13 Solid Tips for Mastering the Art of Personalization like Sephora
Since its launch in 1970, Sephora has been a true disruptor in the cosmetics industry.
Today, Sephora is a global brand that generated an impressive $10 billion in revenue in 2019.
What’s the secret behind their worldwide success? They tapped into something very early on — Millennials don’t buy makeup the same way as older generations. They value personalization and want to feel connected to the brand.
Sephora took note and changed the way people buy cosmetics. Think about their famous in-store shopping experience and how it aligns with their onsite experience for online customers.
We were curious how they did it. So we looked at the steps Sephora took to create a delightful shopping experience that gives customers two choices:
1.Shop
2. Shop more
Step 1: Understanding Your Customers’ Needs
One of the main reasons behind Sephora’s ongoing success is its ability to adapt to changing customer preferences. As Millennials became the driving force in the cosmetic retail market, Sephora needed to appeal to a new group: who are heavily targeted on social media, educated on current trends, and open to discovering new (and often expensive) brands.
And that meant finding a way to connect with them on social media. Think about how Cicapair’s cream continued to sell out after trending on TikTok.
Another driver behind Sephora’s ongoing success is its experiential retail campaign. They were one of the first companies to offer personalized services in their brick-and-mortar stores, such as:
- Personalized assistance from industry professionals: Customers can use the “in-store companion” on the Sephora app to book in-person sessions with makeup and beauty consultants who can help customers find the best cosmetic brands and products for their personal beauty traits.
- Makeup tutorials featuring each season’s new releases: Sephora offers a wide range of makeup classes, given by professionals: including fundamental makeup classes for beginners, skincare tutorials, and even advanced lessons on highlighting and contouring.
- Complimentary makeovers: Sephora offered customers of in-person stores a free 15–20 minute makeover with a Sephora beauty expert who would focus on a specific feature (like concealing blemishes, using eyeliner, or applying blush). Customers who reached the Rogue level of Sephora’s rewards program were eligible for longer, full-facial makeovers.
These features helped make the store stand out from its competitors by turning every in-person shopping experience into a memorable one.
Step 2. Driving Sales Through Personalization
In 2017, Sephora realized they needed to combine their physical and digital retail teams if they wanted to remain the global leader in cosmetic retail.
“We brought in-store and digital under one roof, along with customer service,” said Mary Beth Laughton, the Executive Vice President in charge of Sephora’s omniretail strategy at the time. “It’s changed the way we think about sales metrics, engagements, and experiences across channels.”
And this strategy really paid off. Sephora gained a complete picture of their customers’ buying strategies by using digital and physical retail data. They could look at these three strategies:
- How shoppers engaged with sales associates in brick-and-mortar stores
- What customers purchased online and in-person
- How customers engaged with their website and mobile app
Sephora then used this data to enhance the sales journey of their customers. They created a custom-tailored retail experience for each shopper that made it easier to find the products they’re looking for. By bringing this level of personalization to their online stores, Sephora used an online customer care concept known as Customer Value Optimization to drive digital sales.
Step 3: Make People Aware of Your Brand and Products
What makes Sephora’s strategy any different than their competitors’ marketing campaigns?
Like many of their competitors, they were quick to use influencers as part of their marketing strategy. The results weren’t great.
Sephora worked with several micro-influencers to promote new products, but something was missing. Their influencer campaign didn’t feel genuine, and it wasn’t delivering the results they had hoped. So, they went back to the drawing board to revisit their influencer strategy.
This time, Sephora moved away from people who cultivated a small following in the cosmetics and beauty industry (micro-influencers) and turned to genuine storytellers. They used real people who use the products Sephora sells — people who could give customers what they wanted: authentic, attention-grabbing stories. Some examples of authentic storytellers include:
- Myfacestory: Gave authentic conversations about acne and how to manage breakouts, without stigmatizing the condition.
- FlawlessKevin: Popular LGBT+ influencer Kevin Ninh challenged gender roles while showing everyone that it’s possible for them to look their best.
“We were trying to get a sense from the community what was meaningful to them in beauty and see what kinds of conversations they were having around issues of beauty,” said Deborah Yeh, Sephora‘s CMO, in an interview with Fast Company. “Not just our perspective as a company.”
Sephora did this by:
- Having their employees give authentic testimonials
- Partnering with popular beauty bloggers like Kyrah Stewart and Olivia Jade
- Focusing on building long-term relationships with influencers
Previously, Sephora worked with influencers on an as-needed basis. Now they’ve been starting to focus on long-term collaboration. It enabled Sephora to create a sense of community through their influencers and turn credible voices into effective brand ambassadors.
Partnering with beauty bloggers meant that Sephora’s influencer campaign was hyper-focused. The selected influencers amassed a following by creating content about cosmetics, meaning most of their followers are interested in what Sephora sells.
They were quick to take a stand on important social issues, especially those surrounding diversity and accurate representation in the media.
It was another important step in strengthening brand loyalty, especially with conscious consumerism on the rise. According to a survey conducted by Sprout Social, a whopping 70% of customers expect brands to take a stand on social and political issues.
Popular campaigns include:
- We Belong to Something Beautiful: Celebrated diversity, representation, and inclusivity by featuring models from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and age groups.
- Reach Out and Gift (pictured above): This campaign focused on the importance of representation and inclusivity but used actual Sephora employees as models. It helped give a face to the brand, which is an effective way to increase customer engagement.
- Identify as We: Challenged the ideas of gender norms by showcasing models from non-binary and transgender communities.
Sephora also promoted its Classes for Confidence program during these campaigns. This program offers free makeup-lessons to people facing major life events, such as cancer recovery and gender transitions.
Step 4: Amplifying Authentic Voices
In 2019, Sephora expanded its influencer marketing campaign by launching #SephoraSquad.
This campaign was a little different from their previous influencer projects. Instead of seeking out active influencers, they cultivated their own brand ambassadors. They did this by reaching out to their customers and offering free products, professional coaching, and other incentives for promoting their merchandise.
The launching of #SephoraSquad was an opportunity to make the Sephora brand a springboard for promoting aspiring content creators in the beauty and cosmetics industries.
“We felt it was time to take influencer relationships to the next level,” said Deborah Yeh, Sephora’s CMO. “We wanted to amplify the beauty community in a larger way and expand the number of voices and perspectives we were using in our work.”
Sephora’s influencer marketing strategy went beyond promoting products. They developed content that had value, like makeup tutorials and skincare routines. While they continued to support up-and-coming beauty influencers, Sephora started working with bigger names in the industry who had an established following.
One of their most successful collaborations was with Mixed Makeup.
Step 5: Help Customers Make Informed Purchasing Decisions
Sephora carries 3,000 cosmetic brands such as the Sephora Collection — its own line of makeup, haircare, skincare, and other beauty accessories. The company has always prided itself on giving customers access to a wide variety of products to choose from.
But having such an extensive inventory comes with another set of problems. Sephora had to create an e-commerce site that
- Wasn’t cluttered and difficult to navigate through
- Gave customers access to their entire product catalog
- Didn’t confuse or overwhelm customers
On top of that, customers need to be certain they’re buying the right products. And when there are more than 3,000 items to choose from, finding the perfect face cream or shade of foundation for your skin type can be really tricky.
If left unchecked, these problems could increase cart abandonment and cost the company millions in lost revenue.
To address this, Sephora created a “Help Me Choose” section on their website.
The “Help Me Choose” section contains a series of guides and quizzes designed to help customers find the products they’re looking for. Not only did this reduce confusion, but it helped customers make better-informed purchasing decisions.
Every type of product Sephora sells has a “Help Me Choose” section that customers can access.
The quizzes are designed to better understand the customer’s intent. How customers answer the questions will determine which products are recommended to them. That way, they can get a personalized shopping experience that aligns with their needs and preferences.
Once the customer has completed the quiz, they’ll be given a list of product recommendations. They can see how other customers rated the products, which can help them make an informed purchasing decision.
Sephora’s guides are similar to their quizzes. The key difference is that customers select the desired outcomes they’re looking for, rather than answering a series of questions.
Leaving no stone unturned, Sephora uses a multiple-channel acquisition program to generate leads. By advertising their quizzes and guides on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, they can engage more potential customers, increase brand awareness, generate more site visitors to look at recommended products and prepare more visitors for the actual sales journey.
