In the beauty industry, it pays to have people talking.
For Landing International, the B2B technology company that provides web and mobile tools to beauty and wellness brands to connect with buyers and succeed at retail, retailer’s beauty advisors hold the key for brands to connect with a greater, more meaningful influencer base. These advisors are quite literally where the customer is shopping for beauty, in the store and poised to lead a consumer on the shopping journey.
“For retail brands, the battle is won or lost on the retail sales floor,” said Sarah Chung, founder and chief executive officer of Landing International. “Yet most brands would rather invest in influencer marketing than in education or gratis. We think that is a huge miss because while those brands are not paying attention to wooing beauty advisors, other brands are converting beauty advisors and building an army of ambassadors.”
Unique to the beauty industry, Chung told WWD is that consumers are so often looking to address a very specific concern. And with so many brands on the floor consumers will often rely on a store advisor to help them navigate. Better informed beauty advisors are better able to help consumers who walk in with questions about brands and products.
“Given the sheer number of brands and products, it is quite difficult to stand out unless you have a solid recommendation or compelling reason to choose that particular brand or product,” said Chung. “One hundred percent of beauty advisors in our recent survey concluded that they are either more likely or much more likely to recommend a product to customers after receiving training on that product. Nearly 71 percent of respondents said that sharing their personal experience with a product is the best way to convince customers to purchase it themselves.”
The company’s survey also found that 91 percent of advisors said that customers sometimes or often ask about products they know little about. And 62 percent of respondents said the majority of customers come into stores looking for products that address a specific skin concern, showing how important it is for beauty advisors to truly understand the products.
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