Winning the Professional Beauty Channel can be a dream come true for your beauty brand.
Every beauty innovation’s success is probabilistic, meaning there are no guarantees for eventual success. A booming beauty brand has to win the early adopters, late adopters and mainstream consumers, have a viable business model and funnel, be on top of cash, stay differentiated, and withstand the test of trying times.
Creating a profitable funnel can be a big challenge, especially when all media, including social and influencers, have become pay-to-play. If you can pay to play, you can acquire enough consumers with money, but how well can you retain them?
Retention depends on results, and results come down to the proper usage of the products. The funnel will stay slim if you don’t have the money to buy awareness.
One great alternative is if you can establish a fit with a PRO Channel. They already have the consumers and a great deal of leverage and influence. They have the time to educate. Education is their business model, and their obligation to consumers is to offer products and services that aren’t available at specialty and mass retail, educate them, and offer a high-involvement experience.
Professional Beauty Channel is one segment of your 6X Profitable Super Fans.
1. Who?-Beauty Brands Fit with PRO Channels
PRO Channel suits prestige brands that offer a disruptive(unsolved problem) or transformational(solving a problem with a novel solution) that have scientific/clinical validation of some sort. You could also use consumer studies.
If you solve an unsolved problem or have a novel and well-thought-out solution, you could be a cost-effective beauty brand and still be a fit for the PRO channel.
Pro Channel Types Example
The above segmentation is the simplest; we have many more PRO/alternative channel types, and there is a degree of overlap between the above.
Let’s check out a sample segmentation of these PRO channels one by one.
HAIR SALONS
Hair salons have the biggest relative distribution vs. other types of PRO beauty retailers.
1. Basic Hair Care Salon
It specializes in essential hair care services such as haircuts, blowouts, and basic styling, which is affordable and convenient for clients looking for simple yet professional hair services.
2. Specialty Hair Color Salon
These have expertise in hair colouring techniques. They offer a wide range of color services including vibrant fashion colors, ombre, and balayage, providing clients with personalized and eye-catching hair color transformations.
3. Barber Shop
Barber shops offer traditional barbering services for men, such as classic haircuts, beard trims, straight razor shaves, and grooming services in a vintage-inspired setting.
4. Hair Extension Salon
It focuses on hair extension services to add length, volume, and versatility to clients’ hairstyles. It offers various extension methods, such as tape-ins, sew-ins, and micro-link extensions, providing customized solutions for clients seeking hair enhancement.
5. Natural Hair Salon
It specializes in caring for natural hair textures. It offers services such as natural hair styling, twists, braids, and loc maintenance, catering to clients who embrace their natural hair journey and seek specialized care for their curls and coils.
6. High-End Luxury Salon
They cater to upscale clientele with premium services, personalized consultations, and luxury amenities.
7. Ethnic Hair Salon
These salons specialize in hair care services tailored to specific ethnicities, such as African American, Asian, or Hispanic hair textures and styling techniques.
8. Family-Friendly Salon
This salon offers services suitable for children, teenagers, adults, and seniors, creating a welcoming and inclusive family environment.
9. Salon Suite or Booth Rental
Independent salon professionals rent a booth or suite within a larger salon space, and let them run it like their own business.
10. Blowout Bars
A hair salon that exclusively provides blowouts, including a wash, blow dry and hair styling – no cut, no color!
SPAS
Relatively smaller distribution vs. hair salons but stilll significant enough for any beauty brand to partner with
1. Day Spa
Offers various spa services designed to promote relaxation and rejuvenation in a tranquil environment. They provide treatments such as massages, facials, body scrubs, and manicures/pedicures for clients seeking a day of pampering and self-care.
2. Medical Spa
Combines medical expertise with spa treatments to offer aesthetic procedures and wellness services. Under the supervision of licensed medical professionals, they provide treatments such as laser hair removal, botox injections, skin rejuvenation, and IV therapy.
3. Resort Spa
It provides luxurious spa experiences within a resort. Guests indulge in various spa treatments, including massages, body wraps, facials, and hydrotherapy, complimenting their stay at the resort.
4. Wellness Spa
Focused on holistic wellness and balance, they offer yoga classes, meditation sessions, nutritional counselling, and spa treatments that promote full well-being and harmony of the mind, body, and spirit.
5. Destination Spa
It offers immersive wellness experiences in a serene natural setting, and guests can participate in wellness programs, fitness activities, spa treatments, and healthy dining options, allowing them to focus on self-care and rejuvenation during their stay at the destination spa.
6. Salon & Spa
Offers a combination of salon services and spa treatments for all-round beauty and relaxation experiences. Clients get hair services, nail care, facials, massages, and other spa treatments all in one convenient location.
7. Ayurvedic Spa
Specializes in Ayurvedic treatments and therapies to balance the body, mind, and spirit. These SPAs offer Ayurvedic massages, herbal therapies, detoxification treatments, and personalized wellness consultations based on ancient Ayurvedic principles.
8. Express Spa
Express Spa, as the name suggests, provides convenient and efficient spa services for consumers with hectic schedules. They offer express treatments such as mini facials, chair massages, express manicures/pedicures, and quick relaxation rounds, allowing people to unwind and rejuvenate quickly.
9. Mobile Spa Services
Brings spa services directly to clients’ homes, offices, or events for unmatched convenience, offering mobile massage therapy, facials, body treatments, and spa parties, delivering relaxation and rejuvenation.
10. Luxury Spa Experience
Offers exclusive spa experiences with high-end amenities, personalized services, and indulgent treatments. Clients relish VIP packages, private suites, champagne service, and luxurious spa services.
NAIL SALONS
Typically, nail salons outnumber SPAs in a geography but still far fewer compared to hair salons.
1. Basic Nail Care Salons
They offer various nail services, including classic manicures, pedicures, nail shaping, and polish application in a relaxing environment.
2. Specialty Nail Art Salon
Offering creative and intricate nail art designs, Speciality nail art salons offer a wide range of artistic services including hand-painted designs, embellishments, and unique nail art techniques with personalized and enthralling nail looks.
3. Spa Nail Services
Beyond manicures and pedicures, they offer services such as massages, exfoliation, moisturizing treatments, and aromatherapy to pamper clients.
4. Eco-Friendly Nail Salon
Environmentally friendly products and practices with non-toxic polishes, skincare products, and eco-friendly materials in their services, providing clients with a guilt-free and sustainable nail care experience.
5. Mobile Nail Services
Provide nail care services directly to clients’ homes, offices, or events, with a convenient mobile nail salon experience with manicures, pedicures, gel polish applications, and nail enhancements.
I haven’t covered examples of makeup studio & waxing salons segmentation here, as many salons also offer these services, and the above segmentation is just to serve as an example for creating a fit with a particular PRO channel.
Why is PRO Channel a Fit with Early-Stage Beauty Brands?
Education and High Engagement with their Consumers
Instead of less credible and unpredictable advertising, PRO Channel will educate consumers for free, whether it’s on ingredients, benefits, how to use, and the best part, they will deliver results using your products
High Volume & Margin Channel
Pro Accounts offer specialized services and education with premium-priced products and carry limited brands, thereby offering both high-volume & high-margin orders.
Prefers Specialty Beauty Brands
PRO Channel fits early-stage beauty brands which are not available elsewhere, and therefore, if your distribution has not reached big chain of beauty stores or grocery stores, you will have a higher probability of success.
Free Marketing
The PRO Account staff and service providers will educate their consumers and your potential super fans on your behalf, creating demand for your brand.
Results in Revenue Increase for DTC & Retail Channels
The consumers buying from PRO channels will eventually start buying from your DTC & retailers who carry your beauty brand.
How to Succeed with Pro Channels?
Identify Best Fit Channel Segment
Start from the PRO Channel, where you are filling a gap, meaning there is no competition, and then look at a segment within the channel where you have the best fit compared to other segments of the same channel. For example, for the SPA Channel, you can evaluate destination, med-spas, detox spas, wellness spas, healing spas, treatment spas, bio hacks, etc.
Joint Business Development Strategy
Design a pitch to develop the PRO Account’s business and organize your offerings accordingly
Power Pitch
A compelling pitch that showcases your point of differentiation, a profitability model and a fit with their audience
Success Checklist
How you plan to succeed inside the PRO Channel and win over the account, consumers, service providers
Education Plan
A comprehensive education plan to instil confidence in the PRO Account owner that you will invest and build their staff’s capability to use your products for developing their business.
Famous Indie Beauty Brand Examples
Olaplex
Olaplex, a brand that claimed to be the no.1 independent hair care brand on the planet, started selling to salons before listing with big wigs like Sephora.
K18
K18, a haircare brand that sold for over $1B by Unilever, started its retail with Salons to leverage the education capabilities of hair stylists.
Jump Case Studies
Chella
I worked with Chella, a “clean beauty that cares brand” focused on brows and eyes that help enhance your approachable look to connect better.
Together, we created a state-of-the-art, PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM using a joint business development strategy that dramatically increases profitability for salons while adding >$1.5k with every new door with similar value repeat orders!
The program has been in effect for less than a year, and Chella has become the no.1 partner for over 120 carefully selected salons in key locations like LA, NYC, and SFO.
Already, DTC sales are experiencing a spurt as an effect!
Skin Virtue
I worked with Skin Virtue to create one of its kind “Fast & Focused Bio-active skincare treatments” along with a joint business development program for the chosen segment of salons and spas.
SV is starting its retail journey with Australia’s right-fit salon & spa accounts.
The result –100% success rate; the brand is a rage in existing accounts and has a waitlist of more than 100 new salons and spas wanting to buy opening orders of more than $2K.
The best part is all of this within a week of launch! Investors are knocking on their doors!
Code of Harmony
Code of Harmony, a Jump partner and LA-based CBD skincare brand that was seeing growth flatten post-pandemic, sells to estheticians across the USA, helping get over the hurdle of Meta not allowing advertising for CBD-based brands. The brand went from less than $500K to close to mid-seven figures in a span of three years!
SUMMARY
Resource-constrained early-stage beauty brands need support for creating awareness & trials without breaking the bank.
PRO Channel can provide a profitable start to your go-to retail endeavor. The professionals will educate, sell, and create demand for your brand beyond their doors.
Specifically, PRO Channel offers
-Education and high engagement with their consumers
-Big volume
-Free marketing for you
-Increase in your DTC & any retail channel sales
The way you can accomplish your goals with PRO Channel is
-Segment the channel to find your best fit
-Create a joint business development plan to add to their profitability
Do check out my article on 7 strategic ways to up profits during tough times
Jump accelerates women-led, early-stage beauty brands with a fit, fundamental & fully executable solution using first principles of diffusion