2020 was a perfect year for boosting your online business. Almost everyone was stuck at home browsing internet-shops and buying things they never knew they needed. Online sales skyrocketed! As of January 2021, we had 4.66 billion active internet users and it only keeps increasing. Savvy business owners who were clever and fast enough reached massive sales thanks to their marketing efforts, personal approach, common sense, and knowledge of the market in the first place. 

So how do you launch your online beauty business and get great sales results from the start? We’re here to help!

Know your audience

Are you trying to reach clear skin fanatics? Or beauty artists and up-and-coming makeup gurus? The better defined your target audience is, the easier it is to reach them. It doesn’t matter who you’re trying to get at as long as you know exactly who they are and what they need. All the paid ads and efforts in the world will mean nothing unless the relevant people are seeing it. It is better to keep a small niche that truly loves your products than to cast your net wide and get no fish instead. 

The best way to start is to determine the demographics of your customers – age, location, gender, income level, education level, marital or family status, occupation, and ethnic background. Once you know that, focus on narrowing down their field of interest and the psychographics – personality, attitudes, values, interests/hobbies, lifestyles, and behaviour. To best know who your customers are, you need to have an understanding of how your products or services fit into their life. Think about whether a busy mom of three has time to watch a 25-minute beauty tutorial or if she would prefer a shortened version she can access from multiple devices. 

It’s all about marketing

It truly is all about marketing. Thanks to social media, you have a free platform to launch your products and services and get a direct line of communication with your customers. Although nothing can replace a website, social media can be a great way to reach new customers fast and raise brand awareness about your products. 

Do you know what your brand is about? If you don’t know yet, now is a good time to find out. Make sure you know your brand message from the beginning and are clearly communicating it to potential customers. By knowing what your brand represents, they are more likely to connect with you and make a purchase of your products. 

Your brand message should go with your overall visual look, making sure you are always keeping your target audience in mind. Those same busy moms from before would probably prefer a peaceful looking and calm natural colour palette compared to their kids’ vibrant toys. 

Don’t be shy about presenting your products

Sometimes you can feel silly trying to show others why your products are awesome. Believing in yourself and your business really shines through and showing your products’ and services’ value should be a top priority on all communication channels. Mockups and product photography help customers envision your products in their life and understand their use. You know why your customers should buy the product or service, now it’s just a matter of making them understand why too. 

Make sure your customers are able to pay

Your brand needs to engage people, but your payment options need to make sure they are buying the products at the end of the day. If you offer international shipping, you are bound to get customers from all over the world. Since the shopping culture is so different in different parts of the globe, make sure you are covering all of their options. Remember, not all countries have credit cards as an option for citizens and some simply prefer to keep their payments completely cardless.

Even the highest quality products cannot be sold without your target audience knowing about them, understanding their value, and of course, being able to pay easily on your platform without a hassle. By ensuring you are presenting the products in the right way and making sure your customers know about the ease of access to them, regardless of whether they are physical or virtual, you are slowly but surely growing your business and increasing sales. 

Want to learn more? Head out to our benefits page for your beauty business. For more information about different payment methods, contact our team at sales@alternativepayments.com or create a test account today.