Choosing the Right Skin Care Brand for Your Business

Choosing a product brand for your salon or spa can be tricky. The brand you choose is a reflection on the business itself and what treatments a client can expect from you.  The image that your salon projects will leave customers with a lasting impression, do you, therefore, take the leap of faith on a little-known brand? Or do you follow the crowd or choose a brand you have previously been loyal to as a therapist or aesthetician?

The large array of product brands to choose from can be a minefield of options and not all will fit your business demographic. The skincare products and services chosen for your business will need to encompass your own brand image. You should choose your range to reflect this. Maybe you need a relaxing aromatherapy based spa brand, a vegan-friendly wellness brand or one that is clinically proven? The types of treatments you want to offer and provide will begin to narrow down the suitable options.

It is very common to choose brands you have previously used or are loyal to.  However, you should not let familiarity prevent you from exploring other options nor should it cloud your judgment of a product range which may be more suitable for your intended clientele. An unfamiliar product may require some increased research, but could then find an exceptional new product that is perfect for your clients.

It is well known that selling retail skincare products will be beneficial to improving the client’s treatment results and ongoing concerns. Retail benefits not only the client but the business. The revenue from retail products is unit dependent on improving profits. A therapist can only produce revenue time-dependently; retailing well pushes these profit limitations.

When deciding for your business you need to think about what clients you would like to attract or what your client base is and what will appeal to them. Choosing the skincare brand will be a large investment and should be a large well thought out part of the initial business plan; these products will provide a large proportion of your profits. Consider all options carefully and wisely and consider how will I best achieve my return on my investment to the brand? 

The top three points of consideration when choosing a brand would be to consider obtainability, client base and research as widely as possible the whole range.

Product obtainability 

Do you want your brand to be available to purchase in major high street stores or through television marketing? 

Therapists work hard as part of their role to prescribe and offer advice on which product the client needs this time spent prescribing should not be lost to outside sources. Choosing a brand which is not available outside professional salons would be of paramount importance and a major selling point of a brand. 

Having a dedicated visible retail space within the salon creates a focal point which will begin to interest the client make this space accessible so that a client can become tactile with a product before purchase. Hiding products away making them off limits will not evoke interest. Provide options such as tester stands, tester areas or simply provide hand wash or hand cream in the toilet facilities. This enables the client to touch, feel and sample the products. To have the products available to purchase is important, the client doesn’t want to order and wait they want to leave with their new fabulous product and start to use it immediately. Stocking products in threes in nice clean straight lines sell best, these walk from the shelves. Un-stocked, dusty shelves or an overly artistic retail display is confusing and off-putting, save the artistic content for your window display. 

Choosing a line and not committing to taking on the range as a whole can have a detrimental effect. This is especially true if you choose the same product as a local competitor. A commitment to retailing needs to be made, this is not an additional offering this is fundamental to the profits your business can earn. 

Understanding your customer

Who is your customer and what do they want? It is hard to profile clients to define and choose a brand to suit all. The challenge is to pick for the widest market to see a return on the investment with a brand that provides longevity that will fit well with the services you provide and the image your business projects. 

Location of your salon and the product price point are key points of consideration.  Think about the customer and the average spends. What does the competition in your vicinity or similar business model provide? 

The treatment protocol options the brand provides will need consideration and these options will be dependent on your target clientele, for example, it would be a disservice to a salon located in a busy city if you only provide long relaxing massage focused facials when a client may want a lunch break facial. The products used within the protocols are of importance, some products should be professional only, but the core elements of the line need to be available for retail this is a balance that the brand needs to ensure so your clientele has a reason to rebook and the products can be purchased to maintain results at home. 

Consideration of trends, clients that follow trends are not usually loyal to a business or a brand however you could drop the ball by not choosing a brand that follows trends which have longevity. Brands that don’t continue to move at the pace of the industry or have the ability to keep up with consumer demands would affect the business directly if clients can’t obtain and receive the most emerging treatments and products they will go elsewhere. 

Do your research

What does the brand you are considering the offer as a whole, key questions to cross-reference would be - do they place importance on clinical trials, ingredients, luxury, targeted results, marketing tools, retail workshops, ongoing training and product ethics. It is essential to understand what products and treatments would be in the most demand; this may be a particularly well-known range or one which is results driven. Choosing a brand which provides the biggest earning potential may not be the right brand if clients will not pay the premium price. 

Take time to cross-reference brands for initial opening orders, tiered opening orders or no opening order? Can you choose the stock in the opening orders or is this predetermined? how long is training, what is included, is training free, is it ongoing, what marketing is included, do they market you as a stockist and does the brand have limitations on the distance of other stockists. 

During the research you may encounter a brand that you haven’t heard of before don’t be afraid just continue to research the brand in the same way you would the ones you have heard of, you may be surprised what you might find and after all, you will be the authority to your client.