by theglamscientist | | beauty business |
Last week the headline article in The Glam Scientist Report discussed 3 unique beauty brands that were changing the way we see beauty business. Two of those brands differentiated themselves directly through their products. But there was one brand that stood out as the true brand to watch because it went beyond the product and into the service.
Society Salon is a hair salon much like many others in their area with a chic décor and floorplan. But they set themselves apart with a business model that works far better in favor of their customers. Imagine paying an affordable monthly flat rate to get your hair done ANYTIME your want as many times as you want. That sounds like heaven to me! I could just see myself going in once a week for a shampoo and going midweek for a style change. How fabulous! I wouldn’t think twice about adding that luxury to my budget.
When it comes to the beauty business, branding experts will tell you to find your unique value proposition in the products. Maybe you decide your brand will be free of parabens. Maybe you build your brand on a specific ingredient like shea butter or argan oil. Whatever you decide I’m sure there will be an audience that desires it. But how can you improve your value and differentiation even more? You build it into the business model. What if you could develop a business that worked so well for your customers that they couldn’t imagine going anywhere else for their beauty needs? How can you make buying with you easier and more enjoyable?
Beauty is an experience that speaks to the whole of a woman. You build loyalty in your beauty brand when your products are amazing and the experience you provide is ah-mazing. I challenge you to take a look at various business models that lay just outside the box. Look to different industries to see how they create a user experience that is unmatched and determine how you can remix that for your beauty brand. That’s where the greatness lies.
Need help creating a business model that gets the job done? There’s a Glam Biz Intensive for that 😉
Here’s to the Glam Life!
by theglamscientist | | beauty business |
I’m willing to bet every beauty brand owner in the world has daydreamed about having droves of raving fans clamoring over their products. The harsh reality is beauty consumers just are not loyal. Use yourself as an example. Do you have just one beauty brand that you go to for all of your vanity needs? Probably not.
I recently read an article that outlined this truth-
Latest US cosmetic market research points to lack of brand loyalty
By Simon Pitman+, 08-Jan-2015
New research suggests that cosmetic consumers in the US purchase a wide variety of brands and often show no or very little brand loyalty.
http://www.cosmeticsdesign.com/Market-Trends/Latest-US-cosmetic-market-research-points-to-lack-of-brand-loyalty
While this may seem disheartening, new beauty brands have no need to worry. What I’ve found in my experience as a formulator (and as a consumer) is consumers aren’t loyal to brands; but they are loyal to products they love.
Most women usually have several different lip products in their purse at a time. And those products likely represent at least three different brands. It’s safe to say that each of those brands has something special to offer the her and there’s a good chance she will buy from them again.
The key to battling the lack of consumer loyalty is to consistently deliver products that work for your target customer. Before you decide on the first set of products for your brand or plan your next product launch find out what your customer’s needs are. How you can deliver a product that surpasses her expectations?
Your target customer may not come to your brand for her every need, but she most certainly will keep buying the product that rocked her beauty world.
Here’s to the Glam Life!
by theglamscientist | | beauty business |
*This is Part 3 of a 3 part series to help you get started on your beauty product idea.*
Now that you’ve gotten knee deep into the research, I’m going to ask you to dig a touch deeper. Sure, now you know what makes the existing product tick. But how can you make yours even better? Products compete on efficacy, price, branding and marketing.
Making the product effective is both a skill and an art. It is a balancing act between the key ingredients, an appropriate delivery system, and sensory perception. If you get it wrong your chances of survival are slim.
I can never stress the importance of brilliant branding enough. We’ve become a more entrepreneurial economy so people are familiar with the concept of branding now more than ever. The presence of a cohesive brand can be all it takes to turn a potential customer into a loyal customer.
You know what your product does, you know how it does it and you still think it’s pretty amazing. So now you just need to craft a marketing message to share with the world that will compel your customer to buy. Sounds easy right? Just remember, there’s more than one way to market a beauty product so get creative and try a few different things to get your point across.
Regarding price. Some brands live to compete on price. I say, why waste your time? You don’t have to compete on price if your product looks great, has a good marketing drive behind it and actually performs the way you say it will. Nobody will even care about the price if the value is there.
And the recurring theme in this entire series….Just get it done.
Here’s to the Glam Life!
by theglamscientist | | beauty, beauty business, beauty product, business, consulting, cosmetics, cosmetics industry, formulating, Glam Life, product development, research, startup advice, Uncategorized |
*This is the second post in a 3 part series to help you flush out your cosmetic product ideas.*
So you thought you had the best idea in the world for a cosmetic product. An idea that nobody else has ever thought of and thus couldn’t possibly exist. Until you punched a few keywords in Google and found a product strikingly similar to what you had in mind. It’s cool. No sweat. Finding that your brilliant idea already has a step-sister is a good indicator that there are people out the ready and willing to buy the product you create. It also puts you in perfect position to be the best to ever do it. That’s what we really want, right? First is cool, but you only get one reward for that.
*Have you ever seen people post on Instagram “First comment!”? What is that about?* I digress.
Being the best also puts you in line for being the classic. The one that never goes out of style. The legend. The legacy. That’s who you really want to be. So how do you get there?
- Pick that step-sister apart. What claims are they making about the product? What does the ingredients list look like? Can you find any reviews on the product? How much is it selling for?
- Decide on how you should brand your product. I’ve had clients come to me with great ideas that I’ve found dupes for in the marketplace. More often than not, the branding on the product is sub-par. When you’re a customer you don’t consciously realize how important packaging colors are. Or how you really feel about the fonts used on the bottle. But as a brand owner you know those details matter to customers even if they can’t articulate that to you. You’d hate to be the brand with a grand idea and sucky packaging. Think about it, that’s probably the reason why you had no idea this product already existed in the first place.
- Buy the product. How can you know if it works if you don’t try it for yourself? Get up close and personal with your product experience. Be a hater. What would you say about this product if you wanted to convince someone not to buy it? Write that down. You’re going to need it.
- Do your research. Find out what it’s going to take to make this product successful. Take note of the details you want to infuse in the product, the visual branding, the marketing story, the packaging. Find the resources to help you make it happen.
- Make a plan and hop to it!
Here’s to the Glam Life!
by theglamscientist | | beauty, beauty business, beauty product, business, consulting, cosmetic chemists, cosmetics, cosmetics industry, formulating, formulators, Glam Life, product development |
This is the first post in a 3 part series to help you flush out your new product idea. By the time you finish this series you should have refined your product idea to the point where it is flawless… or you will have determined that you need to go back to the drawing board altogether. But, alas, progress is progress and that’s what I’m all about. Let’s get to it!
It All Starts with an Idea…
So you have this great idea for a beauty product. You’re so excited because you just know it’s never been done before. Are you sure about that? Before you jump head first into product development, branding and marketing for your miracle product you really should do a little digging. Some of you are going to have groundbreaking ideas, others won’t. But don’t let that deter you from moving forward. If you find that a similar product already exists that means there’s a market for it. That’s good news! I mean, you want people to buy it, right? Right. We’ll talk about what to do if the product already exists in the next post. For those that hit the jackpot on a product that doesn’t already exist, let’s get to work! Here’s what you need to do to get the ball rolling.
• First things first…shhhhhhhhhh! Keep your idea to yourself. Don’t tell your best friend, don’t elude to it on Instagram and Facebook and don’t blab about it at your high school reunion to make yourself look successful (but you wouldn’t do that anyway, right?) Give yourself the chance to do all of your research, protect your idea and get the ball rolling before you start telling everyone what you’re working on. Let’s face it, everyone isn’t honest. Many people lack integrity and will steal your idea faster than you can hit Google. So start with zipped lips.
• Find out if there are opportunities to get legal protection for your idea. It’s not everyday that a cosmetic product qualifies for patent protection. But oh when it does! Start seeing green, Glam Girl! Quickly, a cosmetic stands a chance for patent protection if it introduces or requires some new technology (this is usually something to do with the manufacturing process), uses a brand new, novel ingredient (have you been hiking in the rainforest and found a miracle plant?), uses an existing ingredient/process in a completely new, not already patented way, etc. Maybe patent protection is not in your cards, but there’s also trade secret protection which is a bit easier to get. You may not see off hand how you can obtain intellectual property for your idea, but usually when you know it’s possible you start thinking of ideas to make it so.
• Decide what the selling points will be. What is going to make your target customer spend their money with you? I’m willing to bet the idea you have solves some sort of problem. It’s a problem you’ve had personally or one you’ve heard enough people complain about that you had a light bulb moment. Roll with that. Whatever sparked the idea in you will spark your customer to buy…if you sell it to them the way you sold it to yourself.
• Pick a market and set a price point. How much is your idea worth to you? Is this something that the have’s are going to want to have? Can you envision it in a beauty spread in your favorite magazine? When you see your product in your mind what does it look like?
• Do some research to find out how much of this idea you can figure out yourself before you need to call in a professional. The more you know about what it takes to get your idea off the ground, the better position you’ll be in to maintain creative control over it’s development. Some of the best projects I’ve worked on came from clients who did their research before they called me.
• Just do it. This is probably the most important part of this post. Don’t get stuck in your head so much that you talk yourself out of a great idea. Because one day you’ll look up and someone will be making millions off an idea that you had but never put your feet to the ground on. Don’t be that girl. It’s no fun. Ask me how I know.
Here’s to the Glam Life!
by theglamscientist | | beauty, beauty business, business, consulting, cosmetics, cosmetics industry, Glam Life |
Before you launch your cosmetic brand you need to know where you plan to sell your products. Most US based start-up companies default to selling in the US market. Funny thing is, so many of our product ideas are just as popular, if not more, outside of the US. How cool would it be to launch as an international beauty brand?
The US cosmetic market is pretty crowded, while many international cosmetic markets are emerging. There is ALWAYS opportunity in “emerging”.
So how do you jump into the international market?
First, you’ll need to do some research on the numbers. Google and trade publications will help you match your product to its best chance at international success. Once you know which countries you want to market and export to, you’ll need to find out how they regulate cosmetics. You MUST adhere to all the cosmetic regulations AND the import laws of the countries in question. Don’t mess this up! You’ll surely wish you hadn’t.
Finally, make sure you’ve put in some time discovering HOW your customer likes to be marketed to. You probably won’t be able to use the same marketing material you use for the US in other countries. Take a note from L’Oreal on how and what they market around the world. Also, study the differences in fashion magazines for example Vogue US vs Vogue Italia. Following good examples will help you get started in international business.
Go International- I double dog dare you! lol! If you need help, there’s coaching for that 😉
Here’s to the Glam Life!
