In part two of this four-part series I covered how learning an advanced modality may help boost your business, in this post I’ll discuss the importance of product and ingredient knowledge.
Knowledge is power when it comes to boosting retail sales. Understanding ingredients, skin issues and the needs of buyers is essential for building a strong retail business. The retail component is not an afterthought or add-on. This is the most important part of the skin rejuvenation process as well as maintenance – good daily skin care.
Not only is it essential to have in depth product knowledge, knowing a few fundamentals in sales, marketing and even the aesthetics of display design, will significantly impact retail sales. There are a number of resources available when it comes to marketing tips and tools. Peruse marketing blogs, industry publications and see if the skin care company you use has any marketing materials or tools.
Knowing your tools inside and out
At the end of the day, however, if clients don’t see results from the home care products you recommend they won’t become repeat buyers. This is where product knowledge and being adept in skin analyses becomes extremely important.
In the skin care industry, ingredient breakthroughs and technologies coming down the pike are constant. It is vital to not only be knowledgeable of what is available, but also how these tools all work together.
While technique is a major component of effecting change in the skin, the tools are equally essential. Think of the tools as an extension of your hands, where even the most effective formula in the world can be rendered useless – and in some cases dangerous – if they are not combined or administered properly.
By mixing and matching product lines you often forfeit control, congruency, consistency, and the ability to troubleshoot. It’s also difficult to truly become savvy in any one particular line when several are used.
Since skin is a reactive mechanism, there are times it will not respond to treatments or daily skin care in the most ideal way. When this occurs, it’s difficult to troubleshoot those reactions or responses when skin care lines are mixed. In some cases, certain lines simply do not match up well with others depending on the direction of the treatment. You have to use extreme caution when using active product lines that induce a change in the skin, especially when introducing botanicals and other cosmetic applications to the mix.
Mixing regimens from one line to another may also be confusing to the client – sending the signal that “any” line will do for their skin. Many skin care formula creators develop their line with a general ingredient theme or way in which the products work together synergistically. We certainly do. Similarly, they may develop their protocols to work ideally with their line. When lines are mixed it’s difficult to achieve optimum results.
Honing your knowledge on one or two skin care lines that meet the needs of your clients will ultimately help bolster retail sales and develop your expertise.
Next week I’ll expand a bit more on ingredient knowledge.
Question: What educational tools offered by your product manufacturer do you most use? Webinars, whitepapers, in-person classes?