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Part 6 - Nutrisystem Case Study
By: Dr. Amir Kishon, CEO
This is part 6 in a 7 part series on the principles for creating engaging patient and consumer destinations. To read parts 1-5, visit our blog.
 I'd like to share a case study with you that demonstrates what our formula E= (Me+We+Info)^2 can really do. This formula resembles the famous E = mc^2 which shows the exponential energy that can be generated by a small mass. Likewise, our "E", which stands for engagement, can experience an exponential growth from the right combination of the Me-We-Info components. We will focus on the Nutrisystem case study, but our results show similar impact for many of our clients.
Nutrisystem is a major diet brand that wasn't getting the major online reach it was looking for and the reach we both knew it could achieve. Our solution? We built a completely interconnected and relevant web community for Nutrisystem customers by implementing our engagement formula. The following paragraphs describe our journey.
Me Layer aka: Right Nutrisystem Apps
 The Nutrisystem meal planner is a great example of what the "right" apps can achieve. Prior to our restructure, Nutrisystem used a generic meal planner as a "tool" for their clients. We didn't think that this provided the right value and experience for their members.
We started by asking the Nutrisystem team how they would want to educate their clients about Nutrisystem meal planning. They gave us several printed booklets that new clients get in their first shipment, and our team took these booklets and programmed their logic within the nutrition planner. We thus embedded the Nutrisystem "Expert" within the planner, which became an educational and highly relevant tool rather than just an online app for meal tracking. In general, our results from clients show that the right Me Layer is the most attractive destination for clients with numbers that reach over 75% active interest.
We Layer aka: Right Nutrisystem Social
Nutrsystem's original scheme was based on a generic social networking architecture. However, because Nutrisystem's brand is all about sharing and celebrating personal successes, the right social, or the right We Layer, should reflect this experience.
We created a social network that was centered around celebrating "my success story" with personal pages that enabled users to easily share their experiences through blogs, progress tickers and before and after photo albums to show how far they had come. We also connected the We Layer with the Me Layer to enable cross-feeding of personal progress updates among members and their friends. Bottom line, this transcended the experience from a generic Facebook feel to something more of a NutrisystemBook.
Info Layer aka: Right Nutrisystem Content
A lack of the right and relevant content is the cause of most sites' inability to engage and keep members. This means that content tagging and information organization are crucial in providing meaningful and pertinent information. If a 40 year old woman is looking to lose 50 pounds, for example, how relevant is it for her to read about a 20 year old man's tips on running a marathon? Slim to none. For the Nutrisystem community, a women's or men's based program content is displayed on the individual's homepage and is directly relevant to the individual user's interests. This brings the right content to the user rather than asking the user to sift through irrelevant content to find what interests him/her.
Results
With all of the right engagement Me-We-Info Layers set in place and meaningfully connected, the Nutrisystem community saw tangible results within 3 months. Per public information, before launch of the new site, 84,000 members were active in the community. 3 months after launch, that number jumped to 430,000. That's a 500% increase across the board. The best part? It was all achieved through organic growth, no special marketing was needed. We also measured "activate" member use and saw that forum post numbers sky rocketed, from 12,500 posts per month to 100,000 posts per month post launch - that's an 800% increase. Today the Nutrisystem community boasts over 5 million members and this article offers a glimpse to their success.
This approach outshines Facebook when we compare the dynamics of the Me-We-Info environment with the social networking community. For example, this is Nutrisystem on both social platforms. I think the numbers tell a very strong story. Don't you?
Not only are we able to increase engagement among clients with the Me-We-Info formula, we're able to translate that engagement to an increase in client lifetime value (CLV) and sales growth. With our system, our clients have seen an increase in CLV from 60-120%, which means higher member retention and brand loyalty. Also, we've seen a cumulative increase of 300% in orders. These numbers translate to a significant ROI and can figure in to most, if not all, business strategies.
The Nutrisystem case study is just one among many examples of exponential engagement the Me-We-Info approach has yielded for us. We strongly believe that such architecture is the right engagement design for patients and consumers alike.
In my last part of my blog series, I will discuss what we, at Wellness Layers, believe real engagement numbers look like, and I warn you we've set the bar high.
Next time: The Real Engagement Checklist
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