Tweet

Lesson #3: Make Your Product As Personal As Possible

Article Overview: Jenny Craig’s success did not lie just in the fact that the program combined athletic activity with its own prepared foods. Craig had a secret that kept customers coming back for more. If all her years in the industry had taught her one thing, it was this: the road to weight loss was a difficult one and people needed all the support they could get along the way. To that end, Craig made it her number one priority to engage her clients, making the program as interactive and supportive as possible to keep them motivated and paying!

Lesson #3: Make Your Product As Personal As Possible

Jenny Craig’s success did not lie just in the fact that the program combined athletic activity with its own prepared foods. Craig had a secret that kept customers coming back for more. If all her years in the industry had taught her one thing, it was this: the road to weight loss was a difficult one and people needed all the support they could get along the way. To that end, Craig made it her number one priority to engage her clients, making the program as interactive and supportive as possible to keep them motivated and paying!

When Craig first launched her own business, she decided to implement twice-weekly meetings between clients and counselors. Counselors would monitor the progress of each and every individual client, advise them accordingly, and of course, sell them prepared foods from Jenny’s Cuisine. This way, not only did clients feel accountable to someone, but they were also more motivated and encouraged by the belief that their regimen was being tailored specifically for them. From Craig herself to the counselor they met with, many clients felt for the first time that there was finally someone who cared about them and their progress.

Craig’s strategy was to engage her customers and make the program as personal as possible. In addition to the individual meetings clients would have with a certified counselor, they would also take part in supportive group meetings. Here, clients would attend classes where they were given lessons on everything from how to eat out without ruining their progress thus far, how to diet as a team, and how to assert themselves. Craig made sure that her clients never felt alone in their mission to lose weight.

Added to the individual and group support sessions were video programs in 1989. Videos on related topics could be watched in counseling classes. Not only was this meant to ensure consistency in Jenny Craig centres across the board, but it also helped to stimulate discussion amongst the clients and create a more interactive dialogue.

Craig’s attempt to create as personal and participatory a program as possible continued in 1997, when the company restructured its program. Instead of lengthy workbooks and rigid menu plans, Craig introduced the ABC Program, which consisted of a short, interactive pocketbook guide and flexible menu options. Clients could now choose their food from an A, B, or C category, instead of having to count calories. As Craig said, “Life should be enjoyed, not wasted counting fat grams and calories.”

Craig understood the challenges that people trying to lose weight faced not only from her years in the industry, but from her own personal experience. She knew people needed support, motivation, and guidance along the way and that is what she sought to give them. Today, Jenny Craig continues that tradition by providing a support message board for clients on its website, as well as establishing a Jenny care line, a 24 hours a day support line for clients to call whenever they need.

Related Articles
  Eat Your Own Dog Food
  The Gravity of Failure
  Who Is Your Proud Family?
  Now You Can Have a Great Biz Plan With Ease
  Selling swimming pools is the same as selling what you sell

Article Tags: belief that, clie, consistency, counseling, counselor, counselors, cuisine, diet, group meetings, group support sessions, jenny craig, one thing, own business, prepared foods, priority, regimen, supportive group, video programs, weight loss



Related Forum Posts
Re: Quote of the Day - "The only people witho - Thanks for sharing this Evan, there are some very powerful quotes in there, I particularly like this one:- You are now at a crossroads. This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make. Forget your past. Who are you now? Who have you decided you really are now? Don't think about who you have been. Who are you now? Who have you decided to become? Make this decision consciously. Make it carefully. Make it powerfully. regards, Mal.
List of a few legitimate online business - Well My main methods to make money so far are adsense,affiliate marketing and freelancing and I think these are some more sites that can help me to make some more money.Your reviews are welcome: ::linkworth dot com>This site is awesome and offer lots of ways to make money. ::mturk dot com>complete simple mini task and get paid ::microworkers dot com>complete simple mini task and get paid ::shorttask dot com>complete simple mini task and get paid ::istockphoto dot com>sell stock photos ::eHow dot com>Make money writing ::Bukisa>Make money writing ::Associate Content>Make money writing ::Triond>Make money writing ::fiverr dot com>$5 freelancing job ::cpalead dot com>make money by completing offer ::peerfly>make money by completing offer
Re: Twitter vs Facebook - I know this is a naive question but i'm really not sure: What do you tweet ? Business? promote your business? Personal? Are there things you can't do? ALSO :Is there a rule book? Is there a success formula using twitter?
Re: Best Internet Marketing Strategies - Personal development and knowledge are important but as Mat says without action nothing will happen. So don't spend so long learning that you fail to follow through, rather learn as you go along but do something everyday towards achieving your goal. MichelleJ
Dan Kennedy Marketing Methods - We haven't sent out the physical letter yet as the person owning the list wanted to make modifications to the letter that we knew would work well but the List owner had a point - it didn't reflect her personality so her clients would know it didn't come from her. Lesson learned for me. We're back to the drawing board with the list owner more involved in the development of the letter and emails. I should have known better being a Business Analyst in my day job that you never leave the end-user out. So Evan we haven't had the opportunity to test any of it yet but it's been a fun process for me to stand back and look at.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Environment and productivity at the office

The Digital Diet by Daniel Sieberg

Leading with Discernment

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.