Ankita Srivastava is a Brand Strategy and Marketing leader with two decades of work shaping up some of India's best-loved brands in the beauty, personal care, and lifestyle space. When not launching new categories and brands, she can be found teaching at B-Schools, advising entrepreneurs, and evangelizing Mindful Living.
In a conversation with Women Entrepreneur India Magazine, Ankita Srivastava-Beauty, Personal Care and Lifestyle Marketing Expert, shares her views and thoughts on how technology has played a role in transforming consumer interactions with beauty and lifestyle brands, as well as the key considerations in developing a successful omnichannel marketing strategy in the beauty and lifestyle sectors.
How has consumer marketing in the beauty and lifestyle sectors evolved in response to shifting customer demands and expectations over time?
There has been a sea change across all elements of the marketing mix. The width and depth of categories adopted by consumers in beauty and personal care have jumped manifold. Brand propositions have evolved as the consumer has become more inclusive, global, and authentic. The consumer is far more aware and is asking a lot more questions. The conversations are deeper, and more frequent and the media channels are new age and fragmented compared to even half a decade ago. The rise of regional pride has led to smart marketers engaging in vernacular content, beyond the standard TVC regional language dubbing.
Given the proliferation of brands, pricing a key part of the marketing mix, has undergone dynamic change. A Vitamin C serum can be priced anywhere between a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand. We are seeing micro-segmentation and format innovation across the portfolio to address the pricing challenge.
This is where marketers must also assess their media allocation carefully. Focusing only on the conversion funnel will end up becoming a discount bloodbath if they take their eyes off building long-term brands with appropriate brand associations.
How have product portfolios in the beauty and lifestyle industry adapted to changing consumer preferences?
From two decades ago, when the go-to products were fairness creams, shampoo, kajal, and lipstick the adoption of new categories has exploded! Think face serums, hand creams, primers, beauty mists- the list is ever-growing. Men’s grooming portfolio earlier a long tail to the women’s offerings is a thriving category and rightly so!
We have seen a change in attitude towards existing categories. From the time when value judgments were passed on girls with makeup, the category is now all about fun experimentation, and excitement. Fragrances are moving out from occasion wear to everyday wear.
The consumers’ interaction with the product has deepened and her demands have become more well-defined and in line with her new socio-cultural beliefs. New platforms such as “pharmacy beauty” have emerged, a marked shift from the time when chemical-based products were considered harmful. Skin peels, once administered by dermats are now available on shelves. Herbal has been resurrected from being uninviting grandma products to their new avatar of delicious aromatic freshly made kitchen formats. Professional makeup is now finding its way into the consumer’s everyday usage. Legacy brands are extending into new categories through sub-brands and franchisee offerings.
Irrespective of the platform, there is far more product transparency in terms of composition, greater detailing of how products work and the results to be expected across brands.
In your opinion, how has technology played a role in transforming consumer interactions with beauty and lifestyle brands?
Technology has allowed access to the entire shopping journey of the consumer, a missing link for marketers in the earlier decades, deepening insights at each level of the customer’s brand and category interaction. This tracking helps in personalization, one of the key drivers for any beauty and lifestyle consumer. Whether it's skin, hair, fragrances, or jewelry, there is an increased propensity to choose a product that’s “right for me” and not just a good product from a reputed brand. Technology has enabled informed choice-making/ recommendations enhancing efficacy for the end consumer. Brands such as Future Corpare use AI for skin type analysis and customized product recommendations. Besides, technology has changed the way we communicate whether through the shopping journey or digital/ social media interactions. Filters/ VR/ Metaverse/ generative AI create entertaining content for consumer engagement across brands. Offline retail interaction has benefitted from the use of advanced CRM applications in creating and maintaining long-term customer relationships.
What are the key considerations in developing a successful omnichannel marketing strategy in the beauty and lifestyle sectors?
Not all products in the beauty and lifestyle sector are treated equally by the consumer. A robust omnichannel strategy will look to solve specific consumer barriers even as it opens up new revenue/engagement channels. Categories needing trials (fragrances, jewelry) and education (gold and diamond jewelry) benefit from personal /in-store shopper interaction or retailer recommendation. Products at the base of the adoption curve such as face washes can retail easily whether offline or online. It’s critical to assess the level of consumer familiarity with the products and how much hand-holding she needs. Most D2C brands have come to acknowledge the holy grail of offline retail.
The consumer today is expecting omni-channel communication which is designed to help her. The choice of media platforms and integrated APIs, frequency, ease, and promptness of interactions need to be carefully designed and monitored as over-communication or irrelevant messaging may put off consumers.
How has the increasing emphasis on sustainability and social responsibility impacted marketing strategies in the beauty and lifestyle industry?
The world has come a long way from the mid-2000s, when we launched the “Take Care, Garnier” campaign urging consumers to take care of themselves, society, and the planet. From a “good to do” sustainability and positive social impact have now become “necessary to do” for brands. Responsible sourcing is the new order of the day. Tracking the source of diamonds, and responsible mining are established norms. For fragrance companies, responsible sourcing of herbs, and plant extracts is a talking point. Packaging provides several opportunities to promote sustainability – 100% bio-degradable packs, recycled packs, alternatives to plastic, and refill stations for beauty products where you can bring your old packs and get discounts are some ways in which brands are contributing to sustainability.
We have seen brands appropriate relevant social “purpose” such as education, or saving water going in communication backed by foundations in some cases. One needs to carefully consider whether the purpose is indeed a good fit for the brand/ category and whether the brand can authentically deliver on its promise through the choice of products and value chain because the consumer will see through half-hearted attempts to ride on a topical “social opportunity”.
