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09.13.2002

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Conversations With Wellness Consumers

At The Hartman Group, we base much of our research on the fact that a cultural shift is taking place in the United States. We explore this cultural shift by using linguistics as a qualitative fieldwork tool where we explore the speaking patterns of wellness consumers to figure out the language that people actually use when talking about themselves, wellness products and experiences. Although our research is conducted in the United States primarily among English-speaking consumers, not every speaker of the English language will talk the same way. There are individual and social variations that make it interesting to segment and typify consumers.

One way we have approached language analysis among wellness consumers is by examining what language about health and wellness looked like in the past and what it is beginning to look like today.

This presence of an obvious difference in language about health and wellness among consumers doesn't necessarily mean that one can rank a particular word as more or less simple, as more or less "evolved." The differences are more complicated than that; they serve as expressions of alternative realities or other possible ways of thinking about things. For example, a consumer who is deeply involved in a world of wellness activity such as yoga, may use words such as "wellness," "prevention," "balance" and "community" in speaking about their participation and what they think about yoga. In contrast, a consumer who is less involved in yoga as a wellness activity may use words such as "health," "treatment," "physical" and "individual."

It is our contention that these linguistic differences indicate a cultural shift that is moving towards a new way of thinking about health and wellness issues. The shift between these two ways of thinking about health and wellness is a shift between two different worlds where each considers a different reality. This is illustrated by the fact that a growing number of consumers are no longer content with conventional ways of thinking about their health and wellness and are busy wading through the sea of information, products and services that continue to flood the market.

The real beauty of qualitative language analysis is in findings that illuminate the notion that language and culture are inextricably linked, that they are connected and evolve simultaneously. We are able to explore language use in every conceivable wellness category, whether organic apples, vitamin B or recycled paper towels. These sub-worlds of wellness cannot be separated from the language used to talk about them.

We believe that this method of analysis serves as a platform where current wellness language can be investigated and understood. Through consideration of basic words that resonate with the wellness consumer, depending on where they are situated in the world of wellness, manufacturers and retailers may find their communication efforts received in a much more positive way. What a better way to communicate with consumers than by speaking their language?

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