Making the Most of Hair Care Products
Think beyond shampoo to maximize profits with hair care products
Hair care products represent opportunity for retailers, whether you're a grocery store owner looking to expand your aisle of hair care products or a beauty shop owner looking for new products to offer your clients. It seems as if the more choice, the better and you can please everyone by offering brands from several different manufacturers.
Making the most of hair care products means thinking beyond the basic shampoo and conditioner, which are for different hair types. Offer a nice selection of high-quality barrettes and ponytail holders, which are great add-ons for customers, as well as stock styling tools to hold it all in place, from gels to hairsprays. Don't forget about stocking different types of brushes and combs, as well as hair dryers and curling irons.
When considering the hair care market:
1. Consider your displays and make them attractive to the customers. Be sure to dust off containers and shelves periodically and keep the shelves full.
2. Offer varying sizes of the same product to appeal to cost-conscious customers.
3. Consider a display of gift-packaged products at a "two-for" price, such as shampoo and conditioner, two for $20. Customers will delight in giving themselves a gift and a deal.
Ask for natural products from hair care product companies
A growing niche of the hair care market is for natural hair care products, as more consumers want to recognize the names of the ingredients they are consuming. Consumers who prefer natural products want to see a short list of effective ingredients, with the natural ingredients listed near the top.
Try: Teens, who as a demographic can see through outrageous marketing claims, have created Ecofabulous, a line of natural products. Burt's Bees offers several styles of natural hair care shampoos, conditioners and treatments.
Attract teens with hair care products geared toward their interests
Teens are an influential group with more pocket money to demonstrate their independence, and hair product companies and hair product distributors must seek to understand this demographic. Hair product manufacturers should consider the importance of smell among teens when formulating their products, and the fact that teens respond well to causes, such as a charitable donation connected to their purchase.
Try: Don't rule out the fact that boys like to look good too, and love gels and sprays to hold their style such as L.A. Looks hair care product line. Sunsilk by Helene Curtis, a hair product company, reaches out to teens and young women with their quirky advertising.
Get the scoop on unauthorized professional hair care products
Lately you may have seen salon products such as Paul Mitchell, Redken or Matrix on grocery store or drugstore shelves. But those products should not be there, according to consumer watchdog groups. Some unscrupulous hair care distributors illegally distribute these products to outlets, and they are possibly outdated or contaminated.
Try: Look for signs of diverted hair care products such as dusty or sticky cans or bottles, dented containers, missing numbers or labels placed over the original UPC code. Find out more about hair product information and the diversion scheme at Consumer Affairs or Carefair.
- Find out if your hair product distributor has product samples you could hand out, as well as a coupon as an incentive to buy.
Copyright © 2011 Business.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
