In an effort to shift the generally unfavourable perception of the industry, beauty and wellness firm Beauty & Co. strives for a change by implementing a sales concept that emphasises love and empathy for the clients.
To this end, the firm recently held a workshop on this concept, featuring an international speaker and author of the book ‘Selling with Love: Earn with Integrity and Expand Your Impact”, Jason Marc Campbell. The workshop was well attended by industry peers such as aesthetic doctors, dentists, beauticians, hair salons operators, and representatives from pharmaceutical firms.
Beauty & Co is also the first to offer beauty and wellness co-working space in Malaysia by offering space, and technology in terms of various aesthetics, beauty, wellness machines and trained beauty professionals. Here, practitioners are able to focus on their strengths while Beauty & Co. helps market their services and provide the necessary structural support such as FDA-approved beauty and aesthetic products.
Since its inception in 2020, the centre, located at The Gardens, Mid Valley Megamall has achieved over 60% growth in revenue and expanded to six outlets throughout Klang Valley.
Speaking at the event, Beauty & Co. CEO and founder Yap Yann Fang said: “Hard selling is a major issue in the beauty and wellness industry. The tactics may result in short-term gains, but over time, damage the reputation of the industry at large.
“With pent-up demand returning, this is an apt time to look into this area. Clients today are more vocal and voice their opinions openly. With the rise of ‘reviews’ as a main source of credibility, businesses must prioritise genuine integrity above all else, irrespective of the industry.
“We realise that besides sharing the ‘hardware’ of space and technology, we also need to share the ‘software’ of integrity and selling with love with our beauty-preneurs and customers. While we are also on our own learning curve, we hope to start a movement that will have a ripple effect across the beauty and wellness industry, for the better.”
The global beauty and wellness market is estimated to be valued at more than US$1.5 trillion, with an annual growth of 5-10%, according to McKinsey.
Despite the strong growth, the industry is plagued with issues, said Yap adding that gimmicky hard selling methods, emotional blackmail and body shaming are common negative tactics used to draw in sales. In the process, these strategies cause a negative perception of the industry as a whole.
According to the Consumer Association of Singapore, the beauty industry received the highest number of consumer complaints compared to other industries. The industry’s use of aggressive sales tactics, amongst others, was cited as a factor.
“I believe that we must propagate and share knowledge on the value of responsibility in how we sell, how we market, how we treat our employees, and even how businesses invest their money. This applies to any industry, but is particularly rife in beauty and wellness,” said Marc Campbell.
“The principles of selling with love encourage businesses to be strategic about their long-term goals in the industry. Understanding their target market and what really attracts the segment will make it for business to build effective products, minus the gimmicks,” Yap added.
