Marketing Professional Skin Care: A Formula for Success

Karen Doskow of Kline Research offers tips on keeping skin care revenues afloat.

Written by Karen Doskow

Author bio: Karen Doskow is industry manager, consumer products practice at Kline.

The professional skin care market faces more complex issues than ever before. Challenges brought on by the recent economic recession resulted in an overall market decline of nearly 10% after several years of healthy growth. Consumer patterns that impacted market sales include a decline in the frequency of visits to spas and aesthetic physician’s offices where products are typically purchased, a shift to lower-priced brands and stretching out product purchases until the last drop is gone.

Although the professional skin care market is facing a difficult period, marketers continue to dedicate valuable resources to developing innovative, new products that can warrant premium retail prices. Growing sales in such an environment also requires competitive marketing activity such as high levels of account/customer service. Service often equates with good customer loyalty in return.

Consumer education is also a key element to a successful plan. In order to do this, manufacturers should adopt a thoughtful strategy that includes direct marketing. Marketers will find that the different social marketing vehicles such as personalized emails, special events, blogs, and mobile marketing can be very useful for conveying a product message. Ubiquitous social media such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter also help to reinforce brand imaging and get the buzz out on new products.

In order to keep revenues afloat, marketers must stay ahead of the curve with product innovation and by creating new opportunities to reach their more sophisticated consumers who recognize the value in this specialized group of brands.

Kline’s recent report, “Professional Skin Care 2009 Global Series: Market Analysis and Opportunities” provides an overview of key trends and new product launches, sales for take-home and back-bar products, brand sales by channel as well as examination of category and brands sold in professional outlets such as spas and salons; dermatologists’ and plastic surgeons’ offices, or beauty institutes.

More information: www.klinegroup.com