The beauty industry has seen tremendous growth over the past decade, and there is no stopping entrepreneurs from wanting a piece of the action. This article teaches you how to build and reign your beauty brand quickly from zero, and you don’t have to be a celebrity to start your successful empire!
- Identify your unique value proposition (UVP)
The first step is to identify what makes your brand unique (here’s a hint, never compete on price!). Although this might sound boring, it will help you compete in a competitive market. For example, Fenty Beauty, the brand, started in September 2017 and quickly went viral due to its inclusivity of colours. The brand was able to tap into a diverse audience by creating product formulas that would closely match different coloured skin tones of women. Another great example is Huda Beauty, a beauty blogger turned entrepreneur who built a community through blogging. The blogs were popular as she revealed industry beauty hacks and filmed tutorials on YouTube. Building a loyal community allows you to speak directly to an audience and curate a beauty empire via repeat customers. More recently, Refy has dominated the industry with its high-quality brow collection. Focusing on one part of the face, the eyebrows, have allowed the brand to dominate this niche market. Refy has successfully launched products such as Brow Sculpt Gel, Brow Pomade and Brow Pencil.
Here is a summary of UVPs you can focus on:
- Colour inclusivity
- Community (Blogging, YouTube)
- Focus on one part of the face (Eyebrows, Lips, Eyes)
- Vibrant Eyeshadow Colours
- Seasonal colours collections (Summer, Christmas, Winter)
- Organic Products
- Eco-Friendly packaging
- Create a brand story
Create a captivating story highlighting your company’s goals, principles, and values. Storytelling is a great way to captivate customers and establish an emotional connection. Create a brand narrative that explains the purpose of your beauty company and how it can improve people’s lives or address their aesthetic concerns.
A great way to tell a story is to let your audience know how you build the business in the background. For example, viewers love to see how you visit the factory to achieve the right formula or what updates you plan to make on your next launch or website update. Doing this all on Instagram stories or even TikTok will attract a wider audience who will buy into the authenticity of your brand more. Moreover, “Ask me anything” via social media is also a great way to interact with your audience directly. Allow your followers to ask you any questions and answer the question on your stories. Be reminded if you answer on ‘Live’, the video will not stay. You need to create an archive of stories/ posts so your audience can visit your social media page anytime and read through the questions in their own time.
- Leverage social media and influencers
Promoting a viral beauty brand requires the use of social media platforms. Depending on your target audience, create accounts on sites like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat. Create aesthetically engaging information, such as how-to guides, before-and-after comparisons, and inside looks at your company. To increase your audience and credibility, team up with influencers or beauty bloggers who are consistent with the image of your company. Be sure to set a marketing budget before you reach out to influencers, and feel free to reach out to 15 minimum, so you have an idea of how much they charge. A great tip is to have a business-to-influencer contract in hand, as many small businesses have faced difficulties sending out free products to influencers with no endorsement in return. In the contract, list the time they should post and the social media platform they will use. Having this signed by both parties before agreeing to any influential work is essential.
- Encourage User-Generated Content (UGC)
You will hear more about User-generated content (UGC) as you delve into online marketing. UGC is an excellent method to spread awareness of your company and foster a sense of community.
What is UGC, I hear you ask?
Users post unique content (not brands!) to spread awareness, such as videos or pictures. Examples of this content include an unboxing on a YouTube video, a new product review, a competition, or even tagging a product in a photo.
How to achieve UGC for your brand?
Encourage your consumers to use branded hashtags or to tag your company’s social media accounts when sharing their experiences, beauty looks, or product evaluations. Repost and interact with UGC to express gratitude and build a solid consumer base. Competitions are an excellent way for users to interact, be sure to always post the winner’s social media handle when the competition is over; this ensures brand honesty.
- Offer exceptional customer experience
“We’re not competitor obsessed; we’re customer obsessed”, Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon.com.
Positive consumer experiences are the foundation of a successful viral beauty brand. Concentrate on delivering exceptional customer service, ensuring deliveries are made on schedule and securely, and maintaining product quality. Engage your audience in a conversation, answer their questions, and solicit feedback. Encourage consumer feedback and endorsements to create social proof, which can strengthen the legitimacy of your brand.
Building a beauty brand involves working with other vendors, for example, suppliers and delivery couriers. Establish a good partnership with your vendors to ensure your customers are always happy and your service level remains high. Dedicate your time quickly responding to customer service queries; your customers feel satisfied if you respond within 5 hours. To extend your service further, don’t just stick to the traditional 9-5 customer service hours; customers will likely contact you in their free time after work. Set an out-of-hours customer service hour and dedicate that hour to replying to emails quickly. If your delivery courier is late, send a small gesture such as a discount code to show your sincere apology to the customer.
