Beautyplaza.de's German revolution: from webshop to brand thinking. Kimberley D'Hoore and Bob Amian, two enthusiastic marketing colleagues at Beautyplaza.de, among others, explain how to get more out of your webshop when you switch to brand thinking. Bob and Kimberley: "When you do something, do it well and not halfway" and "A little innovation is not good enough," the marketeers start. After the success of HBB24 in the Netherlands and Belgium, Beautyplaza.de decidedto win over the German customer as well. That meant a new strategy and researching the needs of customers in Germany. This quickly showed that the German consumer chooses different brands than in the BeNeLux, such as Paul Mitchell, Kérastase, Redken, Keune, Tigi, Moroccanoil, Avène and Goldwell. Note: Beautyplaza is also listed in the CrossBorder Top30 in 2017!
Preferred brands appeal to German consumers on a personal basis, brand values and experience. These brands the customer trusts and are used, among other things, as data for convenience: fast, direct and relevant communication back and forth. Here Beautyplaza.de is moving from CRM to VRM (Vendor Relationship Management), where the basis is a strong brand. A "love brand" even.
How do you become a lovebrand?
Kimberley: "As Beautyplaza.de, we want to create an experience towards the customer and entice them. Yes, we give good service and professional advice. Therefore, our employees on Beautyplaza.de also tell about the products from their expertise, so that we already provide the consumer with the right information before the purchase. Customers should be able to purchase products when, where and how it suits them."
"Demanding? Above all, German consumers want to be kept well informed. Communication and delivering what you promise is very important in for German customers, be honest. Deliveries to Germany take a few days, but German customers are willing to wait for their 'lovebrand'," Kimberley concludes with a smile, saying, "Even though we obviously don't make a consumer wait too long."
Business luck?
Kimberley: "We have of course thoroughly researched the lovebrands in Germany. Take hair care products from Paul Mitchel, for example: increasingly popular and at more accessible prices than before. Why not immediately communicate to the customer shopping preferences: online, service level, inspiration and a suitable offer by e-mail? Isn't it great when a webshop thinks along for the benefit of the consumer? Ultimately, the customer chooses what suits him or her personally; it's golden when you as a retailer know exactly what makes the majority of your customers happy!"
Bob, Kimberley's colleague continues enthusiastically, "By responding well to customer needs, we were able to say that we broke even after just 1.5 years. And our strategy, a webshop that thinks in terms of brands and target groups, has earned us loyal customers. Of course, we are proud of this. As a webshop we do not sit still and continuously look at what the consumer expects and how we can respond and connect to this."
A proper consistent look
"The appearance of your online store should be congruent with the feeling you want to leave with a customer. Soundness, exclusivity, reliability, etc. In addition, you need to make sure that the look and feel of your site is consistent. Your webshop really needs to have the look and feel of a German company to gain the trust of a German customer. Not only on your www address, but also on banners, advertorials etc. that are outside your webshop. It is also important that a webshop in Germany meets all the prerequisites, such as German texts written by native speakers, German seals of approval, German payment methods and of course we can give more examples. German consumers will drop out if you don't have things in order."
What advice would you give Dutch entrepreneurs within the German market?
"Call in specialists who are at home within the German market. They can tell you right away which basic things you must have in order, such as a German address, a German URL, www.beautyplaza.de instead of hbb24.nl or hbb24.de, unique content, German prices, German return address and a German account. Also, make sure you have all legal matters in order. Furthermore, we have seen that it is interesting to shop directly in Germany. You may have to take care of a lot at the beginning or have it taken care of, but Get big, get niche or get out."
On behalf of Kimberley D'Hoore and Bob Amian | Marketing HBB24 and Beautyplaza
NOTE: Beautyplaza is also in the 2017 CrossBorder Top30!
