Choosing The Right Skincare Brand
Choosing the brands that get results and best
represent your business, and your ethos, is really important - and is not a
decision that should be made lightly. Choosing a skincare brand is a decision
that should especially not be made in haste.
Skincare is expensive, so it is an expensive mistake to make if you
choose the wrong one. It also doesn't look great to clients if you keep
chopping and changing brands. One week
you tell them this is the best moisturiser, the next week you are singing the
praises of something else. It is
confusing.
Also, good skincare provides a business with
great profit - both on services and the endless retail opportunities. And I think, since Covid, Facials have really
increased in popularity. Clients want result driven treatments and products and
are willing to spend on them.
Ideally when you are choosing a brand you need
to make a list of what you want that brand and product to provide you
with. It could be that it is result
driven, vegan, paraben free, ethical, environmentally friendly, well known, has
the best range of colours, is long lasting, is made in Britain etc. As tempting
as it may be don't just automatically opt for the most well known, the cheapest
or the one that everyone seems to be using on Facebook! Whilst there are
advantages to choosing the most popular just because it is well known it
doesn't mean it is the best, it may just mean the company have a big marketing
budget!
Once you have your list of what you are looking
for start your research. Obviously the
internet is a great place to start, trade magazines and trade shows are also
brilliant - especially shows as you can see the product/equipment first hand.
Contact the companies that interest you and ask to meet with their
representative,always ask for a demonstration of a facial on you so as you can
try the products and the services first hand and see how it feels for yourself.
The other thing you must always ask for is samples of their product.....you
can't sell, or use, something you have never tried yourself.
I had a really good skincare brand for quite
some time, the product was superb, but sadly the company was a shambles. The training was sub standard, every order I
ever received was wrong, I had 5 different reps in 3 years and as time went on
they just didn't meet my environmental standards. For me, as great as the
product was, all of these things combined just caused me too much stress and
hassle and it had to go. It cost me a fortune in time, and money, to change
brands, the implications are huge. New
training, opening order, updating the website etc is all very costly and not a
decision to make on a whim, but it had to be done. The final straw for me was
when suddenly the retail prices went up and all products were put in to
boxes. Nobody needed a box and it wasn't
remotely environmentally friendly. I
have spent years assessing my protocols, suppliers and so on to ensure I am
being as environmentally friendly as possible.
I stopped having leaflets printed, and posters. I have paper bags, not plastic. I try to use as little single use products as
possible (difficult now with Covid) and much more. So for the brand I had
seeming to do the opposite by adding unnecessary packaging it had to go.
The skincare brand I have now is more result
driven, paraben free, clients have commented that they have noticed a bigger
improvement and more instant differences, it is a little cheaper and not only
are none of their retail items in boxes many are also refillable. On top of this, when my delivery arrives
(which is always within 24 hour service) it is packaged in recyclable packaging
and not bubble wrap and other unnecessary plastics! It ticks all of the things
on my list when I was looking for skincare and it ticks all of the things in my
clients lists too. So whilst it was
costly it was the right decision.
Once you have a short list of brands try and
speak to others who already stock it to find out what their experiences are,
what they think about the training, what the service is like, how much support
they get from the brand and if clients like it.
This is easily done on social media groups and forums. We have all seen the nail brands that people
have bought in to that have caused serious allergies, this is largely down to a
pure lack of education on the nail techs part, but nonetheless they are well
marketed brands, used by many and long lasting.
I would also suggest you do some market research
with your clients to see what is important to them. They may not care about the
environmental side of it, they may be more interested in cost or whether the
brand is vegan, but as they are your target market you need to take these
factors in to consideration too.
Once you have chosen your brand make a big fuss
about launching it. Have an evening
dedicated to it and invite your top 25/50/75 clients to an exclusive launch
where they can find out more. Get the
representative from the company to do a presentation, have a demo, offer mini
treatments, have a special promotion for the evening, perhaps even do goody
bags and include some samples. You only have one chance to launch your new
brand so make a fuss about it, shout
about it and really create a buzz about it.
Just one last thing. Whilst it isn't ideal to
chop and change brands it is important to review things and ensure that the
brands you have are serving you well as a business, just because you chose
something ten years ago it doesn't mean that product is the best fit for your
business now or indeed offering all of the things your clients require. Products
advance, trends change and demands become more. If there is something better
out there for your clients don't be afraid to introduce it. If you don't the salon down the road will and
your clients loyalty will only stretch so far if she isn't seeing the results
she wants.