I wanted to talk about the 4 P's of Marketing in relation to beauty brands. While this is certainly not an all-inclusive tool to use in determining what makes a brand successful, I've learned that these are 4 basic yet critical areas that should be addressed in marketing and positioning a product to meet your target market's needs.
As a customer, do you feel your needs are being met with any brand(s)? How do you feel about the marketing of these companies in general?
- Product - the product offered to the target customer, includes function, appearance, packaging, service, brand name etc.
- Price - pricing the product, this involves more than just the price to the consumer
- Place - distribution & availability
- Promotion - informing customers about the availability, price and placement of the product
This is difficult for me to generalize since I like so many different brands. I'm not sure why some brands succeed while others fail. I definitely think their marketing and product positioning have some affect. However, there are quite a few brands that have all 4 elements that just don't appeal to me.
My thoughts on each of these elements would depend on the brand. However, while I feel that a lot of companies have developed a great product, they are lacking in the other areas.
For price, I understand some brands are positioned as a "luxury brand" and other things such as quality, packaging, ingredients justify higher prices sometimes. For me, there is a clear difference between a $6 Hard Candy Eyeshadow at Walmart and a $22 Nars Eyeshadow from Nordstrom and for that, I don't always mind the higher price. However, after the recent discovery of how many bloggers get certain products for free as "PR samples for review" I have to say that this has definitely changed my perspective on pricing. Why should I shell out $65 plus sales tax on a highlighter when someone else it gets it for free just because they write about it? For this I have mixed feelings. I'm in no way criticizing any blogger(s) who receives PR materials, but after this recent disclosure policy in the US, I felt like an idiot for spending so much money on things that are given away for free.
I believe place and distribution can be a hindrance for success for many brands. Living in Southern California allows me access to most of the brands that I like. The Internet has certainly granted me access to a number of products that are exclusive to certain stores or areas. I know this is a challenge for many people who do not live near a Nordstrom or Sephora or any other major retailer. The exclusive factor can be both a benefit and detriment to certain brands. For me, exclusivity makes something a bit more special, but being too exclusive makes it a pain for me to go out of my way to find something. I doubt most women would put the same effort as me to find consumer goods.
Promotion involves so many different aspects, but I feel it is an area where most companies can improve on. Advertising can be prohibitively expensive, so is this why companies are sending free products to bloggers to get the word out because it's cheaper than launching a nationwide campaign? I think there are better ways to promote a product such as giving better incentives or educating their product reps better.
Sometimes I think I think too much. I'm not sure if it's just being in an academic environment right now that makes me over-think things. After all, it's just makeup. How much is there to think about? The fact that it's a billion dollar industry (and not just in US dollars, but worldwide) makes me curious to know what goes on behind the scenes among the marketing teams at these companies worldwide.
I understand customers can be crazy ridiculous with their demands and with so many different wants and needs, it's hard to find ways to target more than just one type of customer. Women are complicated, so how do we define what we want in a product or brand?
What are your thoughts?
this is a very interesting post. ever since i entered the, as you mentoined it, 'academic environment', i've caught myself thinking differently about certain things, or, over-thinking them as you said. a friend of mine studies international economy and has told me quite a few surprising details about advertisement and promotion.
ReplyDeletenow, about the makeup ... i've already thought about how i've never seen any Chanel ad for their cosmetic range on tv (except for fragrance, i know)--just like Dior or any other high-end beauty brand. i thought, maybe they're not in need of it? this way the brands retain their uber-exclusive status and don't become part of the daily advertisement jumble?
i guess they reach all the customers they have with their mere presence. people who are not interested in their products (i.e. paying their horrendous prices) won't change their mind because of some promotion, and people who do buy their products do so all by themselves (speaking of informing oneself via blogs etc). maybe that's why they can run so many limited edition items and launch region restricted collections, and also neglect certain areas wholly (from my painful experience as an Austrian buyer) - people will raid the net and have their products shipped to them overseas, not even minding p&p, customs and so on (yeah, personal experience again :D ).
so i guess the P i personally lack most is place, to shorten my blahh :)
(and i love your blog! i'm checking back daily from the very start and found this was probably the post to finally comment heh. you're a genius)
xx Lara
For me, it's about product and to a certain extent, place. I've been thinking about your points with my favourite brand By Terry in mind. I had heard of the brand & looked at the products but never been truly tempted until I was looking for a new foundation. I tried one on and found my absolute, perfect colour match - one which I knew was not replicated in any other brand. With this purchase, I started to invest heavily in the brand, finding other wonderful & interesting products. It was my gateway drug! By Terry is available at SpaceNK in UK exclusively, they have stores all around the country so it's not difficult for me to get - although I know they do not carry the full range. This did help me to try products easily, but since I'm in London & we tend to get exclusive counters and such, it probably wouldn't have been a problem to search it out in a specific department store.
ReplyDeleteBy Terry has a number of products which are usually shown as editors favourites in magazines & such but as far as I know they do no advertising and a lot of the fame of the line is based on the fact that Terry developed Touche Eclat whilst she was creative director of YSL. It's rarely reviewed on blogs unless the writer has made the purchases themselves and they're usually very specific blogs like yours which is great but I quickly realised if I really wanted to find out about the line, I'd have to buy and test things for myself. So whilst I think blog promotion is great, and I love reading them, for me there's no substitute for testing & using products yourself. So that shows again why placement is so important.
Price - it's not important to me because finding my perfect match saves me money in the long term & i have acclimatised to my expensive tastes. Sometimes I feel frustrated that I can not find a colour match anywhere else, forcing me to pay a premium. On the other hand, I enjoy using it and I feel the result matches the price so should I really complain?
I should also note that there's no GWP's with this line, nor many of the lines I love (though US gets a significantly better deal in this sense, we never get F&F, or any sales for example)...the MUA from BY Terry who visits my local store says the result is the GWP! and she's right! Actually she does usually give me samples/gifts but it is not the store policy to do so :D I do think that appreciation for customer loyalty goes a long way.
1. There's no such thing as "thinking too much." The fact that you think makes for a great blog.
ReplyDelete2. I really, really hated, even before the FCC got involved, all the mediocre beauty blogs in which the blogger was very obviously "gifted" some piece of junk and inanely sang its praises. So lame, and almost as bad as magazines.
3. Re the actual subject of your post (!), I actively avoid products from companies that spend millions on advertising -- e.g. L'Oreal, Lauder, Lancome. The sheer amount and obvious cost of the ads makes me suspicious of the actual quality of the products. Better education for their SAs and MAs, as you suggest, would be preferable.
I can think of only one brand that does meet my expectations; Illamasqua. They have the products, the placement (WWW rules!), the pricing is adequate and the promotion is nicely thought out (free ship, free gift, value sets, 10% off incentive and so on).
ReplyDeleteLiving on the outskirts of civilisation (aka northern Europe) means very limited access to most brands, and very bad CS. The beauty market here does not have the competition needed; we're left with snobbish SAs who act like you should be ever so grateful they let you purchase overpriced products. Cosmetic companies don't sell as much here, with the high taxes most people will limit their spending on frivolous stuff like makeup.
I have a problem with price & marketing. While I see the clear difference between the quality of a Revlon lipstick & that of a YSL lipstick, I think the marketing strategy of super luxurious products, such as a $45 lipstick, makes no sense to the average consumer. Why do companies not just improve on existing formulas? Technology is not exclusive. Over time, I would think it would be cheaper & cheaper to make the expensive lipsticks. Companies would catch on to it, and price would have to be reduced. But instead, they come out with rehashed products and new lines to keep the consumer coming. And bottom line, no one ever looked that much better with a $45 lipstick. No one can tell the difference.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this interesting post.
ReplyDeleteMy observation on product marketing; there's plenty of companies that jump into 'skincare' bandwagon offering anti-aging properties through 'science'. How much of this is really true? I had a colleague who used to work in cosmetic skincare and he said 80% of the science was BS.
Now, Price. This is usually a sensitive subject because everyone wants cheaper, more-value. But then again, sometimes having a higer price is not a bad thing altogether. 1, a higher price means you have better profitability and this generate jobs and further projects. 2, Companies segment the number of customers who can essentially purchase the product. That said, if the product doesn't offer percieved value then obviously the marketing guys need to do some more work.
Place; I have no problems in accessing anything in the world nowadays, especially with global shipping and forwarding agents. Once, I dreamt of having my hands on products we don't get in Singapore. Now, I rely mostly on global shipping.
Promotion; Companies spend horrendous amount of money on promotion which can be portioned to better causes. I suppose the ordinary customer knows Chanel, Lancome, Estee Lauder very well. Even men know it too. But it creates such a big dent on the P&L sheet, sometimes you wonder if it's justifiable. Once in a while, you hear of companies contributing back to the community - i.e. MAC Viva Glam to AIDS. We're all living in a global community, and having ethical companies is always a thumbs up for me.
Look forward to your interesting posts.
For what its worth, I value your comments more so than comments on other blogs because you actually pay for the products. I think its human nature to err on the side of praising a product when it has been given to a blogger for free. I love your blog, check it daily and value your opinions!
ReplyDeleteHi Sabrina!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post!!! I have too many thoughts about the subject but I will try to make it short:) So true that education has a big influence on us :)
1.A lot of brands have great products.
2. I am glad that I not the only one who was surprised about certain things :) You don't have to feel yourself like an idiot because you get what you want and not what is sent to you plus you write what you want and really think. Plus you are not depending on others!
3. In some European countries, especially Northern and Eastern Europe prices for makeup are VERY high and most brands are not available. I have no idea why because most women in these countries spend a lot on makeup so that's a problem of those brands! Plus there are no FF sales (at least I never heard of any).
Several months ago I was visiting one country in Eastren Europe and I payed $41 for Chanel Glossimer and everything had prices like that. I was really shocked!
4. It's the brands problem if they don't have a good promotion.
And I agree with peachgirl about Illamasqua! This brand has the most amazing people working for them and it's always a pleasure to deal with them!
I'm so happy you wrote this. I was a psych and philosophy major but I've always had a bizarre love for finance and business topics.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, product and place have always been the two Ps that appeal to me the most. I will willingly pay money for a brand that is niche and available in more upper class retail locations because I feel that makeup is my one indulgence and I want to be completely indulged. Nothing beats being recognized in Bergdorf, just as much as nothing beats pulling out a Dior or Chanel compact. Granted, this sounds snobby but it's just how I feel.
With the recent demise of Prescriptives I'm wondering just how certain brands are marketed by their respective mother companies. Prescriptives is a Lauder brand, who clearly has the money to spend on massive advertising blitzes for Clinique and Estee Lauder, etc., so why did Prescriptives fail? Especially when I think its products were in fact superior to at least Clinique's. I don't get it. Maybe had there been more GWPs - Estee Lauder herself I believe was responsible for the idea of GWPs, as well as the brilliant sales technique of having saleswomen touch their clients. Massaging in a hand cream or applying a lipstick directly on the client boosts sales. Brilliant, no?
As for the idea of using blogs/the internet in general to advertise, I'm not sure how I feel about it. I like the idea of online focus groups (I'm a member of Clinique's and Bobbi Brown's), but I'm not a fan of the constant freebies given to bloggers. Yes, these ladies (and men) put in a lot of love and time into their blogs, but when they're literally getting entire seasonal collections for free, there's something wrong. There's going to be a clear bias in their reports, and it also does reduce the appeal and value for someone who is going to be shopping for those very products. Again, that's just my opinion. I'm not saying that bloggers don't deserve to be rewarded for their hard work, but I really feel as if there needs to be some sort of limit to what they can get for free - just for truth's sake. Blogs are useless if they become as one-sided as magazines.
Thank you for your very thoughtful post. I've learned a lot from reading your blog, and your thoughts about the 4 P's in makeup are really interesting. Would love to get more of your thoughts in the future.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with Joey and applaud your efforts to open this very interesting discussion.
Being a marketer myself, I can be carried away on that kind of subject :-)
ReplyDeleteI do not agree on your price argument about some people getting it for free. If a company buys advertising space for classical ads, it costs much more to reach the target audience than sending freebies to well-selected bloggers. These freebies do have a cost, but it's relatively low compared to the cost of classical ads, and ROI can be better. So no, that doesn't bother me at all.
This being said, I don't mind paying expensive prices if the quality increases equally. I know that my Chanel foundation is better than ther Maybelline ones I tried, so I don't mind paying more. But I doubt La Mer would satisfy me in the sense that the quality gap with Chanel doesn't justify the price difference for me. Does that make sense?
What I don't get is the price difference from one continent to another. I know the logic: prices are made accordingly to what the local population will afford for the product. But THAT is unfair to me since production costs are identical. Why do I pay 12€ (18USD) for drugstore mascaras that are worth 10USD or 7£ ??
Place: I wish more brands were available worldwide on the web, especially when they're not distributed everywhere. Without the web I'd have no access to too faced, UD, bare minerals, benefit etc...
Promotion: again, very different from country to country. I've never heard or BOGOF here, or of F&F sales. I also think some high end brands who don't ever have promotions would benefit recruiting customers with promotion prices, those people might agree it's worth the difference and stick with the brand afterwards.
Product: my biggest frustration is products being discontinued, it's quite common in the beauty industry: out with the old, in with the new. This is actually why I left some brands. Spending time and money selling a product and then discontinue and replace it even when sales performances are good doesn't seem very sustainable to me.
I agree wholeheartedly with Emily--I tend to trust your opinions much more than I do many others, since you paid for your products. I think bloggers TRY to stay impartial when they're gifted products, but I don't think there's any way to keep it from clouding your judgment at least a little, especially when they're getting big chunks of new collections!
ReplyDeleteRegarding product and price:
I do notice some differences in OVERALL quality between brands, but I think there are a couple of gems in almost every line, even the really low-end ones. For example, ELF brushes are dirt-cheap; but I have a couple of them that I like better than their MAC counterparts.
I think some brands are really overpriced for what they are--a $30 lipstick won't really make me look better than a $10 one. I think usually where quality shows up is in texture, so that $30 lipstick may feel a little bit better on the lips; but is it worth that much more? For some, the answer may be yes, and for some (myself included), no. However, I don't regularly wear makeup--for someone who is going to wear it everyday or a few days a week, it may very well be worth that much more.
I think the margin between those 2 lipsticks is getting smaller and smaller, though, because I think its getting harder and harder to improve and I think some expensive brands are resting on their laurels and not bothering to improve, whereas I see drugstore brands trying to improve.
Sometimes though, I think you're just paying for the packaging and the brand name...and I LOVE pretty packaging, so maybe I'll pay. :)
Someone else said that high price isn't necessarily bad, and I suppose, a better profit margin SHOULD translate to better products, CS, and such...but the cynic in me says that that isn't really what happens.
What I really wonder about is this: L'Oreal and Estee Lauder, who own so MANY lines in all different price brackets...how do they justify all the different prices, other than through packaging? Is it quality of ingredients? Any improvements in manufacturing could be applied to all their products, but is it more expensive to use a certain technique/machine to create the product? I'd really like to ask someone that...
Oh, by the way, this is my first comment...I just wanted you to know how much I value your opinion!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. Regarding the price and bloggers receiving items for free, I recently got sent some stuff ( from a brand I already buy from ) and I find myself in the postion where I am almost trying to find fault with them as I worry that people will think that because I got it free they cannot trust the review.I do think its a good idea from the brands point of view as it has encouraged me to buy more from the brand having tried a wider selection, that said I do find blogs where everything they review is sent to them for free and always has good reviews not useful.
ReplyDeleteI think place it what a a lot of brands get wrong, there are several brands that are too difficult for me to get (e.g can only get them by phone mail order) that I just move onto something else.
Re: academia and overthinking -- nah! I'm an academic and run a beauty blog for which fellow profs, grad students, etc., are a good chunk of the audience, and we love to talk about this stuff.
ReplyDeleteI'm a cynic, but in the end, what cosmetics brands are selling is the maximum amount of buzz with as few actual facts as possible. In other words, they are out to fool the consumer by setting up a bunch of dots and then looking the other way and whistling innocently while consumers connect them to create images and ideas that are not actually supported by fact. Take a look at the copy of both print and TV ads: "looks healthy," not "is healthy;" "feels clean," not "is clean;" etc. Even companies' "scientific research" is presented in a way that makes it hard for the average consumer to realize how the information and/or the research itself is skewed.
But this is what most consumers want -- a) because most consumers are not terribly bright (otherwise companies wouldn't be able to get away with such misleading hype), and b) because at least in America we are so culturally conditioned to expect that someone, somewhere, has come up with a miracle in a bottle (Hope in a Jar, I'm looking at you) that we can buy and that will solve all of our problems without our lifting a finger. What companies sell and consumers buy are wishes, not products.
That doesn't mean necessarily that people should boycott makeup and skincare companies. But it saves a lot of money and disappointment to go into the game knowing the other team's tactics so you can choose whether or not to buy into them. If you buy based on product quality, rather than marketing, you are much less likely to be disappointed.