5 Things You Should Know as You Enter the Beauty Industry
The beauty industry is growing at a rapid pace—especially so with increasing digital penetration connecting us all over the world. Brands are looking to tap into new markets in the technological era that we’re currently living in. Suppose you’re an entrepreneur who wants to break out into the industry—what should you keep in mind? What are common pitfalls that you should be aware of?
If you’re in this boat—this article is for you. We will dive into 5 important considerations to make as you enter into the beauty business world.
#1: Be agile and adapt to the speed of the business
What constitutes ‘ideal’ and ‘desirable’ often change quickly within the beauty world. Fashion trends and make-up styles rarely stay the same. In such an industry environment—it’s important to learn how to adapt as a leader and as a business. Also, it’s not just the change—the market is growing rapidly, too—meaning that you have to learn more about consumer preferences in regions that you may not be familiar with.
Speed is key here. One must have the ability to make quick decisions and adjust in accordance with the trends of the market. In order to do this effectively, you need to have a business structure and plan that takes as default the rapidly-changing nature of the industry.
As we’re on the topic of speed, if you’re in the beauty business and provide barber, make-up artist, cosmetologist, colorist, or studio-related services, speed up client management efficiently and in an organized manner with the Watalook app.
#2: Be aware of what your consumer wants
It’s imperative that you understand what your consumers need if you’re in the beauty industry. Competition is fierce, and positive business outcomes often are achieved by brands that place their consumers at the forefront of their product or service.
Know the industry inside out. Educate yourself on the latest trends taking place within the beauty space. Talk to influencers and understand the kind of products their followers want. Leverage social media to actively take input from customers about the kind of changes that they’d like to see in beauty products and turn these insights into actionable business strategies.
In addition, orient your marketing and advertising to suit the customer segment that you’re targeting. Say, for instance, you’re a beauty brand that sells hair care products to women. If you’re trying to reach the professional working segment of your core customer base, provide content that speaks to them specifically. An example of this could be quick and easy hairstyles for natural hair without weaves.
#3: Focus on your product design and packaging
This is especially true for brands that operate within the beauty CPG industry. These days brands have to go the extra mile to delight their customers to stand out, apart from providing services or products that have value. Thinking of beauty as an experience rather than just a value-add in the form of a product can ensure that your customers keep coming back for more.
A way to do this would be to curate brand experiences through your product packaging and design. Provide personalized messaging, offer additional product information, and work on your packaging design so that customers look forward to the experience of receiving your product in addition to the actual product itself.
#4: Build brand engagement on social media
Platforms like Instagram and Tik-Tok are now becoming go-to content creation sites for people in the beauty space. It’s therefore important as you start your beauty business to leverage the power of social media in this regard.
Reaching out to bloggers and social media influencers to test your product and create organic content around it seems to be the digital marketing strategy that is most effective in the beauty industry currently. This helps to increase your brand’s visibility from an SEO standpoint as you can leverage all the user-generated content on different review platforms. It can also aid your on-page conversion rates for all the digital traffic that you end up driving to your brand’s main website.
#5: Prioritize innovation
Customers in the beauty industry want change and evolution. They expect brands to invest in technologies to cater to increasing customer expectations from an innovation standpoint. Given that the competition is cut-throat, it’s dangerous to be complacent if you’re doing well business-wise. Keep in mind that there will always be a competitor that can give you a run for your money with a new solution.
Constantly find ways to create new products that will solve customer pain points that haven’t been addressed before. This would, of course, require a consistent learning mentality and a disregard for tried-and-tested business ways in the industry. Stay on top of what the data and market research indicates—and pivot and adjust your business planning accordingly.
Consider these 5 things for every business decision you take as a beauty entrepreneur—it could make all the difference for your brand. We hope you got something out of this guide and found it helpful.