Beauty Tech Boom:
· The global cosmetics industry is expected to be $873B in just three short years.
· Beauty YouTube his 168B views in 2018 – double from 2017.
· Investors pumped $303M into beauty tech startups in 2018.
Bottom line? Technology is giving the beauty industry a makeover and the market is massive.
The world’s largest beauty companies including Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, and Procter & Gamble are all embracing the latest emerging technologies, from artificial intelligence to augmented reality, to give customers a more personalized, tailor-made approach to beauty.
But there are also unicorns that are quite alluring and one that is really making it’s mark is: Glossier. This original beauty blog turned into a $1B brand last year and is on fire.
This is certainly not one to “gloss over” but to keep an eye on and possibly assist with its booming business.
Just remember, don’t stalk. Don’t hound. Don’t send a myriad of messages about yourself. So what do you do?
Build trust. Share category insights. Do some light consumer research. Offer purchase pattern eye-openers. Toss out some trends. Show your expertise and how it’s relevant. Just… don’t… sell!
Good luck and remember to prospect smAARt and pitch with passion!
I’m not sure that a day goes by without some variance of this question: What Wins the Pitch?
First, there is no one answer. Second, it varies based on the prospective client.
After completing a number of reviews last year including the highly sort after, Brown-Forman creative consolidation, there are some common threads in each of the “behind closed doors” discussions.
Keep these keys in mind and I hope they help you to win more pitches in 2020!
1. Drop the pitch team! Every executive on every client team asks the same question of me, without fail! “Is this their pitch team?” Be sure you clarify and prove that the team they meet is the team they get! Period. End.
2. It’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon! Do not try to win the pitch in one meeting. “Inch by inch is a cinch, by the yard it’s hard!” Show them your learning curve and progression meeting by meeting and even email by email.
3. Relax on the roles! An organized presentation is vital but the stronger presentation is an interactive discussion between your team and theirs and amongst your agency team to show you work collaboratively.
4. Fresh perspective is refreshing! They’re not doing a review to find a new agency and do the same old thing. They all want to “break through the clutter” and although they need security they also want distinctive and salient ideas.
During the Brown-Forman review, the client emailed this quote to the entire review committee reminding them the importance of distinctive assets: “While marketers labor anyway in their brightly-lit ‘system 2’ world of differentiation, brand image and overly clever and subtle communications, their target consumers bump into furniture inside foggy ‘system 1’ bubbles that screen out all but the most distinctive of marketing efforts”.
5. Confidence is king! I ask the same question of every client at the end of a review: “Which agency built your level of confidence from start to finish… the most!?”
Finally, all the tools, talent, thinking and more are absolutely vital. But it begins and ends on chemistry! We are in the business of relationships first and without a respectful, trustworthy, thoughtful relationship… everything else falls apart.
Pitch with Passion, Lisa
Here’s one that sounds like they could use some smart and innovative thinking.
They’re a rapidly growing company with small budgets but that doesn’t mean project work couldn’t be a positive first step.
I’ll leave it to you to do some additional homework but here are my thoughts:
Sprig Soda:
CBD edibles have taken up a big piece of the industry’s pie in the past 12 months
Sprig is now the most widely distributed CBD beverage in the USA (17 states)
Continued market expansion plans
Farm Bill passed and more competitors on the scene chipping away at market share
“Now that the Farm Bill has passed, there are a lot of brands that are entering the space, trying to cash in on a red-hot trend,” says Lisi Willner, VP of Marketing at Sprig. “Sprig has been around for almost five years now. While many of these new companies were busy standing up brands, we’ve been quietly strengthening our supply chain, infrastructure, and distribution network. As a result, many of the country’s top retailers have come to us for their first foray into CBD beverages.”
Just remember, don’t stalk. Don’t hound. Don’t send a myriad of messages about yourself. So what do you do?
Build trust. Share category insights. Do some light consumer research. Offer purchase pattern eye-openers. Toss out some trends. Show your expertise and how it’s relevant. Just… don’t… sell!
Good luck and remember to prospect smAARt and pitch with passion!
These are the top 25 Tweets as I’ve posted on Twitter this year. If you’d like more of these types of new biz lessons in 140 characters or less (although Twitter has lifted that restraint), feel free to pick up a copy of @AARLisa on Amazon. And of course, you can also follow me on Twitter.
Enjoy the Tweets and always remember to “Pitch with Passion!”
1. How do you move from (im)possible to probable to inevitable? Unwavering faith + Extraordinary effort. #newbusiness
2. Great work works when it creates a visceral reaction. #newbusiness
3. “Refuse the pitch but continue the conversation.” David Droga at AdAge Small Agency Conference #newbusiness
4. “If you have something interesting to say, people will listen.” David Droga at AdAge Small Agency Conference. The point? Don’t sell… Share your insights. #newbusiness
5. “Brilliant ideas cost less than mediocre ideas.” David Droga at AdAge Small Agency Conference. #newbusiness
6. “Clients pay mostly for your opinions.” David Droga at AdAge Small Agency Conference #newbusiness
7. People join companies but leave managers. The same applies to client-agency relationships. Clients select agencies based on business issues/knowledge and leave agencies due to relationship issues. #newbusiness
8. It’s not what you can get out of a relationship that makes it successful. It’s what you contribute to a relationship that helps it to flourish! #newbusiness
9. Differentiate your agency and avoid the problem of indifference. #newbusiness
10. Today’s Mktg Equation? Creativity + Data + Technology +++ Human Touch. #newbusiness
11. Don’t override character for caliber. Successful relationships start with working with authentic people. #newbusiness
12. How many times should you follow up on a cold email? Remember the 3×3 rule… #newbusiness
13. Own an agency? Be sure it has a focused position/point of difference. Be sure you market and not sell! Be sure to treat your current clients like prospects. #newbusiness
14. The person who is well-prepared has a much greater chance of prospering. Don’t send generic prospecting messages. Do your research. Learn their problems. Be tailored in your outreach. #newbusiness
15. When listening to a prospect, “hear their words and feel their soul.” Learn that prospect’s core values by carefully listening to their choice of words. #newbusiness
16. Failure isn’t the opposite of success. It’s the platform to success! Just be sure to learn from your mistakes. #newbusiness
17. The biggest difference between internal and external agencies? Instead of selling creative you’re manufacturing it. #newbusiness
18. Be sure to shift from swim lanes to synchronized swimming. All touchpoints must be fully integrated and complimentary for client’s brands. #newbusiness
19. Listen to understand. #newbusiness
20. When you’re focused and more selective with your prospects, you remain in control… A vital need for successful new business efforts. #newbusiness
21. Show your commitment to your client not only through your work, but through your attitude. #newbusiness
22. Instead of trying to copy another agency, try to figure out what it is you offer as an agency that no one else can. #newbusiness
23. Clients hire people. They hire their talents, their thinking, and their experience. #newbusiness
24. Follow technology. Have perspective for your clients. Offer insights. But don’t chase tech for tech sake. If you’re not elevating the brand, then leave out the shiny new object. #new business
25. What do prospective clients buy? Actionable solutions to their problems and solid relationships (YOU and your wisdom). #newbusiness
Pitch with Passion, Lisa
This article, “Top 2019 trends so far: Ghosting and the quest for mythical AORs” details many of the anticipated and unanticipated trends that 2019 has seen so far… but will any of them impact 2020? Let’s hope that ghosting vanishes and the billing ecosystem will innovatively shift into more mutual equitable arrangements.
No matter the trend for 2019 or 2020, it is vital to realize the CMO needs to be science-backed.
“Today, the primary task of CMOs is to deeply understand customer buying behavior and intent; deeply understand the context of where someone is in their decision journey; be able to predict what they’re most likely primed to do next; and be ready to influence them at the right moment.” —Jonathan Martin, CMO, Pure Storage
So what does this mean to you? Marketing is now responsible for getting and keeping the customer. The CMO’s job now includes marketing, sales, and customer service and in order to help them be more successful, help them to combine technology and sharp analytical skills with traditional marketing creativity.
By offering these skills, hopefully there will be less ghosting and more toasting to successful client-agency relationships…
Pitch with Passion, Lisa