Beauty Brands Embrace Brand Communities

Marketing is constantly evolving, and in today’s world you often need more than a good product and/or service to stand out. Having a brand community is key to differentiating from competitors. A community builds loyalty, and according to Quentin Lebeau, CEO of TokyWoky, the top 20% of customers generate 30% to 50% of a company’s revenue and over 80% of advocacy on social media. 

The beauty industry is huge for fostering communities, from Rare Beauty utilizing a group chat to share mental health resources to Kiyoko Beauty utilizing video content to make their followers feel as though they are video chatting a friend.

Sephora’s Notable Community

One notable company with a strong community is Sephora. According to Jo Allen, Beauty Publicist and Journalist, Sephora has over 25 million members in their Beauty Insider loyalty program, I am one of them. About 80% of the company’s sales are from these members (Jo Allen). 

Being a part of the Beauty Insider program, we get several perks including exclusive access to sales and the famous free birthday gift. Of course, the more you spend, the more perks you receive. However, seeing the possible perks within the different levels, it encourages you to “reach” that status. 

Personally, every year I go to retrieve my free birthday gift with the idea that I won’t spend any money because it is a free item; however, by the time I walk to the counter I have about three items in my hands. In the end, I still leave content because I received a free item and feel that the brand is acknowledging me on a personal level because it is linked to my birthday.

Building Your Brand’s Community

While loyalty programs are a common way for brands to build a community, there are other activities that can be done to do so. From in-person events to creating an online space for members to communicate and engage, it’s important to take a step in creating your brand’s community. 

Consumer’s enjoy having a deeper connection to a brand beyond their product(s) and/or service(s).

This will ultimately keep them coming back to you and even prevent them from turning over to the next brand, who just may have a strong community. And specifically in the beauty space, having a community is almost a requirement to be able to thrive in the market.