The Covid-19 reality has marked a new present and future, full of new challenges for companies in the African Beauty Ecosystem. One of the main pains has been accepting the face mask as a government enforcement, or even accepting it as a new beauty accessory as some would say.
Other pain has been facing the sharp increase in demand for different products and the impact on the management of market supply chain to businesses and direct consumers. Now, participants must adapt to this new behaviour in a digital context to increase exposure and facilitate easier delivery channels.
So, how can we transform the channel and increase sales? Our answer is a digital transformation approach.
It seems unthinkable to transform the usual offline one to one engagement to a digital and mobile approach doesn’t it? By remotely training our staff and affiliates we believe we can increase service awareness and delivery and further promote an environment of increasing customer satisfaction.
According to several surveys, more than 70% of customers say that product knowledge is what they need from their sales staff. And over 50% of customers seek expert advice when they are looking to purchase a service or product. By enabling a digital atmosphere companies are not only training their staff but also enabling the environment for expert advice and customer satisfaction.
So, where is the beauty part in all this? And how will this help your beauty business? Here are some key take-away for African companies and African beauty entrepreneurs.
#1 – Stay connected with customers
The new challenges presented by the “new normal” force beauty professionals to step up to customers’ and business needs and to engage, impact and measure satisfaction throughout the buying cycle.
Through OOSYN platform it’s possible to deliver relevant content about: area of expertise, brand, product lines, and key information in a meaningful way. How does it work? Transform your key information into small doses of content and deliver it through your unique profile to people who are ready to engage with your service or product.
#2 – Develop a mindset of a Subject Matter Expert (SME)
In a digital context of continuous change, it’s essential to update on new trends. While the benefits of a single point of information about your industry is imperative to self-development, your customers still expect to be waowed by their provider.
Bringing in new information and technics demonstrate a level of passion and engagement to the business. Also customers appreciate and reward such level of reediness and responsiveness.
#3 – Focus on results and satisfaction
As a beauty professional do not forget that you are part of a service industry. From a business point of view, what benefits and results can you get from implementing this kind of strategy?
It’s no secret that greater knowledge about your area of expertise or product increases the involvement of affiliates, partners, and staff in recommending it. A fact that translates into better sales performance.
Building loyalty with an increasingly demanding consumer audience is not an easy task, which is why beauty companies and beauty entrepreneurs in the beauty economy must invest efforts to transform channel staff into subject matter experts.
Also, creating online profiles for representatives and ambassadors will greatly facilitate consumer preference and loyalty to your business.
#4 – Measure performance
You’ve got the passion, you’ve managed to have a curated online presence, and you’ve also mastered the knowledge and technics required to grow your business. Now is time to ask…is my business growing?
Through measurement of key performance indicators companies and entrepreneurs will discover areas of growth and areas where they are falling behind.
The OOSYN user console provide users with key information and relevant KPIs to monitor and measure business activities. Through the website Contact Us Form providers can also share concerns and receive support in key areas of concern.
Blogger’s conclusions
The current environment in which beauty companies find themselves highlights the importance of incorporating a digital transformation approach to connect with consumers, create new channels of communication and increase sells. We have seen through two programs how to impact channel partners and internal employees -to turn them into brand ambassadors and subject matter experts.
