Gone are the days where a physical location is the only way to start a business. Now, thanks to high-speed internet and the available online platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Shopify, any business no matter big or small can be established at the comfort of your own home. Woo-hoo!
Looking to start an online cosmetics and skincare business? Well, buckle up entrepreneur, as we’ve got some handy tips for you. Let’s kick-start your business!
No 1:
Research, Research, Research
“Every person in their life has had a million-dollar idea, it’s whether you’re going to take action or not.”
Sara Blakely – Founder of Spanx
First things first, before we start, let’s get one thing straight. The beauty industry is highly saturated. As you may have already noticed, there are tens and thousands, if not millions of brands out there, all of which have their own authentic and compelling story. That’s why, if you’re looking to stand out, you’ll need to know what’s already been done. The only way to do so is to start doing your research.
It’s safe to say that nothing is new under the sun. What you have in mind, could have already been executed. However, there’s still a way to stand out. And one way you can do so is by filling a ‘gap’ or in other words, a need that other brands are not solving for their customers. If you’ve figured a way to fill that gap, that is going to be your unique selling point (USP). For example, you’ve realised that whenever you make a skincare purchase online, there isn’t anything special. No free gifts or coupon, or a personalised note. That is a gap that you can fill with your business. Perhaps you’re going to be the brand who goes the extra mile with these little gestures for your customers! That is going to be your USP (unique selling point) and that’s exactly what’s going to make you stand out from other brands. Hence, it’s crucial for you to do your research.
Here are some things to consider during your research:
Understanding brands that are similar to yours
You’re probably wondering why you should research on brands similar to yours in terms of target audiences, marketing and product – when you’re looking to be different. Here’s the trick, what you don’t realise is that, understanding what everyone else is doing gives you the upper hand when creating something even more special for your customers. If you don’t do your research beforehand, you might end up creating something too similar to your competitors. Keep in mind that your product should always address your customers’ pain points. By understanding your competitors, you’re looking for an opportunity to find a loophole in the market that you can fill. This enables you to introduce a new solution to the market that will grab everyone’s attention.
Learning from brands that are quite the opposite
It’s also important to take the time to research brands that are also quite different to yours. You’ll never know if it may spark an idea or two for your own brand. It could be their packaging, the way they interact with their audiences or the type of marketing they do. It would be interesting to pick up a few tricks to help differentiate your brand even further, and build a unique identity. This knowledge might come in handy – you might not need it now, who says you won’t need it later?
No 2:
Developing Your Brand
Great! Now that you’ve completed your research, it’s time to bring your idea to life. Branding is going to be one of the main elements of building a successful cosmetics and skincare business. Keep in mind that once you’ve decided on a brand direction, it is going to be your brand identity for a long time. So, it’s crucial not to rush this process and really think this through.
Brand Name
Think about the last purchase you’ve made. Do you remember the brand name? If yes, then that’s a great example of how important a brand name is. It is the main contact between your brand and your customer audience. It should complement your product and services as well as the brand vision. At the end of the day, your brand name can be as sophisticated as Cartier or as simple as Coca Cola but it should be something your audiences remember you for. For instance, you might associate skincare and cosmetics with brands like Innisfree or Sephora. You want your brand to be top-of-mind for potential customers.
Brand Design
Aside from your brand name, the brand design aspect is equally important especially since we live in a visual world. From colours to shapes, fonts and even your logo, all these elements are going to make a huge impact on the brand you’re building. It’s the exact tool you need to help you stand-out in your industry without the use of words and it will even strengthen your brand’s identity across the market. For instance, you’ll be able to identify Nike’s logo at the get-go. Similarly, you’d want your designs to stand out that way.
Product Planning
It’s important to take into consideration when planning your business operations. Creating a dynamic workflow will help your business run smoother.
Here are a few questions you might want to ask yourself:
- How are you going to take orders?
- Are you going to do the execution part on your own or hire a team?
- How are you planning to deliver your products?
- Do you have a strategy to organise your orders?
Once you have this a good workflow in place, you’ve created a smooth funnel for your business, knowing immediately what to do next. For instance, once orders start flowing in, you’ll know that the next step is to organise your orders by date. Then, naturally you’ll know the following step is to get them packaged and delivered!
No 3:
Start Marketing!
Are you excited to share what you’ve created with the world? Then there’s no better way to promote your products and services online these days. Thanks to the internet, we no longer have to hand out flyers from door-to-door or buy billboard ads on the side of the road. Online marketing platforms such as Facebook and Instagram can easily help us get our brand out there digitally while targeting the exact target audience we want to reach. Start off simply by creating a social media account and come up with relevant content to keep your audiences engaged. For instance, you can talk about your unique selling points or the ingredients you use to create your product. This type of content creates transparency, making it easier for your audiences to trust your brand. Additionally, you can also try to work with influencers to promote your brand as they have a large following base which could potentially boost your sales.
If you’re looking to expand your marketing side of things, you could look into CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platforms such as Mailchimp which allow you to build automated emails or assist you with sending out weekly newsletters to further ‘keep in contact’ with your audience. For instance, with automated emails, you’ll only need to set them up once on a CRM platform. Whenever there’s an action trigger on your website, it’ll alert the CRM platform to send an automated email. To illustrate, if a potential customer decides to add an item to a cart but did not check out, the action trigger of someone not completing the checkout will alert the platform to send an email to the individual – prompting them to make a purchase! Alternatively, you can look into hiring a marketing team when you’ve stabilised your business as they can consult you in your business marketing strategy and bring your business to a new level.
No 4:
Finance Your Idea
As excited as you should be, don’t forget the financing part as it is the main fuel to kick-start your business. While planning, make sure you list down every single detail that you might need for your business. This includes inventory, marketing and design. Although it feels easier to skip all that and finance as you go, trust us, there are going to be things that you’re going to miss out on. Keep track of all the potential costs your business will consume to have a clearer financial direction. Want to learn more? We’ve written an article on how you can find ways to finance your business here.
You’re about to embark on a very exciting adventure. We hope you’ve gained some new ideas or strategies on how you can start your business. Remember, the key to success is planning and a whole lot of discipline. We believe you have it in you and we wish you all the best!
