StartupTalky

Tag: market trends

  • How to Level Up A Cosmetic Startup? – 9 Best Marketing Hacks

    The Cosmetics Industry is no longer what it used to be. It is constantly developing & changing itself to fit the expectations of its customers. The increased awareness of people regarding beauty products has forced the cosmetic brands of today to be more inclined towards using organic, cruelty-free & natural ingredients in their products.

    Moreover, it is believed that by 2027, this industry is projected to reach $463.5 Billion. Insane isn’t it? It is no surprise that this billion-dollar industry is very lucrative & requires technological advancements. The cosmetic industry is very dynamic & competitive. You definitely need to lace up & adopt marketing strategies that differentiate you from the crowd. Your marketing strategy should give your startup an edge over your competitors. If that’s what you are looking for, then you are going to love this. Happy reading!

    Personal Branding
    Content Marketing
    Collaborations
    Influencers
    Referral Marketing
    Affiliate Marketing
    Guerilla Marketing
    Packaging
    Trends

    Personal Branding

    A good & positive Personal Branding can benefit & add a new resource to your marketing strategy. It can bring in extra PR. When you started this startup, you might be filled with so many dreams & aspirations, why hesitate to spread the word about it? You can write blog posts pouring out all your expertise about cosmetics, and tell your story on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook & Instagram. When you share your knowledge about your field, you position yourself as an authority in your niche in the long run. Moreover, this can also help you build and maintain good connections with other influential people in the cosmetics niche.

    How to Avoid Bankruptcy While Runnig a Startup
    Struggling to manage your budget during your early days of startup? Check out this post to avoid bankruptcy.
    StartupTalkyParnas Ghosh

    Content Marketing

    You need solid Content Marketing to promote your business. The content should be relatable & engaging, at the same time, it should be creative enough to grab attention. Consider creating a ‘how-to‘ or ‘DIY skincare routine‘, or just build a newsletter that is subscribed by your potential customers. You can use this subscriber list to send out interesting content about your industry as well as promotions, coupons & discounts to your potential and loyal customers. Not just written, but video content is a great way to gain engagement & increase brand awareness. However, with the decreasing attention of people, make sure your videos are short & crisp.

    Collaborations

    In the present times, entrepreneurs are realizing the power of Cooperation and Collaboration and are using it to the fullest. Collaborating with salons, spas, hotels, and other beauty and fashion companies will not only boost your sales but will also increase your brand awareness, and build trust & credibility among your target audience. These collaborations mutually benefit both parties, and this is portrayed by one of the trendiest collaborations of all time – NYX Professional Makeup x Netflix ‘La Casa de Papel’ (Money Heist). The renowned makeup brand went all out, from getting content creators to creating different looks to even changing their profile picture. The collaboration of these two fandoms was all over Instagram. Additionally, this collection was available exclusively on Nykaa in India.

    Influencers

    Now that we are talking about Instagram, we definitely can’t skip Influencer Marketing. This is an amazing strategy used by businesses of all sizes. From big multinational companies to small businesses and even startups collaborate with influencers in their niche & reap the benefits. Influencers, especially micro-influencers, have built a community of people who trust them, and your chances of getting more sales & brand awareness increase. In the cosmetics niche, make-up artists & other beauty influencers would be the right fit for you. But before getting into business with them, you must analyze important data about them. You can analyze the potential, influence, followers, and engagement of the influencer of your choice on Social Media.

    Referral Marketing

    Referral Marketing is a very strategic marketing tactic that is adopted by different kinds of businesses. In these marketing campaigns, you reward the customer for referring or spreading the word about your startup to others. Consider this as a win-win situation both for you & your customer because the customer gets the reward & you get the word-of-mouth advertising. Not just this, this type of marketing is considered to be the most influential form of marketing. Don’t worry! The rewards do not have to bankrupt you. They could be in the form of points, discounts, coupon codes, & similar benefits. You can use your creativity & curate interesting & engaging offers for your customer which encourages them to refer your startup to others.

    Affiliate Marketing

    Affiliate Marketing is the process by which an affiliate earns a small commission in return for marketing a product/service for your startup. The sales made by an affiliate can be tracked through their affiliate links. You can even include influencers in your affiliate program where the influencers are provided with a special code & they get a small commission for every sale you get through their code. You can also include an affiliate program on your website where anyone can sign up for your affiliate program & earn a small commission by bringing sales to your startup. This small commission motivates the affiliates to drive more & more sales, thereby increasing your sales as well as marketing your startup.

    Guerilla Marketing

    In simple words, Guerilla Marketing is presenting yourself in a way that differentiates you from the crowd. This requires not much money, but a lot of creativity in order to benefit from this type of marketing. Among other things, something that you must consider is the strategic selection of the location. Many brands have resorted to creative guerilla marketing tactics for their business. From graffiti & chalk arts on walls to billboards, guerilla marketing has no limitations. You can even use your wit & outsmart your competitors.

    Packaging

    Your Packaging has a big hand in influencing the buying decision of the customer & also helps you make a lasting impression on the buyer. Make your packaging very creative, attractive, unique & catchy. Your packaging should differentiate you from your competitors & should represent your startup. Keeping this aside, your packaging should also be budget-friendly. Being a startup you might not have many funds available for expensive packaging, however, there are many cheap yet classy packaging options out there. Last but not the least, since it is a cosmetics startup that we’re referring to here, the packaging of your product should be such that it is very convenient to use for the customer.

    In this era, if you are not keeping up with the latest Trends, you are surely missing out on a chunk of deals. You have to be well informed about the latest happenings in the cosmetics industry. Keep a track of what are people searching for as well as, spending the most money on. Customization & Personalisation are two such trends that are gaining a lot of popularity right now. The best way to retain & gain new customers is to give them what they want. Make sure you research the latest trends & adapt them to your business. Use your creativity to satisfy the consumers by meeting up to their expectations and giving them exactly what they were looking for.

    Top 10 Leading Cosmetics Startups in India
    The cosmetic industry is thriving in India. Check out the top cosmetic brands in India that are leading the beauty industry.
    StartupTalkyDamini Bhandary

    Conclusion

    If you are planning to make a mark in the cosmetics industry, you have to consider a combination of both online & offline marketing strategies. You will constantly face challenges & you will have to prove why your products are worth a try. A competitive industry like cosmetics includes all kinds of big & small players, new products are being launched every other day. Thus, you have to think out of the box & give your customers a reason to shop from your store. Nevertheless, running a startup is definitely not an easy task & we hope these strategies help you in getting to where you want to. Good luck!

    FAQs

    What are the new changes in the cosmetic industry?

    Cosmetic brands of today are more inclined towards using organic, cruelty-free & natural ingredients in their products.

    What is the estimated net worth of this industry in the future?

    It is believed that in the next 5 years, by 2027, the cosmetic industry is projected to reach $463.5 Billion.

    What are some of the best marketing strategies to follow?

    Content Marketing, Referral Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, and Guerilla Marketing are some of the best marketing strategies to follow in the cosmetics industry.

  • Comprehensive Guide to Analyse Your Competitor’s Marketing Strategy

    When you decide to begin with your own startup, there are a few things that cannot be avoided. You must have heard that there is a lot of competition when you thought of starting up your own business in that field. This is the time you need to realize that, you need to build up a new skill to land your startup in success.

    One of the skills is Analysis of your competitor’s marketing strategy is a skill which is extremely useful for any sort of business you might have entered. On the other hand, analysis of your competitor’s marketing strategy is a crucial step which if once analyzed, brings you halfway to your success. You need to make sure that you look outside the window and analyze what others are doing and know their strengths and weaknesses. In this article, we will provide you with a guideline on how to analyse your competitor’s marketing strategy. So let’s get started.

    What Is Competitor’s Marketing Strategy Analysis?
    What All Does This Analysis Comprise?
    Benefits of Competitor’s Marketing Strategy Analysis
    What Is the Process of Analyzing Competitor’s Marketing Strategy?

    What Is Competitor’s Marketing Strategy Analysis?

    Competitive analysis in simple words refers to– a well-structured evaluation of your business environment that includes the competitor’s company, it’s offering, and most importantly its marketing strategy. It is the art of knowing how well the other players of that particular field are doing in the market. Most importantly look for the spaces they are creating for you to grab the opportunity to dive into and come up better than them by providing something more valuable.

    What All Does This Analysis Comprise?

    Competitor’s marketing strategy analysis involves qualitative and quantitative data that is very crucial. The goals and missions of an organization depend upon it. Most importantly, how will the goals be achieved, i.e., what will be the strategy to effectively and efficiently achieve those goals is also formulated in accordance with the data collected. It involves answers to various questions like-

    • What are the competitors good at?
    • Where do the competitors lack?
    • How to make sure that they don’t steal away your customers?

    Benefits of Competitor’s Marketing Strategy Analysis

    Analysis of competitor’s marketing strategy is a crucial step for all businesses big or small. It must be done cautiously. As, it deals in the collection of the most important data, upon which the organization’s strategies are based upon. If done appropriately, it gives out plenty of qualitative and quantitative data that will help your own crucial business decisions. Analysis of Competitor’s Marketing strategy is important in many ways.

    Identify Opportunities

    Why choose your brand? This question plays a significant role in separating you from your competitors. A good analysis of a competitor’s marketing strategy gives you an insight into what unique would customers find in you. So that, they choose you over your competitors.

    Competitor’s marketing strategy analysis creates a significant opportunity to identify gaps through analyzing data. Create a new product category to bridge the gap between what your competitors offer and what the customers need.

    Know Strengths and Weaknesses

    You have a great opportunity to find out, where do the competitors lack by analyzing the collected data. Improve your product by capitalizing on competitors’ weaknesses customers complain about. It helps you create your own Unique Selling Proposition. You must learn from their mistakes and make sure that you do not repeat them at any cost. The focus must be on consistent learning and improvement simultaneously. By this, you can easily come up with a distinguishing identity in the market.

    Position of Your Business in the Long-Run

    As your brand expands, the expectations of your customers from you also increase. This opens up an opportunity for you to position your business in the long run. When you create a distinguishing identity. Through competitor marketing strategy analysis, you get a chance to get to know all their weaknesses of them, which is an edge for you over your competitors. You need to overcome all their mistakes that will help you position your business in the long run by creating a faithful image in the mind of the customers.

    You get to know what is going on in the market. It, therefore, helps you to keep with the pace and follow contemporary methods. You must eliminate the usage of obsolete and traditional marketing strategies. It helps you uncover market segments that aren’t fully served by competitors. You need to focus on that and work upon the loopholes of the competitors.

    Motivation

    By analyzing what your competitors are doing, you get to know their position in the market. They set a benchmark that helps you measure your standards and take corrective action wherever required. The presence of competition in the market gives the inspiration to work consistently. It gives a thrust to keep on striving to do better.

    What Is the Process of Analyzing Competitor’s Marketing Strategy?

    This guide on analyzing competitor’s marketing strategy works well for startup founders, entrepreneurs, business owners, marketers, etc. Including certain tips on where to look for data that isn’t publicly available, this guide consists of a step by step process of how to go about analyzing your competitor’s marketing strategy-

    Identify Competitors of Your Industry

    The first and foremost step is to determine who your competitors are. You need to pick the right competitors who are pitching similar products or services targeting a similar category of customers. To simplify, divide your competitors into two categories: direct and indirect.

    Direct competitors are those, who offer a product or service similar to that of yours who works as a substitute for yours operating in your same geographic area. Whereas, Indirect Competitors are those who provide dissimilar products that can be used as an alternative to satisfy the needs of the customer. You need to realize that Direct Competitors are to be paid more focused.

    Wondering how to identify direct competition? Here are the steps to follow-

    • Analyze search engine results (SERPs) for similar product queries.
    • Have a look at the market share analysis.
    • Have a check on who is sourcing products from the same suppliers/wholesalers as per your plan.
    • Keep a note of brands that use your target buyers the most.

    Determine What They Offer

    Product or services offered is where the heart of any business lies. Therefore, it is the best place to start with. A deep analysis of the competitor’s complete product line or services offered must be done. Along with this, there must be an eye upon attractive benefits that they offer along with the product and service which tends to attract their customers.

    Analyze Their Tactics

    Existence in this competitive market is quite difficult. Certain tactics are used by market leaders to achieve heights. Therefore, the focus must lie on the following questions-

    · What does the sale procedure look like?
    · What are the channels of distribution used by them?
    · What are the tactics that earn them the most advantages?
    · What are their customer relationship management techniques?
    · What are the lucrative offers they offer to their customers?
    · How do they manage interpersonal relations?

    These are a few helpful pieces of information that give you an idea of the tactics that the competitors apply. By knowing this, you can get an idea about how to go about to form own strategies.

    Analyze Their Pricing Strategy

    Price is the most important element. It is the value that the customer pays for the product or service. Pricing must be done very carefully as it depends upon certain major factors. Due care must be taken upon how the competitors tackle those factors and price the offerings.

    Determine Their Marketing Strategy

    The productivity of businesses depends upon the marketing strategy that is used. There must be knowledge of marketing strategies being applied by other players in the market. With the advent of technology, most businesses use the internet for marketing. The online world opens up the doors to meet a vast audience. Observe the competitor’s website, the way of content marketing, social media marketing, etc.

    Use Spying Tools to Know Your Competitor’s Strategies

    Various online tools and methods are available online which help you be aware of your competitor’s strategies. Spying tools can be of great help for this. One of the popular spying tools is AdSpyder. It helps you spy on your competitor’s ad strategies on different platforms. The platforms include Facebook Google, Youtube, and Instagram, and also search engines like Yahoo and Bing.

    AdSpyder – Spying Tool

    Perform a SWOT Analysis

    SWOT Analysis is a great tool to envision how to get an edge over other businesses. SWOT stands for Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. When you have an overview from all these perspectives, you are on the right path to success. The analysis must comprise of following areas which are not exhaustive-

    · Customer experience
    · Online marketing strategies
    · Pricing strategy
    · Content strategy
    · Promotion strategy

    Conclusion

    The main objective of this article is to pay attention to the opportunities that the competitors are missing. One must learn to take advantage of the competitor’s weaknesses through the strengths of own. The market is highly dynamic which demands routine running of the competitor’s marketing strategy analysis. Competitor’s analysis is a multi-facet process, which if well-executed can land you towards productivity.

    FAQs

    What is Competitor’s Marketing Strategy Analysis?

    It is the art of knowing how well the other players of that particular field are doing in the market.

    What is the importance of Competitor’s Marketing Strategy Analysis?

    Analysis of competitor’s marketing strategy is a crucial step for all businesses big or small. It is important in many ways.

    How to Position a business in the long run?

    Business need to overcome all their competitor’s mistakes that will help you position your business in the long run by creating a faithful image in the mind of the customers.