Read Figure 1: Glossier: Using Beauty to Talk Back to Consumers mini case and answer the below questions: a. What is Glossier's key customer analysis tool?b. What, if anything, should major cosmetic competitors such as L'Oreal or Estee Lauder do in response to Glossier's success? What actions can Glossier take to protect itself against these moves?
Figure 1: Glossier: Using Beauty to Talk Back to Consumers I. " BEST DIGITAL PRACTICE ''\"''"_''_"'*-~. Glossier: Using Beauty to Talk Back to Consumers When Emily Weiss {bonded beauty-brand Glossier her goal was simple: create an online platform tl'lmugb which wmnen could connect and share their beauty routines and preferences with One anotlu'n'. \\'L'eiss wanted to bring a more personalized element to the experience of nding beauty products, and believed a forum that allowed women to more easily seek out suggestions and support was critical. Clossicr grew out of Weiss blog Into the Gloss, which highlighted the daily beauty routines of contemporary celebrities, models. and makeup moguls. The blog's intention was to give individuals a. "1 first-hand look into the bathroom \"top sheh'es" ofwomen like Karlie Kloss and Bobbi Broom and gain inspiration for their own collections. Additionally, Weiss included a commenting function that enabled women to swap stories about utilizing different skin care and makeup products. When unique monthly sicws of the site surpassed I million, Weiss realized that there was an opportunity to begin designing a line of products based on her readers' knowledge. This was the driver behind the launch of Glossier. Since its inception in 2014, Glossier has relied On two things to set itself apart in the already crowded $250 billion beauty market. The rst is its brand identity. Weiss has carefully maintained a unied look and feel across its website and advertisements. For example, there is a distinct focus on showcasing diverse Women and infusing a \"millennial-facing voice" into its marketing and messaging. A second point of differentiation is the strength of Glossier's digital comm unity and customer feedback loop. V'i-ieiss has made the site an ongoing \"two-way conversation" between the company's product team and user connnunity. Weiss mines user-generated content as an inspiration for future product development. Furthermore, as Glossier loyalists post their beauty habits on sites such as Instagram, the company benefits from free marketing. Glossier's concerted effort to talk \"with" and not \"at\" its shoppers has certainly piqued consumer interest. Two products have had 10,000-person waiting lists and the company is seeing a signicant uptick in inteniational demand. Under Weiss, Glossier is positioned to become a major pl: yer within the beauty market. Its success to date is a solid example of how careful analysis of consumer ideas can help marketers strategically and tactically respond to unmet areas of need. i. .1 >1
