I believe that the next big thing will not be only digital. They will transform traditional service businesses to digital/mobile era. Sharing economy was one step, the next step is boiling.
I like Almond (there are some similar services), they created a new and lean infrastructure for dietitian services. The benefit and business model is clear. Their platform is better than Skype or other services for this niche. This question: "How can i reimagine the similar approach to other niches?" may bring new opportunities for new entrepreneurs.
My advices for this startup are:
1- Develop content. Dietitians may create content to promote themselves. People should not only visit this site when they have an appointment. They should imagine themselves as a lounge to meet dietitians whenever I want.
2- They should be more social. Recommendations are key. Real results and testimonials are key. People also want to share their story. They should model Nike Plus' social media sharing strategy.
@ozguralaz 100% agree on developing content. Nike+ has done an amazing job creating a passionate community and a great example of how a brand can engage users. Would love to hear any other feedback you have!
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Operating in a same space as @rise - a marketplace for dietitians. @vida also offers video chat with dietitians & doctors. Very few that take the data thats available and provide insights on.
@arjunram Very true. We've seen nutrition in particular to be a space with data that's at best fragmented and myopic, and at worst non-existent. That's remarkable, given the population size for nutrition (it's up there with "breathing"), and the incredible expertise of Registered Dietitians (most have a nutrition MS and over a year of hospital residency under their belts). In these early days of Almond, we'll start to chip away at this problem by surfacing insights (on the dashboard, by email, etc) from both dietitians and users based on what they've found works and doesn't work on Almond. But the nutrition industry has a ways to go.
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Gave this a shot a little while back – dietitian was very knowledgeable. Was really pretty awesome just how easy it was. Even working in tech myself, was pretty delighted to log on at the time of my appointment and have a person waiting to speak with me on video chat.
@michaelbachand Thanks for the feedback and glad to hear you had a good experience! One of the goals we have for Almond is to make reliable nutrition advice more accessible and convenient. Would love to hear if you have any thoughts about how we can make this fit more easily into your busy schedule.
Love this idea. Easy, attainable way for people to quickly change something radically in their life <-- a good formula for success
^^ This is me assuming that people who can afford to pay for this service can also afford to pay for the food so that wouldn't be a problem.
^^^^ Speaking of which, I'd love to hear if Almond has any stats on retention, success of the new nutrition plan, if new plans are typically cheaper or more expensive than the person's previous diet, etc. I hope they're good stats so Almond can share them ;)
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