THOUGHT PROCESS
A U.S. cosmetics industry study discovered that Millennials aged 18-34 were twice as likely to be “heavy buyers of cosmetics” compared to older consumers.
ACTION STEPS
Tap into the Millennial consumer’s cosmetics savvy and use makeup to increase Salon Suite profits through increased service and retail sales.
The 2015 TABS Analytics study of U.S. Cosmetics found that “Millennials are twice as likely to be heavy buyers (defined as purchasing 10+ types of products a year) and (Millennials) account for 47 percent of all heavy (cosmetics) buyers.” Perhaps not surprisingly, these digital natives also prefer using digital media (blogs, YouTube, social media) to taking advice and instruction from in-store beauty advisers. As a Salon Suite owner, you can capitalize on this trend by identifying likely professional salon retail buyers near you, adding cosmetics inventory and services and using digital media to connect with and educate your target audience. Here are five tactics to deploy.
Turn Cosmetics into a Salon Suite Profit Center
1. Build a Cosmetics-Buyer Persona
Build cosmetics-buyer personas, and then identify who among your current Salon Suite client are a close match. In addition to age range, income and digital media use, think about your local area and pinpoint neighborhoods where ideal cosmetics buyers are likely to live, restaurants and destinations they like to visit and so on. The more detailed your Salon Suite’s cosmetics-buyer personas are, the more insights you will have to guide your marketing efforts and help you reach more of the ideal client types you want to attract.
The clients who are a close match to your cosmetics-buyer persona are those most likely to actually buy high quality, professional salon retail cosmetics vs. cosmetics they can pick up at mass retail outlets. They may respond well to special offers, cosmetics events, email marketing focused on cosmetics, be likely to watch short videos and appreciate any step-by-step cosmetics application postcards, flyers, blog posts, photo galleries and social media posts you create.
2. Master 5-Minute Millennial Client Touch Ups
Whether you offer 5-minute touchups as a freebie, loyalty reward or low-price add-on service, make sure you’re educating Millennial clients who fit your ideal cosmetics-buyer type about this appointment option. Even as a free sampling or end-of-service add-on, given the profit margin cosmetics sales will generate it could be the five minutes you spend here that drive up your retail to service sales ratio and make your Salon Suite significantly more profitable.
3. Use Your Blog and Website
Blogs, social media and online reviews are the new word of mouth. Make sure your website has a blog where you can post short articles, images and product-specific step-by-step instructions for applying cosmetics using the lines you carry in the Salon Suite. Use your blog to show off client looks created in your salon and post short how-to videos and photo galleries to engage website visitors.
4. Run Your Own YouTube Channel
Once upon a time video production was expensive and required special equipment and training. Today, it’s all in your smartphone. Set up a YouTube channel for your Salon Suite. Create how-to, explainer, educational and similar cosmetics-related videos demonstrating cosmetics use and knowledge to encourage local likely buyers to purchase cosmetics in your Salon Suite.
5. Use Social Media
The individuals who fit the heavy-cosmetics buyer profile are also heavy users of social media. They learn about new brands and products and engage with brands on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook, and will gladly watch the short cosmetics-instructional videos and step-by-step instruction media you create. When they do, your product-specific information as well as application instructions can lead to salon cosmetics sales from people who aren’t even in your client base (yet!) which can also turn your Salon Suite’s cosmetics retail initiative into a client acquisition tool.
6. Use Email
Segment your email list so that you can reach out to different client personas with the most appropriate content. For Millennials who fit the cosmetics-buyer persona you’ve created, segmenting your contact list then enables you to send emails with content that includes information about new colors or cosmetic products in the salon, special offers, invitations to cosmetics classes and other exclusive events to the individuals most likely to buy.