by theglamscientist | | beauty, beauty business, business, consulting, cosmetics, cosmetics industry, Glam Life, Uncategorized |
Whether your beauty brand launch budget is small or large, you’ll still have to decide how to spend your money. In a tight race between marketing and PR, where would you focus your launch budget? I think the answer to this question lies in the chief aim of the brand. For the sake of this post, let’s explore the working definition of each.
Simply put, marketing is you telling your audience about you. Public relations is someone else telling your audience about you. Which do you think holds the most credibility from your audience’s perspective?
Today, some of the best, most effective marketing strategies can be implemented for little to no money. Social media has opened the door for your marketing material to be presented globally. The important thing here is to have great visuals and well-thought out campaigns. Working with a great graphic designer will go a long way in your marketing efforts. What brands have you come across that did this well? Two brands that come to mind for me are The Lip Bar and Mischo Nail Lacquer. Take a stroll through their Instagram pages and you’ll get an idea of what I mean.
Public Relations is a little more tricky because it involves properly drafted press releases and solid relationships. If you’ve been proactive about building relationships with beauty bloggers, vloggers and editors then you’re already a little more than halfway there. There’s plenty of info out there about how to write a press release, pitch to the media and how to follow up. You just have to find it, perfect it, and put it to good use. Just keep in mind, PR is a lot of hands on work and it takes time. You may be better served hiring a professional so you can focus on other administrative tasks of building a beauty business.
If you have the budget to pay for marketing AND publicity I highly suggest you hire a professional for both. Otherwise, don’t be afraid to research and try some things for yourself. You need to know a bit of everything to be a good leader for your glam biz anyway.
What beauty brands have you seen utilize low cost marketing the best? Which is more valuable to you marketing or public relations? Do tell.
Here’s to the Glam Life!
by theglamscientist | | beauty, beauty business, business, consulting, cosmetics, cosmetics industry, Glam Life, planning for profit |
I’m humbled to say I’ve been an integral part of launching new beauty brands since 2009. I’ve learned a lot through observation both good and bad. From my point of view, there is nothing that seems to put out a fire faster than unrealized goals for the launch. If you’re serious about the success of your glam biz (which I know you are) then you’ve taken the time to draft a strategic marketing plan and you’ve set sales goals. So you know what you want and you have a plan to get there. But what if you miss the mark? By now you would have put your heart and soul into building the brand image, putting marketing funnels in place and lining up all your PR spots only to end your first day, week or month with less than impressive sales. That breaks lots of people. But it won’t break you because you know you’re building a tribe of loyal customers who connect with your brand and want to get to know who your brand is.
Your first customers are usually the more adventurous type. They like to be the first to know about something new. And they like to brag about it to their less fortunate friends and social media followers who weren’t on top of the next best thing like they were. Those first customers are going to help you build your million dollar customer base. So treat them well and give them your best even if “them” is only one person. Be diligent, but pack your patience because you can’t build a quality tribe overnight.
How was your launch day? Were you pleased with your results? Or did you find yourself a little down in the dumps because of slow sales? Share your launch story with us.
Here’s to the Glam Life!
by theglamscientist | | beauty, beauty business, business, consulting, cosmetic chemists, cosmetics, cosmetics industry, Glam Life, startup advice |
Competition is overrated. No, really. Way too much emphasis is placed on beating the competition in a beauty product based business. I can see how it happens. In a crowded marketplace where there aren’t many truly unique ideas, it’s easy to get caught up in trying to “one up” your competitors. Frankly, everybody is fighting for their piece of the pie. I just don’t happen to believe that is the best way for your beauty brand to succeed.
The saying goes— Comparison is the thief of joy. Well, so is competition if you don’t use it in the right way. Let’s try something a little different. What if instead of competing with our fellow beauty business owners we studied them? I mean really study them from a genuine place of understanding, inspiration and motivation. Learn what it is that they do well and figure out what they can do better. Take what you learn and improve, add, edit and remix it to fit your own glam biz. And then… forget they even exist. After all you can’t be your competition and they can’t be you.
Who do you consider to be competition for your glam biz? What have you learned from their brand?
Here’s to the Glam Life!
by theglamscientist | | beauty, beauty business, business, consulting, cosmetic chemists, cosmetics, cosmetics industry, Glam Life |
At some point in our lives, I think we’ve all been drawn in to a fictional tv show; whether your taste is Scandal, Sex and the City or Glee. Have you ever considered the thought, research and effort that go into the development of your favorite characters? I mean, when you really think about it, those characters are not REAL. They don’t live in the real world, yet they have a personality, a culture, values (or not), careers, friends, taste in food and clothes. Everything that makes you and I human is built into each fictional character so that they feel real to us. We are able to develop a connection to fictional characters because the writer took care in developing a complete character.
*Stay with me, I’m going somewhere with this.*
But they don’t stop there. Once the characters are developed and the scripts are written, the actors get to know the characters. My fiancé happens to be an actor and I was once lucky enough to sit in on a character analysis. It was one of the most intriguing things I’ve ever witnessed. I watched as the writer/director posed questions and scenarios to the actors who responded as if they themselves were really the character. Actors really become their characters on set.
So how does this apply to your beauty brand? Well, your brand needs a personality, it needs values, it needs a culture. Your customers should be able to get to know your brand like they get to know their favorite tv characters. Is your brand classic? Or does she respond to trends? What kind of customer would your brand make friends with? Where does she shop? What does she eat? Does your brand feel connected to the community or is she more drawn to a specific audience? Get to know your brand BEFORE you introduce her to the world. Give the world something to connect and hold on to. That’s the first step to creating a loyal brand following.
What methods have you used in developing a personality for your beauty brand?
Here’s to the Glam Life!
by theglamscientist | | beauty, beauty business, business, consulting, cosmetic chemists, cosmetic science, cosmetics, cosmetics industry, Glam Life |
Before you dig into this post, take a minute to ponder these three words- Best, Popular, Profitable. What comes to mind when you read each of them? *jot that down*
What is your main goal for your beauty brand? Do you want to be the best to ever do it? Are you seeking popularity? Or would you much rather be profitable? You can have it all, but you should start with what matters most and retrofit the rest.
I believe if I do my best work, it will earn me profitability because of the quality and value I would pour out to the clients I serve. Doing so creates loyalty and word of mouth marketing. When you’re creating something of value for your tribe, you’ll gain popularity. Let’s face it, all of us want to be known for something whether we’re willing to admit it or not. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be popular, especially for something you give your all to.
Consider these elements when you’re sitting at the drawing board planning your beauty brand. Give your best to each point in the process. Select superb formulations, research and implement the most effective marketing strategies for your product type, create a unique and compelling brand culture and match all of your visuals and copy to that culture. Your packaging, logo, website, presentation of product claims and promo materials should all be a reflection of your brand’s best work. If you do, the profitability and popularity will fall in place. It’s quite a glamorous cycle!
Here’s to the Glam Life!
by theglamscientist | | beauty, beauty business, business, color cosmetics, consulting, cosmetic chemists, cosmetics, cosmetics industry, esteem, Glam Life, startup advice |
There’s just no way around it. If you want to succeed, advance, learn, be a leader; you must read. I’m willing to bet if you interviewed the top beauty brand owners and leaders you’d find they have a list of reading material that played a role in their success. Someone like you that is on a quest for success and advancement in the cosmetic industry has to be intentional about your reading. Not just any book will do. I like to have an arsenal of reading material so that I know or am learning a little bit about everything that applies to my direction in life. I always set business and personal goals for the year. I use those goals to guide my reading. Not only should you select books that matter to you right now, but you have to read with an open, active, critical and investigative mind. It’s not so much about what’s written on the page as it is what those words spark inside of you. Pay careful attention to the sparks.
So what should you be reading?
The key to a successful business is to have a healthy personal life, a productive business life and to be knowledgeable in subjects that affect your beauty business.
I recommend reading self help books and/or blogs that build and maintain your self esteem. This kind of reading will teach you what to say when you talk to yourself and how to protect yourself from negativity. You can also look for blogs written by life coaches and lifestyle brands to help you maintain an inspired, motivated and positive outlook.
I also believe every business owner or aspiring business owner will benefit from reading marketing and branding material. Find books whose title and description speaks to you and where you are right now. Look for bloggers whose voice/style is reflective of yourself or someone you can see yourself being friends with. This will be easy reading for you and these nuggets can be dropped in your inbox daily. I personally like dry humor, a touch of sarcasm, or high energy. Marketing bloggers are really good at that.
Finally, you’ll need to read material that applies directly to your industry. You’re reading this blog so I’m willing to bet cosmetics is your industry of choice. Luckily, our industry has a lot of trade publications to keep you in the know. I’ll list my favorites below. Being apart of this industry means you get to read fun, girly stuff, too. Your favorite fashion/lifestyle magazines will all touch on beauty in every issue. What you do with the information will determine if it is golden or not. Here’s a TGS secret… It’s ALWAYS golden. *wink*
My favorite trade publications:
GCI Magazine
Cosmetics and Toiletries
HAPPI
What are you reading right now? Drop your favorite blogs and book titles in the comments for all of us to enjoy.
Here’s to the Glam Life!
