Every industry that extensively caters to the needs and choices of their customers, to the extent that most of their business move is driven and executed based on what the consumers are rooting for, would understand the importance of trust. The importance of building the confidence of your customers is substantially crucial to increase your sales and business. An essential way to put this in practice is by keeping the customers in the loop of everything that goes on in the wings.
For a considerable part of their entrepreneurial history, the beauty and cosmetics industry has been very cryptic and coy with some of the information constituting their products. The gatekeeping of details and information about the ingredients employed in their products is an age-long practice and continues.
As marketing goes, the beauty industry also showcased its marketing with an abundance of advertisements highlighting their products’ impressive and mind-blowing benefits. Indubitably most of the audience bought into this wow and decadent advertising. But the customer is no fool. As a result, customer reviews came into the limelight. Consumers unanimously question and rummage into the detailing of the products they blindly and consistently apply.
The rite of turning to “influencers” to gain trust among consumers came into vogue. Influencers being strong and moving figures amidst the masses, held the power of building or breaking trust towards a particular brand with their sheer influence. Propagation of any product or brand by them ensured the efficacy and brilliance of the same.
Nevertheless, these influencers are funded and sponsored by the brand whose effectiveness they claim and promote. Overall, this takes us back to the question of transparency.
Gatekeeping is when a brand shelters information about its products, the ingredients or chemicals used in its making, and the ratio of it, amongst other essential details of the same.
Greenwashing is another bogus claim and scapegoat exerted by beauty brands to sugarcoat their products and increase sales under pretence. With customers deviating from highly chemicalized and artificial products, organic and natural products sales are on the rise. Since naturalized and non-chemical products have raised cost-production, brands that claim to be honest and environmentally friendly can shoot up the price of their products, ultimately pocketing up their profits.
But the loophole in Greenwashing is that any brand can get away with a bit of branding of organic products. The guidelines to classify any beauty line as an organic brand is so lenient and flexible that engaging one natural ingredient can stamp you with the title. This unethical marketing practice is deceitful and misleading for consumers.
The practice of gatekeeping and greenwashing is incredibly confusing to consumers, creating scepticism and making them question every other product they invest in. As it should, after all, they pool their hard-earned money and effort. Thus skin problems, dermatologist visits and deceit are not what they deserve.
The truth remains that consumers still hold the upper hand. Upholding the strength of driving the fate of a company, consumers’ voices and demands matters more than we think. Not succumbing to the gimmicks presented our way and demanding full transparency is the first step toward uprooting this fraudulent culture.
Withholding information and bluffing consumers isn’t just wrong with business standards but also unethical towards consumers who are going for natural or certain products for a cause. Greenwashing is a direct violation of those values.
It’s also crucial for consumers to support and promote companies that manufacture sustainable and organic products while maintaining transparency and authenticity. Provenance lists to let you help with the transparency check of any brand.
The whole bustle towards transparency is still very new yet developing in the consumer market. Step-by-step is the way to dive into the transparency business. To keep the communication going, brands must maintain the line of transparency. This doesn’t just shoot up your sales or increase the reach but also helps create a loyal customer base that binds up in a true-blue community. Follow Jaldee Business blogs for more mind-tickling reads and stay in touch with the business trend.