With online sales breaking records there is no denying that this isn’t just a trend, it’s the future. For those of you who already sell online, you may have noticed your business revenue has recently been more reliant on retail sales than on service revenue, certainly during the Covid-19 shutdowns.

Everyone in the service industry has been hard hit in the last 10 months. If your business currently continues to operate you have most likely found indirect ways to service clients. Online skincare sales is one such avenue that has flourished and continues to outperform services for many of my clients. So many business owners have had to adapt their skillset to become quasi-internet, website, social media, shipping Gurus. However, if you are one of those businesses who shifted to an ecommerce platform, you might also be dealing with online sales returns. Yes, those pesky returns that are a reality of selling online.

I’m going to share what I have found to be a very easy and practical approach that could help limit your returns. According to Magneto IT Solutions (magnetoitsolutions.com) health and beauty products have a return rate of 22%. In contrast, according to InvesPro (invespro.com) brick-and mortar stores have a much lower return rate of 8.89%. This could be in part a result of the convenience of a “click” return rather than having to go back to a physical store with the item and the reality of not being able to test the products for suitability. There is a reason skincare practices use testers!

To help reduce online or even brick-and-mortar returns, over the last several years I have recommended this strategy to my clients and they have had great results.

For all first-time customers it can be risky to purchase a product they have never used before. One option is to consider giving away or selling a sample or travel size of the same product at the same time your customer purchases the full retail product. Offer no returns or refunds on trial products, limit returns to the full-size unopened product only.

Ensure tamper-evident seals are present on all full-size products to mitigate returns when you provide or sell testers with full size products. While it’s always disappointing to receive returns, when you are unable to resell the product it’s even more so. Being generous with testers reduces risk for the customer and they are much less likely to return an open full-size product because they already know what they will be getting.

Another option is to sell samples or testers, the value of which can be applied as a credit to retail size items. Typically, your cost on samples/travel sizes is 50% less than the value you charge, so you can afford to be generous if that brings you the retail sale. In this way your customers will be encouraged to move forward with their purchase of full retail sized items knowing they have not lost any money in the testing process.

The same strategy works well in a brick-and-mortar business. If a customer is about to move onto a new skincare regimen you may suggest they purchase smaller sizes (or a trial size kit) before committing to the substantial investment that accompanies a new collection of retail size product.

By implementing this simple sampling strategy you should see a reduction in returns. My clients who use this approach have increased their bottom line and reduced time spent dealing with returns. Good Luck!

Written by:
Aleks Vranicic, L.E.
VP Sales & Technical Training
Vitelle Labs

So, what does this have to do with skin care?  Plainly put, this blog is not about formulations or ingredients.  This blog is about how to improve your retail sales on your website or in your brick and mortar location or both.  Let’s have some fun as we look at this fascinating psychological principle in the decision making process of buying.

The psychology of buying more of what you have already decided to buy is really simple.  If someone is buying something of their own free will, that usually means that they like what they are buying.  So, what would they do if they were offered more of the same item that they like at a better price per unit?  In our industry we do this with packages, programs or series.  Buy, 5 treatments and get the 6th for free or buy 10 treatments and get 2 for free.  Also consider Costco Wholesale Warehouses as another prime example of this psychological principle exemplified.  You buy something you already like in bulk quantities and in return you pay less per unit.  Where you’re going to store everything is an entirely separate issue.  But, you’re content and feel good that you paid less per unit even though you paid more than you would have normally for a smaller size of that item in a grocery store.

Let’s go back to the toy race car and track set that I happily paid $145 for.  If the commercial that I saw had advertised a price of $145 for the set, I would not have even considered making the purchase.  The question to be answered is how did I go from wanting to spend $39.99 to gladly spending $145?  Some call this gradual sales process a click funnel.

When I was on page 1 of the website I rewatched the same commercial video that I saw on TV. The video kept my attention and my excitement high as it showed kids having a great time playing with the race cars and tracks.  When I clicked to purchase the kit I was funneled to page 2, which contained a couple of offers that were too good to pass up.  Once I added more race cars and more tracks and clicked to purchase I was funneled to page 3, which contained a few shipping options.  Being that it was before Christmas there was a sense of urgency on my end to make sure the race cars and tracks arrived in time.  One of those shipping options was a guarantee for everything to arrive before Christmas and it came at a premium shipping and handling price.  But, it would be included for free if I added 2 more race cars and 1 more track set.  The choice was easy at that point with the logic of, why just give my money away for shipping when I could have the guaranteed shipping for free and have more race cars and tracks for my nephews.  When I clicked the final purchase button I really felt like I was getting a good deal.  It was a gradual process and I was in control the entire time, the decisions were mine and the $39.99 package was always available and a real option.

I was so impressed with the decision-making process I had been guided through that I began to look for the same model on other websites in hopes of replicating it.  What I found was what seems to be a formula for this selling process on websites often beginning with a video.  A video is a great way to convey what is being sold and it can be done in simple informative or very entertaining formats.  Having a video helps to keep your ideal customer’s attention and to build excitement and demand for the main product that you want them to buy.  The best person to sell your product also happens to be you.  Yes, you!  YouTube has some great tutorials to help you with filming yourself.  Creating videos has never been easier due to high quality cameras and audio in mobile devices.  You don’t need a professional videographer that charges thousands of dollars.  Just hold your mobile phone and tell us what is so great about you, your product and your company.

Once your customer wants to purchase what you are selling then you would take them through the following process, as an example.  You are selling your Overnight Facial Serum for $150 on page 1 of your website.  The custom clicks to check out and they get to page 2 and they are presented with a couple of offers.  They can now purchase two Overnight Facial Treatment Serums for a unit price of $125 each or they can purchase three for $100 per unit.  Which one would you choose?  On page 3, before check out there is one more offer your customer has qualified for.  The option is to purchase the complementing Overnight Facial Treatment Moisturizer, that would enhance the serum they are purchasing, for an amazing 50% off the regular price of $150.  In addition, as a special offer and if they act now they will receive a FREE Peptide Eye Serum normally $125.  The customer is likely to choose one if not several of the enticing funnel options.  If they don’t then they still have purchased the one product they wanted.  But, if they do, the numbers begin to look very exciting and the customer feels like they got a great deal on great products.

If you don’t have a website or platform that allows you to create funnels then you may find www.ClickFunnels.com very helpful.  If you have a brick and mortar location you can try this without having to set up a website to do this.  Present these offers in your e-newsletters or when your customers are getting their treatments.

At Vitelle Labs we want you to have the greatest possible success selling your products. I hope this blog has given you a different perspective on how to promote and sell your products.

Needless to say my nephews loved all of their race cars and the massive track set.  Their reaction was even better than what I had imagined and I am still the Best Uncle Ever!

Written by:
Aleks Vranicic, L.E.
VP Sales & Technical Training
Vitelle Labs

Aleks Vranicic is a product development principal, master trainer, and vice president of sales and technical training at Vitelle Labs. Originally from Croatia, he is a third-generation, licensed aesthetician who holds a B.A. in business from PLNU in San Diego, California. Vranicic started his skin care career over 16 years ago working with his mother at her spa in Los Altos, California. It was there he witnessed, firsthand, the revenue opportunities attainable through private branding of skin care. Seeing the profound impact the increase in profit had on his mother’s life, it became his mission to help others become more profitable by creating their own skin care line. He has helped hundreds of clients who, like his mother, have their own vision for their company. Vranicic has traveled the world sharing his experience and knowledge, mentoring and training skin care professionals. He is a popular speaker at skin care symposiums and industry trade events and a regular contributor to industry publications.

View the original article on www.dermascope.com  here

Consumers may not know what HA is exactly but they definitely want it in their products. As the demand for hyaluronic acid grows for both the professional and non-professional markets its good to gain a deeper understanding of this popular ingredient and why it’s so desirable.

Most skin care users don’t realize there are actually several different sizes of hyaluronic acid molecules and a wide array of ingredients that seek to mimic the benefits of HA. There often are misconceptions surrounding the function of hyaluronic acid, how it performs and why it is consider beneficial for virtually all skin types.

In this short article I will discuss the attributes of hyaluronic acid so you are better prepared the next time you are looking for products which contain HA or asked about this ingredient by your customers.

Hyaluronic acid is a humectant that attracts and retains water. It is a type of polysaccharide called a, glycosaminoglycan, which is found naturally in human tissues such as: skin; connective tissue; synovial fluid in our joints and in our eye balls. It serves many functions including hydrating our skin and hair, lubricating to reduce friction in our joints and behaving like a shock absorber to stabilize joints and tissues. It is produced mainly by both fibroblasts and keratinocytes.

One of its main functions, where skincare is concerned, is to hold the water in the intercellular matrix of the connective tissue. This water-binding capacity (hygroscopic) contributes significantly to the elasticity of the skin. Hyaluronic acid effectively regulates and distributes water maintaining elasticity by acting as a natural reservoir. Hyaluronic acid is also involved in the process of tissue repair

Any discussion of HA would not be complete without the mention of its molecule size. While the HA found in human skin is of a medium molecular weight, when it comes to products sold in the professional skincare market it can be found in a range of sizes.
HA is measured in Daltons (kDa), which measures atomic mass, one Dalton is equal to 1/12th the mass of carbon-12. From as low as 50 kDa to 1500 kDa, there are generally five size ranges and their respective weight is directly connected to their function and benefits.
In very general terms the larger the molecule the less it penetrates the skin. High weight HA (1000-1500+ kDa) is excellent for moisturizing and providing a protective film against trans epidermal water loss. Medium weight 600-1000 kDa helps to increase skin smoothness to the touch, it also hydrates and protects from dehydration by creating a non-occlusive film at the surface of the epidermis. When we move into the low and ultra-low weight HA 50 – 300 kDa you will experience deeper benefits as the HA has an easier time passing into the skin. This enhances the skin conditioning benefit and the deep dermis hygroscopic properties.

You may have heard of the 500 Dalton Rule and why it’s relevant to HA. The rule says that only molecules that are less than 500 Daltons in weight are able to penetrate healthy skin. As a result of the Dalton Rule professionals are using a variety of tools and devices such as rollers, needling, dermaplaning, derma pen etc., to help enhance penetration of larger molecule HA into the skin.
There is no doubt that Hyaluronic acid is very effective at preventing trans epidermal water loss (TEWL). It is ideally suited to slow the rate at which water evaporates from the surface of the skin by collecting and holding on to it. This provides many positive benefits such as smoother looking skin, increased elasticity, a decrease in the severity of fine lines, enhanced barrier function and accelerated restoration of natural hydration levels.

Many clients ask me which size of HA is best? My personal preference is products that contain more than one size of HA as this type of product synergistically provides a wider range of benefits. For example, a blend of ultra-low and high weight HA can deliver two distinctive outcomes, maximum topical hydration and intensive deeper skin smoothing and wrinkle reduction. I also favor HA that elevate elasticity and smoothing of rough skin as most of my clients are looking for that type of result.

When it comes to recognizing Hyaluronic acid you may find it listed in a number of different ways on an ingredient label. Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycosaminoglycan (Hyaluronan), Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid and Phyto (or plant derived) Hyaluronate. Some of these names indicate the source of the HA as it is produced in a number of ways. Traditionally the most common sources were from a chicken’s/rooster’s comb as it has a very high concentration of hyaluronic acid. In response to the growing demand for non-animal origin ingredients we are seeing an abundance of natural derived HA from bio-fermentation of yeast, glucose and inorganic salts.

Performance of the hyaluronic acid is remarkably similar from both animal and biotechnological sources, but from our observation the trend has definitely moved toward plant form as it supports a more holistic green lifestyle choice.

Performance of the hyaluronic acid is remarkably similar from both animal and biotechnological sources, but from our observation the trend has definitely moved toward plant form as it supports a more holistic green lifestyle choice.
There is little doubt that Hyaluronic acid is and will continue to be a desirable ingredient. Its ability to deliver water-based hydration makes it an ideal candidate for skincare products for most skin types. With so many possible applications and a wide range of benefits, Hyaluronic acid, is certainly one of our superstar ingredients!

Written by:
Aleks Vranicic, L.E.
VP Sales & Technical Training
Vitelle Labs

In this article I’ll be discussing how a single decision can change the course of your business and potentially improve your bottom line.

In the skincare industry, like most industries, the internet has altered how commerce is conducted. There are hundreds of thousands of people competing in the same market so competition is, to say the least, challenging. Skincare practices are losing business, not necessarily on the service side, but on the retail product side. With thousands of skincare websites selling popular professional brands at discounted prices, some with free shipping, it can be stressful to operate a skincare practice that sells the same product.

So how do you stand out and operate differently in a way that your business is also protected? Is there a strategy to help protect your business from those internet marketplaces, bloggers and influencers trying to lure your clients away from you?

Wouldn’t it also be great to reward your staff with better pay but still keep a healthy bottom line? If your answer is a resounding, yes, then read on and find out how creating your own brand can be a game changer for your business in the new marketplace of internet skincare sales.

Firstly though, let me make clear that I’m not suggesting you don’t carry nationally branded skincare products as well. You need diverse product sales to support your overhead and pay your staff and you should be selling the brands you use in your treatment rooms and products that will be well received by your clientelle.

National brands are fantastic for their quality and all of the support they offer to their customers. Many provide technical training, free marketing materials, free shipping and other benefits. That is a lot of support which has great value – but brands have some limitations which is where including the creation of your own brand through private labeling comes in.

Consider the retail portion of your business. When you are exclusively selling national brands, you are not selling a product that is unique to your business since that brand may be sold down the street by your competitors or on the internet. Conversely, if you offer your own in-house brand to your customers they won’t be able to find it on websites or elsewhere unless you put it there yourself.

When you sell your own brand of skincare, makeup or body care product you make the decisions. You decide the selling price, whereas with a national brand the retail price is essentially set for you. Should you need more profit than the MSRP allows, there’s no way to really generate it. You can’t increase your price higher than the MSRP because your customers will look online and compare prices.

Let’s now consider your employees. Rewarding those that help your business grow is one of the joys a business owner experiences. How do top companies attract top performers? They offer higher pay and better benefits. Wouldn’t it be a game changer to pay higher sales commission to service providers, staff and team members? The industry standard commission is a whopping 10% commission on retail sales, which doesn’t really scream motivational incentive. If you had your own brand and could set your MSRP you could potentially pay 15%, 20%, 25% or even a 30% commission on retail sales and still have a healthy bottom line.

As mentioned previously buying a national brand entitles you to many benefits, however, that comes with a cost that’s included in the price you pay. Compare that to selling your own brand where you are not obliged to pay those built-in costs. Your sales won’t be reliant on a national advertising campaign or free samples but will instead be the result of your personal endorsement.

Most international brands are sold through a network of distributors and subdistributors. That network is necessary to provide you with support and products. Distributors charge name brand product lines a fee for their service, they too have overhead costs to maintain their territory. The cost of their service is also included in the price you pay for the products.

Let’s consider a serum, for example, from a well known national brand that typically retails for $160 in the market. The wholesale cost you pay for this product is $80. From the $80 the distributor will likely receive 45-55%. So, in fact the actual cost, if you were buying from the brand directly would be around $40.

If you were able to buy the same product direct from the manufacturer at the distributor’s cost you probably would. You could then mark it up to the original MSRP of $160 and keep the extra markup. Now you could pay a higher commision to your staff, offer a promotional discount to your clients or spend the money any way you see fit. With private label, where you are creating your own brand, you effectively buy direct from the manufacturer at distributor cost.

If the concept of having your own brand sounds more appealing now, you will have joined the growing population of skincare professionals that feel the same way.

The next questions to be asked might be, how does one get started; how much does it cost; what is the quality like; what kind of packaging is there and how long does it take?

Getting started is as easy as doing an online search for “private label skincare.” There is usually a graphic set-up fee to begin plus the cost of the products you want to order. Some companies offer affordable getting started programs, so you could be up and running for as little as $500.

The quality of private label products is going to vary just as it does with brands. The lower priced products tend to perform comensurate to their cost and that’s also to be said of higher priced products – you get what you pay for. Regarding packaging options, some companies have multiple options to choose from, where others have a more limited selection. Some suppliers allow a lot of customization on product label design where others only allow space for a sticker with your logo.

It’s amazing how a single decision can produce so much potential. It’s possible to be in control of your product sales and improve your bottom line. It’s possible to attract top staff and reward them with better pay so they help you grow. So, what are you waiting for?

Written by:
Aleks Vranicic, L.E.
VP Sales & Technical Training
Vitelle Labs

Now I know what you are thinking! But, allow me to shed some light on the topic of the role seduction plays in helping you generate more referral business. In the context of business, seduction has nothing to do with sexual attraction or leading someone astray and has everything to do with enticing your customers to think about you even when they are no longer in your establishment. If you are a business owner or service provider it’s always nice when someone comes to see you based on a kind endorsement from an existing customer.

Businesses love to grow their customer base through referrals because it’s sincere, it’s powerful and best of all it is the least expensive way of developing new patrons.

So, how do you generate more referral business by having your customers thinking about you?

If you have taken any sales courses, one of the first principles that is taught, or should be taught, is the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto’s 80/20 principle.