Designing innovative solutions to health challenges
Anabolic Aces Health Consulting
CEO | product marketing | UX Research
Team:
Natasha Hawthorn - Co-Founder, Functional Health Coach, Executive Admin
Challenge
While many people feel stuck with chronic health issues, most conventional medical practitioners still use insurance-mandated "standard bloodwork" panels consisting of a few dozen markers and broad reference ranges.
Incomplete data sets and short office visits lead to guesswork and ineffective treatment plans, resulting in a frustrating user experience.
Solution
Design coaching programs which collect and analyze hundreds of functional biomarkers to identify the root causes of health symptoms.
Improve customer engagement with comprehensive online courses, qualitative interviewing, and quantitative data visualizations.
Drive customer success through effective onboarding, project management, and product recommendations.
Plan
Personal Health Journey
My desire to become a founder of a health education business started in a similar way to many other practitioners: overcoming my own health challenges and then wanting to help others.
After years of initial frustration trying resolve my symptoms going to conventional doctors, I spent 5 years exploring natural health alternatives and finally made major improvements towards feeling better.
Entrepreneurial Drive
After building skills for 20 years in customer-facing roles in the food service, psychology, and automotive industries, I had a strong drive to lead my own company vision.
As an automotive technician working successfully on commission for 12 years, I learned that working closely with service advisors to match product recommendations to customer needs led to higher upsell potential and increased lifetime value.
As CEO of a lean startup, I expanded my transferable skills by learning proven Agile Methodologies in 3 key areas:
Operations Workflow Design
To provide room for long-term growth, I built a complete suite of SaaS software solutions with the potential to scale the business into 7-figures. The foundational business hub was Infusionsoft, providing an integrated platform for CRM, task management, marketing, and e-commerce.
Automated scheduling with multiple booking calendars was accomplished through ScheduleOnce, whose API integration with Infusionsoft efficiently tracked client appointments.
After sourcing a 3rd party integration to sync Infusionsoft invoices to Quickbooks Online, I consulted Russ Shulman at Sound Bookkeeping and Don Archiable, CPA, to create automated transaction rules and a structured chart of accounts for Profit & Loss reporting.
Business development
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Operations
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Marketing
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E-Commerce
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Accounting
product management
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User Research
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Product Design
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Data Analysis
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Positioning
customer success
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CRM Tracking
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Onboarding
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Education
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Account Upgrades
Research
I knew that if I wanted to build true 10x value in our coaching products, I realized that I needed to find more knowledge, resources, and strategies than what conventional wisdom had for me. I spent next few years on a mission to find the tools needed to consistently solve challenging health problems that create decades of suffering.
Building on the foundation of evolutionary biology from my undergrad education, I read thousands of pages of books and articles on ancestral nutrition, functional brain chemistry, natural movement, and advanced supplementation strategies to complete my working model of what an "optimal modern human" might look like.
Coaching Business Model
When I heard Reed Davis, the founder of Functional Diagnostic Nutrition®, speak at a Paleo f(x) conference about the concept of Metabolic Chaos™, I realized I’d found a coaching paradigm to create real results.
By using comprehensive functional lab testing to identify root causes of symptoms and create matching lifestyle and supplement protocols, FDN certification provided the foundation for a scalable online coaching business.
Functional Medicine Domain Research
Over the next 3 years, Natasha and I attended over 25 conferences for continuing education to drive iterations to our product design.
We learned cutting-edge health strategies from industry-leading functional medicine experts like Kiran Krishnan, CSO at Microbiome Labs.
SEO Market Research
To develop an effective marketing plan, I consulted Alec Kimble, founder of Ambitious Ventures.
We performed competitive analysis on SEO keywords and traffic sources for high-volume influencers in the functional health space to find new opportunities in a crowded market.
Content Strategy Roadmap
Our market research showed potential in the areas of gut health and alternative mental health.
To start growing our audience, I created a diverse content roadmap including blog articles, email newsletters, social media posts, and the Aces Audio Podcast.
User Interviews and Surveys
To validate our hypotheses about product-market fit, I designed a screening survey to find initial trends in purchasing behaviors, symptom frequency, and knowledge levels.
I selected 7 participants for in-depth interviews to identify the deeper pain points behind each person's specific health challenges.
Data was captured through Zoom video recordings and detailed notes. Key quotes were pulled for analysis.
"My doctor just wants to medicate my symptoms, but I want to know WHY I don't feel normal."
"I need to see PROOF that supplements will help my specific health issues before buying them."
analyze
Persona Progression
After synthesizing interview data points with a Trello digital affinity map, a few clear trends emerged. Our team combined these insights with an existing proto-persona developed from previous client feedback.
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Need accountability to get results
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Confused about conflicting health advice
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Want proven, effective products
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Social proof is key to establish trust
User Journey Development
To gain clarity while exploring the market viability of building coaching products for multiple demographics, I used journey maps to identify opportunities to more effectively solve user problems.
While the two examples below are from different personas, mental health and weight loss, they share overlapping trends in the interactions between biochemistry, psychology, and behavior patterns that drove product management decisions.
Demographic Data Analysis
The final step for market analysis involved using FB Ads Audience Insights visualization tool to create custom audiences based on persona data.
By studying trends in education levels, page likes, and job titles, I identified audiences in the Paleo, Keto, and Biohacking groups with high conversion optimization potential for subsequent marketing campaigns.
design
Brand Development
To create logos and a color palette for effective branding, I collaborated with graphic designer Amanda Grant. We settled on a consistent red/black theme to convey an edgy, innovative image.
We first designed handouts for in-person trade shows and educational presentations. Next, I built the Anabolic Aces website using Wordpress and Thrive Themes editing tools.
Coaching Product Design
To organize resources for the user experience design of our coaching products, I utilized Trello project management software to create separate boards for operations, content, client management, and health protocols.
For lean product design, I used Trello boards to create clickable prototypes for an education user interface. After dozens of usability tests with our initial cohort of 1-on-1 clients, I eventually transitioned our final content iterations into an industry-leading online course platform.
Kajabi Online Courses
Kajabi provided an elegant solution for managing and delivering online course content for multiple coaching product lines.
Each product was designed for a user-centered experience, including:
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HD educational videos
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Text descriptions and outlines
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Downloadable attachments
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Links to further resources
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Coaching call scheduling links
Supplement Protocol Design
To overcome chronic health conditions that some clients had for over 20 years, I knew we would need some heavy duty natural supplementation to provide therapeutic levels of healing on a deep biochemical level.
I again utilized Trello client project boards to create layered protocols of 10 - 15 supplements that generated restoration in each client's digestive, hormone, immune, detox, and nervous systems over 6 to 12 month periods.
As we always "walk our talk", we invested heavily in research and development by using the same products we recommended. We also worked closely with account managers and educators from leading supplement companies like Apex Energetics and Quicksilver Scientific to ensure our protocols stayed up-to-date and effective.
Biocanic Client Portal
To provide a streamlined user experience, I worked directly with Jeremy Malecha, CEO of Biocanic, to design a new supplement protocol UI on their EHR platform.
This updated interface allowed for automated sorting of supplements by time windows, which created significant increases in protocol compliance and symptom reduction.
Value Proposition Design
To help create a product offerings with progressive value propositions, I used comparative analysis with SaaS pricing tables from companies like Intuit, Microsoft, and Atlassian.
After whiteboarding functional lab testing options and coaching package features, I went through several iterations of pricing structures that were adjusted over 3 years through user research.
Clear Product Options
The final pricing table for our flagship product offering, The Data Driven Health Accelerator™, includes 3 package choices which provide a "reasonable" middle option.
I went through several design iterations and usability tests to ensure I was communicating enough information for informed purchase decisions while avoiding cognitive overload.
prototype
Healthpreneur™ Marketing Education
After marketing for 2 years with local events and organic content, we decided to invest in the Health Business Accelerator™ program from business coach Yuri Elkaim.
This 10-month program taught us industry-leading strategies for developing conversion-optimized marketing funnels, including webinar development, sales copywriting, enrollment calls, online course development, and client onboarding.
Using the best "ideal client" personas we had at the time, we developed 3 complete end-to-end marketing funnels for eliminating brain fog, improving cognitive performance for poker players, and relief from back pain.
Facebook Ads and Landing Pages
The first steps in each funnel were Facebook ads with long-form conversational copywriting designed to create optimal click-through-rates above 3%.
The ads linked to Clickfunnels landing pages with FB tracking pixels, clear offers, and Call-To-Action opt-ins.
Sales Webinar Iterations
This Biohack Your Back Pain training video was the final iteration of 4 sales webinars we created in four months, each 65-85 minutes.
Each sales webinar utilized a "teach to sell" framework with peer-reviewed science and new solutions to the user's health challenge.
Automated Email Campaigns
After opting-in for the webinar, new leads were nurtured through an automated Infusionsoft email campaign which tracked open rates, call booking, and product purchases.
Enrollment Calls and Script
Each prospect was guided through a comprehensive application form, including questions about deeper motivations, commitment levels, and financial resources.
Enrollment calls included 45-minutes of user-centered interview questions to qualify applicants who were ready for a transformational coaching experience.
Marketing Pipeline Analytics
After collecting over 330,000 impressions by split testing 52 ad sets , I used data cleanup and visualization tools in our Clickfunnels, Vimeo, and Facebook Ads Manager dashboards to track Key Performance Indicators for actionable changes to our funnel design.
While 2 of 3 marketing funnels managed to have low Cost-Per-Lead metrics averaging $2 - $4 and landing page conversions above 20%, our Cost-Per-Call-Booked average was high at a $489 (ideally below $200 for a $3-5k product).
With the high cost of booking calls, I realized that further UX research would be needed to refine our personas and increase offer value before launching more paid marketing campaigns
Final Product Positioning
While I consider it a valuable exercise to have created 3 niche-focused coaching programs and corresponding funnels, after all that hard work I was ready to synthesize all the insights into 1 cohesive product offering.
Using post-program feedback from existing clients, I created a proto-persona to guide flagship product design until another round of user research could be conducted.
The Data Drive Health Accelerator™ programs (Basic, Advanced, and Pro levels) and The Real Results Recipe™ process represent the culmination of over 3 years of research and development into creating high-impact, transformational health outcomes.
Deliver
Customer Success Management
To ensure that our clients received maximum value from our coaching products, I designed a comprehensive processes for onboarding, case management, and account upgrade recommendations.
Clients were onboarded into our programs using guided training modules in our online courses, including instructions for submitting lab test kits, booking coaching calls, and completing online intake forms.
Case Review calls included video screen-share of organized PDF deliverables including selected data visualization screenshots from Optimal DX blood chemistry software and prioritized protocol recommendations.
These processes all created massive value and client buy-in, which translated to increased coaching product and supplement sales across the customer lifecycle.
"Their attention to detail is above and beyond. The care and commitment they show for their clients and their craft is unmatched. I know this is why I’ve had such life changing results. "
- Amy L - Owner / CEO, Fusion Fitness
Continued commitment to innovative product development and user-centered design drove impressive Customer Success Metrics
Key Performance Indicators - Average Values
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Supplement Orders after Results Review sessions = $694
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Client Lifetime Value for supplement sales = $3,216
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Monthly supplement sales = $321
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Continuing supplement orders = 24 months
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Renewal rates from mid to high products = 80%
Next Steps
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New round of user research for "Data Driven" coaching product persona
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Build and launch new marketing funnel in Kajabi
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Continued growth of social media followings on Instagram and Facebook
Retrospective
Our clients were very happy with the quality and usability of our final products, which as a product and customer success manager is my highest priority. I'm confident that the health changes we facilitated for our clients will serve them well as they continue to optimize their health in the future.
I am extremely proud of the hard work my team and I put into building this business. We worked as a functional team with a strong work ethic, a high level of professionalism, effective organization, and used constructive feedback when needed.
Cheers to being the change you want to see in the world.
symptom reduction
71%
Supplement orders
$694
program upgrades
80%