The dynamics of beauty marketing have changed. Our findings, on consumers’ purchasing behavior across four continents, confirm that marketing strategy is out of kilter with actual hair and skincare purchasing behavior.

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The Internet has driven a coach and horses through beauty marketing. The people are now the media. Advertising has been relegated to the back seat. The key touch points  - information and evaluation, persuasion and decision   -  have changed in number and nature.

Today's beauty buyers look for product and brand information in many different ways.

• Proof Required: When it comes to buying products, hair and skincare consumers want to see real people and learn their opinions. In what is a seismic change in beauty marketing, today's buyers must receive proof of product efficacy – how it can transform appearance. The most meaningful evidence which convinces buyers are the 'before' and 'after' photographs of real women.


• People Like-Me: Beauty buyers still want to be transformed but they do not trust the photoshopped image. Standards have become unrealistic, the level of perfection is utterly unattainable. New  beauty icons – attractive and talented, but also more 'like me' (in terms of lifestyle, hair and skin type) - are becoming very influential with buyers in each market.

International celebrities and super models are still relevant but all the retailers we interviewed confirm that consumers now reference new role models to whom they can more easily relate.


• Word of Mouth:  Buyers go to the Internet to learn from others' experiences  before they themselves buy. The most important influencers of the beauty purchasing decision are other people's reviews and recommendations. It is now a case of word of mouth via the Internet.

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The online experience exponentially expands consumers'  "circle of trust." Consumers have formed online communities which have revolutionized beauty marketing.  These groups now drive the agenda for the entire industry and are forcing companies and brands to forge a new and different relationship with buyers.

Advertising claims are much less relevant in today's beauty marketing. Marketers and advertisers must respond to a situation which is worlds apart from the one to which they had become accustomed. It used to be (relatively) easy for beauty brands to reach and influence consumers through the top beauty magazines or TV channels. The advocates or influencers were few and powerful and a tightly controlled dialogue guided the purchasing decision. But the people are now the media and there are new touch points with beauty buyers.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jacqueline Clarke is beauty market analyst at Diagonal Reports. She has been tracking the global hair and skin care market for almost 15 years.