What is the future of the beauty sector?

The future of the Hair & Beauty sector: how it is evolving in today’s complex scenario

The era we are living in is probably one of the most particular in the recent history of Italian
enterprise. The future of the beauty sector is riddled with unexpected challenges,
resulting from the continuous limitations on business that prevent face-to-face contact with
clients and impose restrictions on meetings, training courses and conventions.
This scenario has forced many Hair & Beauty industry players to think outside the box and
find new ways of doing business. In some cases, this has also profoundly affected the
strategies adopted for approaching foreign markets.
In order to better understand the future of the cosmetics industry and what is happening, I
carried out a survey among the sector businesses with which I am in contact. Today, I
would like to share the results of that survey, which provide useful insights regarding the
way our industry is evolving, as well as the prospects for the near future.

EMOTIONAL ASPECTS

If the COVID-19 emergency taught us anything it is that we cannot just sit back and wait for
things to happen. Paralysis is not an option, especially in at a time when the restrictions do
not have a certain expiry date.
As proof of this, just 9% of companies stated that they have continued working as
they did before, while 18% are still in a state of confusion, without a clear direction to
follow.
The remaining 73% of Marketing executives recognise the need to find new ways of doing
business. This awareness is accompanied by a positive outlook: instead of seeing change
as a roadblock, they consider it an opportunity for the future of the cosmetics sector.
Jim Collins, author of the bestseller ‘Good to Great’, which is based on a decade of
research into the success factors that characterise successful companies, believes that
all the companies that have achieved excellence in business started out by recognising
the problems they were facing, looking them straight in the eye and, with the same
rationality, considering the potential options for action, absolutely convinced that they
would ultimately succeed.

So we need to be optimistic, but at the same time get to work.

In the knowledge that the scenario has changed and is ever-evolving, we first and
foremost need to rethink our relationship with markets and clients.

This was the purpose of the second question of the survey, aimed at investigating the
way companies approach foreign markets.

COMPANIES’ APPROACH TO FOREIGN MARKETS

The need to look beyond the local market is obvious. Businesses are reviewing their
strategies towards foreign markets, which are increasingly essential for the future of the Hair
& Beauty industry.

● 27% of companies are yet to make decisions regarding foreign investments.
● 18% of companies have maintained the same policy as before the emergency.
● 55% of companies are increasing foreign market investments, by broadening
their range of action thanks to digital technologies.

The fact that none of the respondent companies has decreased foreign investments is a
clear sign of the confidence in global opportunities, especially thanks to the use of digital
channels that simplify direct relations with consumers.

Now is not the time to back down, if anything it is time to step on the accelerator, diversify risks and place bets on different tables.
The ongoing emergency is shaping a new scenario and we will suffer it less passively the more we actively help to create it.

This led to the third question in my survey, which aimed to investigate how communication with clients and the use of traditional channels has changed.

To find out more about the opportunities associated with foreign markets, read this article on
international strategies, which focuses on how digital technology is revolutionising the global
approach.

THE APPROACH TO CLIENTS

The restrictions imposed by COVID-19 legislation have put face-to-face relations with clients on hold. However, this situation has had one positive repercussion: the widespread adoption of technology even by those who used to be more reluctant to use digital tools.

Motivated by need, thousands of people have turned to Internet to look for products, information or simply that ‘human contact’ that they can no longer get face-to-face.

The opportunity for cosmetics companies is, of course, making sure they are found. Making sure they are found with a marketing strategy that is strongly based on two pillars: content and relationship.

The former aims to provide points of reference for the company’s specific target (intended as both its consumers and its distributors and other business partners) and achieve better cohesion and relational closeness with it.

This may translate into a considerable competitive advantage when the economy gets back on its feet, first and foremost because we can be sure that when it does start working again it will be in a completely different way.

Hair & Beauty sector companies seem to have realised this, as the answers to our survey mention myriad initiatives aimed at strengthening relations with their target audience: new newsletters, online education, webinars and more intense communication through social media channels.

Once thing that appears not to have changed is the style of communication, with each company staying true to the approach adopted before the COVID-19 emergency.
In other words, there is no space for the virus in our messages, in our bubbly, sparkling world.  And, I might add, thank goodness!

THE APPROACH TO INNOVATION

Last but not least, we wanted to investigate how cosmetics companies aim to overcome the obstacles posed by the main restrictions: those regarding consumers, who are finding it increasingly difficult to buy in a traditional manner, and those affecting stockists and distributors, which are almost completely prohibited from meeting our companies at trade fairs, training courses, workshops and congresses.

Once again, the key word is ‘online’!

● Live or recorded webinars and digital courses are the new training frontier for intermediate customers.
● Online shops and e-commerce platforms are the new shopping options that direct consumers straight to the manufacturer.
● Some particularly proactive brands are organising digital trade fairs using video conference platforms.

In other words, we are witnessing a revolution and – whether we like it or not – the effects of all this will stick around far longer than any virus will.
What were initially innovations dictated by need are likely to change customers’ purchasing habits or the way we receive training from manufacturers forever, not least because – undeniably – the new methods are also more convenient.

Are we sure that consumers will go back to buying in stores when they can or that when it is all over there will be considerable shifts in online purchasing?

Are we sure that our foreign customers will want to come to Italy to follow technical courses rather than continue following them from the comfort of their offices in Madrid, London, New York or Shanghai?

The emergency is changing habits, we have to be prepared to make our old models evolve forever.

This is why it is hard to understand the ‘watching and waiting’ attitude adopted by some (thankfully very few) companies that the survey showed are still tied to the communication, training and sales methods adopted before this global tornado that is COVID-19 struck. They are immobile, waiting for the restrictions to be lifted, for us to be able to attend in- person training courses and shop in the traditional manner once again.
Something we are all hoping for but is anything but guaranteed.

Today, all of us ‘beauty’ industry players – from make-up manufacturers to those who produce skin and hair care products and packaging through to those who – like us – provide translations, are all called on to ride the wave of innovation. And this innovation often means digital technology.

It is innovation that has been imposed on us, that is necessary, but that can become a launchpad towards exponential progress, if we succeed in taking full advantage of it.
The ongoing emergency is providing a powerful drive in many industries and has to for us too, precisely because we rely heavily on leveraging innovation.

That innovation must now involve all corporate functions: not just production, but also marketing, strategy and distribution.

Those who are quickest to ask themselves how our sector must evolve will be the first to find answers.
Those who are quickest to embrace digital technology, will be the first to enjoy its fruits and potential.

What do you think about my comments?
Write to me at info@wetranslatebeauty.it
I look forward to hearing what you think and getting back to you in person!

Katiucha Boncompagni
Founder of Wetranslatebeauty.it