7 Essential Strategies to Grow Your Skincare Business
Growing your skincare business is no easy task and takes a lot of hard work and dedication. It may feel overwhelming, but indie brands are taking over, so there are many promising prospects for small brands to be mindful of.
There are strategies you can implement to become a successful skincare brand, from how you choose to manufacture your product line to how you choose a marketing strategy based on a demographic or age group.
In this article, we will take you through some robust strategies that have worked for many brands in the beauty industry, which you will be able to apply to your own skincare business to see your brand grow at a quicker rate.
Know Your Beauty Industry
We can't possibly expect our businesses to take off and grow if we don't know a substantial amount about the industry we are in. This industry knowledge won't only help you become more of an expert in your field but will help you to make better decisions for your brand in terms of marketing and choosing products.
Having a well-rounded business know how is essential to having your own skincare line and business. It is all well and good choosing to make a product because you know you like certain ingredients, but there needs to be much more thought and strategy put into your decisions.
The beauty and skincare industry is currently in a fascinating and exciting place that all small brands can use to their advantage. The consumer mindset of buying products because of a prestigious name is becoming increasingly outdated as millennials, and Gen-Z audiences sway more toward buying from brands with good ethics, eco-friendly packaging and natural ingredients.
And of course, when we say millennials and Gen-Z, your mind will likely jump to thinking of social media accounts and online platforms, as the stereotype suggests this is where we will find these generations. Well, use this to your advantage. It is estimated that beauty products have the second largest social media engagement globally for product purchasing, which leads us to our next point.
Marketing Strategy
Knowing your target market is crucial to growing your skincare business. For example, if you want to target your product line towards Gen-Z and millennial audiences, your marketing strategy will be much different than if you were targeting older generations.
As a modern beauty brand, you should consider how you will use social media to your advantage. Brands such as Glossier credit social media as one of the reasons they became so successful, so it is clear it can work.
But, not many people will engage with dull content. So, thinking about your brand concept and how you want to come across to audiences that discover you on social media is essential. Get creative with this; if your brand is centred around botanical elements, why not shoot your ad campaigns outdoors in amongst the greenery? Think of exciting lighting, soundscapes and concepts that would make someone stop scrolling and engage.
Once you have devised a content plan, you can put your marketing strategy into place by releasing content strategically and showcasing customer reviews, behind-the-scenes clips and influencer showcases.
Influencer Marketing
As stated above, you can introduce the faces of your brand in the form of influencers. Whilst some of you may find that concept completely shallow, it is a great way to get more coverage on your skincare products and drive traffic to your online store.
Influencers have the ability to introduce your skin care business to thousands of people through the likes of Tiktok, Youtube and Instagram. But, when looking at facts and figures, the driving force of female-identifying viewers on Youtube is beauty, and those views aren't coming from the big brand owners.
Instead, they are coming organically from influencers passionate about great beauty products. Don't get us wrong, some influencers have amassed extraordinary subscriber counts, but smaller influencers also get a look.
So, say you have hit a stump in your online store sales or don't feel you are receiving sufficient engagement on your social media posts. Reaching out to influencers who will use your skin care products in their videos is an excellent way for a new audience to see your products work in real-time, with a voice they trust giving positive and honest feedback. This is a side of social media marketing that you really shouldn't overlook!
Private Labelling
If you are in the very early stages of your skincare business journey or are just thinking about how to start a skincare business, private labelling could be one of the best routes for you.
As a skincare brand owner, you will want to have a say in the ingredients and formulas within your product line. But, in the early stages of your career, you may not have the funds to take on the beauty manufacturing role. In addition, doing this independently may not create a sufficient profit margin that allows your business to flourish.
This leads us to private labelling. If you become a private label, you will enlist a skincare manufacturer's help to create the exact product formulation you want. For example, let's say you want to make face oils with quality ingredients, with primrose oil as your hero ingredient due to its anti aging properties.
As a private label, you will be able to find a contract manufacturer and pitch them your exact idea. Then, they will mass produce it and package it under your brand's name at a lower price than you would likely be able to do independently.
This is a great manufacturing process to consider to maximise your profits. In addition, you will be able to sell your products to consumers as you would have previously, either through your online store or a wholesale buyer.
Skincare Business Foundations
Skincare brand owners often struggle in the early stages of their career, especially if they haven't had a business education or are unsure of how to put their ideas into fruition. If you are passionate about an industry, there is no reason why you can't pursue your dreams, but ensuring you have all the knowledge you need is essential to becoming a successful skincare brand.
This mindset is shared with Jennifer Rudd, the founder of Skincare Business Foundations. She started skincare business foundations to help others in the early stages of their business careers. With business and psychology degrees, a Certificate in Cosmetic Regulatory Essentials and her own skincare brand, she has incredible knowledge that she wants to share.
Skincare business foundations offer various services, from guides to an entire course. Depending on the knowledge you already have, you may only need the help of a few guides, or you might feel inclined to take on a complete course to ensure you have all the learnings you need.
Whatever route you choose, skincare business foundations are a great way to gain more insight into how to set up a solid business foundation and get your skincare ideas and dreams off the ground.
Retarget Your Ads
By this point, you should understand how you will market your skincare products online and reach new audiences through the likes of influencers. But, you shouldn't neglect those already engaging with your page, as they are likely to purchase if prompted correctly.
Say your natural skincare range sparked interest through a successful ad campaign, and you received hundred of clicks through to your website. If not many of these clicks ended up purchasing, you could target your ads across Instagram and Facebook to directly go to your past website viewers, which may persuade them to go through with a purchase.
Price Skincare Products
The goal of any business is to make money, so devising a pricing strategy that creates a good profit margin is essential. Making a good profit is vital for your business, as without it, you won't be able to keep the company afloat.
A standard way of devising a pricing strategy is to add up the different elements of the product. For example, consider the skincare formulations, packaging and manufacturing cost. Once this amount is added, you will need to implicate a profit margin on top of these expenses.
Usually, a 10% margin is a good figure for small businesses to set their sites on, but this is slightly different in cosmetics. In 2019 the average gross profit margin was around 50%. So, if we were going to go halfway between these two figures, we would set our profit margin to 30%. To put that into perspective, say your manufacturing costs per product were $6. A profit margin of 30% would mean your product would sell for $7.80. As you can see, this would be challenging to generate a high level of profit from, so it would be best to aim higher.
You can change your pricing strategy as you go along, but being consistent with numbers will make you more trustworthy to consumers.
Final Thoughts
There are many things to consider when starting your own skincare business, but there are plenty of ways to grow your brand to a sufficient scale that supports your growth financially and socially.
Consumer-wise, the best way to grow your business in 2022 is to have a well-planned social media marketing strategy that enlists the help of influencers and targets itself toward a specific age group through social standpoints or needs. To generate profit, it is best to look into resources out there to help you devise pricing strategies that make sense whilst paying attention to the market average.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do skin care products attract customers?
One of the easiest ways to attract customers to your skincare products is by using customer reviews in your advertising campaigns. As consumers, we want to see that the skincare products we spend our money on actually work and have great results, and reviews are the best way to show this.
How can I make my skincare products more effective?
You can make the skincare products in your regime more effective by following directions closely and using ingredients such as Ferulic acid to boost the antioxidant features of the products you are already using.
Is the skincare business profitable?
The cosmetics industry is an incredibly profitable sector to enter as a new business due to the high demand for products and the fast-paced nature of the industry. You can tap into different trends and utilise social media to ensure you target a wide range of people within your target market.