No two populations are identical. If you have designed wellness programs for multiple organizations in the past, you've likely seen notable differences in demographics, health needs, and lifestyle factors. You know that your client's population isn't cookie-cutter. You probably understand that your solutions shouldn't be cookie cutter either. You should design wellness programs that are custom-tailored towards each unique population. 

What far too many wellness professionals do is craft a solution once and forget about it. They might revisit their population annually to see if anything has changed, but they're not monitoring in between to see how their population has shifted over time. 

Keep in mind that your population isn't static; there are likely new people added and removed frequently. Furthermore, if your wellness programs are working effectively, there are likely members of your population who are moving from high-risk to low-risk stratifications for various ailments. Your population is constantly changing, adjusting, and pivoting, and your wellness program should be equipped to handle that. This means actively monitoring the efficacy of your wellness initiatives every month. Only through this analytical lens can you truly see what's necessary to craft wellness initiatives that can affect your population.

Wellness initiatives should be unique and diverse

Marketing 101 teaches us about target audiences. Basically, there is a group of consumers that is most likely to respond to your offer. You should target your message specifically to them, as opposed to a more generic message that could appeal to anyone. Wellness can be viewed through a similar lens. In order to reach members and drive a meaningful impact, we must structure our program to match their needs and behaviors. Today's leading wellness programs have taken the critical first step of understanding their population, before initiating any well-being activities.