Who Needs a JV Broker Anyway?

For almost 25 years, my mother who has had Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) has successfully combined i) a herbal diet and exercise, ii) meditation and iii) traditional medicines, to control her condition. For autoimmune diseases like SLE, finding suitable pharmaceutical or alternative medicinal approaches to control these major types of conditions has been a task.

For example, herbs such as the Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii or combinations of herbs with dandelion, yellowdock, echinacea, and garlic have had mixed results for SLE. In many cases with little or no scientific evidence to support the claims.

Over the same time, the use and regulation of nutraceuticals, functional foods herbal supplements and alternative medicinal approaches to control weight, treat addiction, cancer, hypertension, autism etc has steadily grown. Such as the DSHEA 1994 and subsequent dietary supplement Acts for example. With these approaches, the growth and complexity of the alternative health products market has increased exponentially. Also facilitated by medical breakthroughs and an emphasis on disease prevention!

At the 2008 Global Spa Summit in New York, reports were presented which estimate the global size of the Spa Industry to be $60B, $194B in spa-related hospitality, tourism and real estate and a further $700B when taking into account beauty, nutrition (supplements, diet, teas) and fitness! So there are regulatory issues to deal with, products to ensure pass those hurdles and online markets to access.


5 Questions to Answer before a Product Launch
Well that’s all great news, but you’ve just spent 6-12 months developing a product to market and sell online to a health & Wellness niche, so how are you going to get in front of the customers or clients in the niche?

Let’s say for arguments sake you have a product or system for SLE (I would love to take a look at it if you do!) or you have a program for weight loss. You are now ready to launch online. Or are you?

There are 5 major problems you are likely to face as you move forward.

Question 1 Does the product have a large market size?

Question 2 Who is buying similar products and what are the online triggers?

Question 3 Do you have customers already or do you need a JV partner?

Question 4 Do you have the back end systems, platforms and support in place to attract the right Joint Venture partners?

Question 5 How will you manage your relationships with your JV partner, sales affiliates and customers as you roll out your launch?

Significant opportunities for new products and services in the Health and Wellness (H&W) niche exit. However, delivering the right product to the right customer using online marketing strategies, requires you to answer, plan for and solve each of those five questions clearly. The next step is then to act decisively to get your product in the hands of buying customers.

JV Brokers Do What?
Marketing and sales online require very different approaches to minimize risk and maximize profit before, during and after a product launch. Some of the fundamental principles do remain the same, but the platforms that they are delivered through are quite different. Simply put, JV brokers match product owners with large list holders or “super affiliates” and spend a great deal of time, energy, effort and resources ensuring that both parties achieve their stated objectives.

As a JV Broker, myself, specializing in the Health & Wellness niche, my job is to review, access, test and properly match your products with the right partner, before the launch. We provide the back-end research and infra-structure needed to access JV partners. The key services that are provided by JV Brokers to product owners are,

• Evaluating the product(s) developed for the online market you are targeting,

• Putting in place the right back-end systems to efficiently communicate and deliver your product to the customer and finally

• Getting your product matched with the right JV partners.


Gregory I. Simpson, PhD, JV Broker - Health & Wellness Specialist www.gregoryisimpson.com