with potential for expanding the brand experience.

With the don’t-forget-the-ice-cream approach, they make sure that the fundamental business objectives are taken care of.  That means the core marketing efforts that actually sell products: email marketing, social media product highlights, testimonies and endorsements are not forgotten.

That’s the ice cream.  They are all good and necessary things that a business can run on.  (People buy ice cream without toppings all the time).  But sometimes you also need to explore different toppings to see what combinations go well together.

These are things like YouTube ads that don’t even mention any products but foster brand loyalty or events that are just about having a good time or joining a good cause.  Marketing toppings.  It is important to give your team the freedom to explore some of these ideas while not neglecting the fundamentals.

Optimize for a great brand experience, not short-term sales

This point is really controversial in the conversion optimization space we live in, but we whole heartedly believe it.  It is the reason we prefer to call ourselves a revenue (rather than conversion) optimization firm.  The best way to optimize your revenue over the long haul is to build an army of loyal customers who are passionate about your products and your mission.

Onnit’s founder, Aubrey Marcus, made sure before he started selling anything that he had the best product he could possibly create.  And that passion filters through the whole company.  Mike approaches marketing from that same philosophy: the quality of the product has to come first.

But for him it is not just the quality of the product itself but also the consumer’s experience of the product.  And it is not even just that.  It is the consumer’s experience with the brand.  The underlying product that is being sold at Onnit is a culture and community of total human optimization.  When you buy an Onnit product you’re brought into something larger than yourself.  You’re brought into a movement.

With your business, you need to evaluate what your overarching mission is.  What makes your community unique?  What changes are you trying to bring into the world through your brand? How can people passionately come alongside that mission as they engage with your products?

Lastly, these growth principles lead to a good, but serious challenge…

As your team expands, find ways to specialize in order to maintain that brand connection

When you’re small you have “a really tight-knit group of people putting out 95% of what you do,” Mike says.  But as you grow it is a challenge to keep that degree of unity and passion across a larger team.

This is something Onnit is still experimenting with and figuring out, but one thing they foresee being a key factor is moving from a team of generalists to a larger team of specialists.  The core, tight-knit group can still oversee broad categories like social media, email marketing, and partnerships.  But they now work with specialists within those categories to expand the scope of their work.

This expansion has a much greater chance of keeping the elements that caused growth in the first place because the company is built on a clear mission and high quality product.  Without those two things, unity across a growing team would be harder and harder to maintain.

Your business may not be experiencing growing pains at the level Onnit is, but you can start planning now by setting a clear mission, keeping a laser focus on product quality, and putting metrics and processes in place for optimizing the brand experience.

Connecting it all together

In a world where trust and belief are fundamental to selling health products, it is no surprise that Onnit’s approach is also firmly planted in belief on the business side. They believe the product is the most important thing: “For marketing it starts with the product”

If the product works then it is going to create momentum and lasting power to create a system where people are telling friends by word of mouth to try it. If you don’t have that you’ve got a churn problem and you’re going to constantly be chasing your tail bringing new customers in the door.

Belief in optimization of a superior experience and your customer’s connection to the brand is where it all begins and ends for Onnit. If you optimize for the brand then the conversions will follow.

Discover the 3 funnels that can help your health supplement business succeed.