Jumping into the B2B cosmetics industry is a challenging yet rewarding step in your career. While there are many things to consider, including customer relationships, keeping up with trends and marketing it is possible to break these down and put together successful strategies to help you succeed. We will go through starting up and marketing your new cosmetics wholesale business below.
The New Cosmetics B2B
The B2B cosmetics industry has evolved along a similar path to other B2B industries.
Recent years have seen a shift from the traditional in-person corporate sales model to more online communications using marketing platforms and social media. Customers expect to be able to communicate with sales representatives via email or chat, view personalized campaigns and place orders online, including managing re-orders in a timely manner.
When launching your cosmetics distribution strategies you need the flexibility to adjust with these ever-changing online trends to keep your existing customer and attract new leads.
Cosmetics Marketing
The cosmetics trade is more than just selling to stores or salons. You will find that there are many types of businesses offering beauty services. Sometimes they may not even be advertised. Consider the following when building your client list:
1. Spas
2. Salons
3. Retailers (traditional stores)
4. Online Retailers
5. Cosmetic distributors
Also consider where these businesses might be located. Hotels might have spas and salons. Retailers might have both a physical store and an online store. Salons might also sell products direct to customers. Contacting a broader distribution channel (while still targeting your specific marketing base) can increase the number of customers.
Transactions
With the increased reliance on online platforms, the B2B cosmetics industry is seeing transactions occur as e-commerce as opposed to traditional bank or credit transfers. The benefit is it speeds up payments and decreases shipping times. It also allows customers to order when they want instead of relying on the intervention of a sales representative.
Commercial Marketing
Increasing the advertising spread of your cosmetics distribution business will certainly increase your profits. Consider expanding into the commercial market. Advertising to that demographic will increase the number of products sold by the salon and in turn they will order more from you. You can also market directly to commercial customers. Marketing directly to the commercial market can funnel them to your sales platform. They can order items they usually get at salons or even ask their favorite salon to carry your products.
Marketing Strategies
In the world of online sales there are many options available for your cosmetics wholesale marketing campaigns including:
1. Targeted advertising
2. Social media
3. Influencers
4. Emotional advertising
Recognizing which products your cosmetics suppliers are purchasing can help to target others that are in a similar demographic.
Using social media and influencers opens up additional avenues for marketing. This is especially effective if you want to include commercial sales in your cosmetics wholesale business. Influences have an additional benefit of being real-world users of the product who can provide real-time feedback. Advertising on platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram can utilize existing algorithms to target potential customers.
Emotional advertising targets how the product can make you feel or how it can meld into certain occasions. A happy story or motivational message added to the campaign could trigger happy feelings and a desire to be part of the event in the advertisement.
Distribution Channels
The B2B cosmetics industry is dependent on the cosmetics distribution channels. This begins at the factory where the products are manufactured and then shipped out to the cosmetics trade. Cosmetics suppliers need to keep an eye on these processes as any disruption in the flow of goods could prevent you from filling orders. Knowing when an adverse event is coming up allows you to order additional stock or change marketing campaigns to highlight a different product.
Growing B2B
Growth is happening at exponential rates for the B2B cosmetics industry. Cosmetics wholesale is no longer limiting themselves to B2B, they are branching into the commercial side as well. Looking for customers in social media and using Influencers increases marketing exposure. Utilizing sales and inventory Platforms that already exist in the market allow customers and potential customers to find your products and order them. Re-ordering is a breeze when stocks run low.
An important part of growing your business are the tools you use. Using a commercial Platform allows you to use their reports to gather marketing information, inventory turnover and demographics. You can then match this up to your current marketing campaigns and make informed decisions about which ones are working and which ones need to be updated or dropped.
The B2B cosmetics industry is a dynamic and growing opportunity for the entrepreneur who isn’t afraid of a bit of hard work and is dedicated to the cosmetics trade. There are opportunities that exist today that didn’t twenty years ago that make many aspects easier to manage. It is certainly an exciting time to jump into cosmetics distribution.
