Behind the Beauty Veil

Discovering the Delightful Science of Beauty Consumer Chemistry and Why Now is Time to Get Emotional

by Alisa Marie Beyer, Guest Contributor

It’s been said that it’s a wise child that knows its father, and for beauty brands – it’s a wise brand that knows its consumer. In today’s uber-competitive and highly habit-forming beauty marketplace, competition isn’t just fierce, it’s fast. New formulas, breakthroughs, ingredients, fragrances and colors are introduced on what often feels like a daily basis, and these products beckon to consumers from off the shelf, off the page and off the screen 24/7/365. But unless you know what it is she wants, expects and demands from these products, no amount of clever marketing or bright pantones will make her your brand loyalist unless she connects emotionally.

Advances in scientific research have proven that when it comes to our decision making process, emotions are king. In fact, emotional reactions to brand-related stimuli have been measured by neurobiologists to be processed 80% faster than cognitively filtered reactions – meaning that one’s instant, emotional reaction to a brand inevitably colors the more “logical” secondary reaction*. Emotional connections make her feel special, make her feel confident and most importantly, make her believe that your brand is a brand for ‘a woman like her’ – regardless of what your competition is saying, launching or doing. TBC’s 2012 Pink Report: Let’s Get Emotional: Using Emotional Science to Segment the US Beauty Consumer has asked the questions and gone to the heart of what beauty consumers in the US are emotionally feeling about your beauty brand so go ahead – get emotional.  We promise it won’t hurt a bit.

E is for Emotions

When you think of emotions, what comes to mind? Crying? Anger? Happiness? How about joy, delight, self-confidence or attractiveness? Emotional bonds are the glue that bind our relationships, our careers, our families and our communities, so it should come as no surprise that this same depth of emotion is evident in how beauty consumers relate to their favorite brands and products. And because consumers form purchasing decisions inside of 3 seconds, understanding how these attachments are formed is a critical part of all beauty brand due diligence, from start-ups to industry leaders.  So in our 2012 Pink Report, Let’s Get Emotional: Using Emotional Science to Segment the US Beauty Consumer, we did just that. Using a targeted survey tool, we explored the ins and outs, ups and downs, and lefts and rights of beauty consumers across the US: Who are they? Where do they live? How often do they seek out new beauty products and how confident do they feel in their choices?

But we didn’t stop there. We wanted more than just the top-line stats on these consumers, we wanted to get to the heart of their deeper feelings: Where does she get her beauty inspiration? How does entering a Sephora really make her feel? If she were a beauty brand, which would she be? Which beauty brand is definitely for someone like her, and perhaps more importantly – which is not? We asked her to tell us why she’s loyal to her favorite brands, which magazines she likes to read, what shoes she wears, what color she likes, how she describes her beauty outlook and so much more.

Our in-depth research revealed not only the beauty secrets consumers were keeping (and sharing) about themselves, it also revealed the five unique emotional beauty spectrums in which beauty buyers tended to differ: Beauty Importance, Beauty Knowledge, Beauty Attachment, Beauty Control, and Beauty Anxiety. More than just an overview, these spectrums reveal why women form attachments and connections to certain brands, yet feel nothing for others – even if their best friends, mothers, and sisters all love it. By getting to the emotional heart of why beauty her beauty brands are important to her, and by proxy, why other brands aren’t, we were able to hear her side of the story, emotions and all.

By understanding how important beauty is to her, how she assesses her own beauty smarts, her level of emotional attachment to beauty, her faith in the efficacy of beauty products and her anxiety level with the sheer selection of products available to her, among other factors, we were then able to statistically validate the unique significance of each spectrum in order to identify the top five beauty consumer profiles in the US today: the Diva, the Classic, the All American, the Minimalist and the Bewildered. And guess what? One (or more) of these women are your consumers, and they are reacting emotionally to your brand. So if you want to keep her coming back for more, you’ve got to speak in language she wants to hear. It’s no longer enough to understand beauty consumers in general; you need to understand your beauty consumer in specific.

About the Author

A proven entrepreneur, Alisa Marie Beyer has built and sold three companies and is now the Founder and Creative Director of The Beauty Company (TBC) – a strategy firm that helps clients build beauty brands that women want to buy. As the “McKinsey of the beauty industry” TBC offers brand strategy and intelligence, brand identity and package design, creative writing, and brand marketing services, as well as product strategy and testing. Serving clients at every stage of development – from start-ups to 13 of the top 15 global beauty companies – we intimately understand the industry, the consumer and the market, and become an integral part of each client or project team. The publisher of the “must read” Pink Report® and WomenTrends®, at TBC we keep our finger on the pulse of the industry and offer unparalleled consumer intelligence and proven methodologies. Learn more at thebeautycompany.co.

*Digital Marketing.com, Speaking to the Consumers Heart, Not Head, 3/24/2010, accessed on 10/28/2011.

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