▷ [Interview] How to grow a historic brand in niche cosmetics?

I interviewed Olga Do Nikitina, president since 2019 of Klytia Paris. Klytia is a Premium Luxury cosmetics brand specializing in chronobiology. Olga tells in this interview the marketing strategy of the brand with the importance of development in China. We also discuss the renewed notoriety which is a fundamental issue for Klytia in the months to come…

What is Klytia’s story?

Klytia is a historic brand, founded in Paris in 1895 by a woman entrepreneur. It is the brand that is at the origin of the first beauty institute in the world.

Klytia achieved success at the beginning of the 20th century. It was already exported to more than 40 countries around the world (Vietnam, China, Egypt, Mexico, Spain, etc.) when there was no Internet yet.

What was your priority when you took up the post in 2019?

We took over the brand just before the Covid started. During the Covid, we took the time to update the ranges of cosmetic products. In terms of marketing and distribution, we started in China with online distributors.

You should know that our logistics system allows us to deliver anywhere in the world. Then we implemented Chinese translation and payment methods on our site.

We are of course present on Chinese social networks like Weibo or Wechat and Red Book since in China they don’t have the same networks as us. We took advantage of the Covid to create our accounts on it.

Gradually, our stores were put online in China to be able to do crossboarding.

And your objectives on the French market?

We want to be positioned in B2B on luxury e-commerce platforms, which corresponds to our product range.

Today, the brand is present on French beautya marketplace that helps us sell our products to professionals.

In B2C, we initially aim for notoriety rather than profitability.

What works well for us are influencers, whether on the networks or on YouTube.

We also have a lot of traffic that comes from our Instagram account. We do competitions and even partnerships with other industries such as the hotel industry to meet our audiences.

We are also using Pinterest more and more and want to continue to develop it. With Pinterest, we can show different things like packaging.

Do you measure the different sources of traffic?

Pinterest brings us a lot of traffic from the United States. In France, it’s more Facebook and Instagram. The problem with Instagram is that the traffic is a little less targeted.

There are several levels of engagement depending on the traffic sources. This is important to differentiate customers who have come to buy from those who have come to discover the products.

What have you put in place to retain your customers?

In terms of loyalty, we have email campaigns. We offer offers on a regular basis, especially during important events such as sales.

We have also set up automated sequences after purchase or abandoned cart with Sendinblue. The advantage of this tool is that it is quite simple to use.

If you had to remember one thing that you put in place that worked well?

I think it’s the small visual campaigns, almost unprofessional, that we prepare and broadcast on our networks. Things little or not photoshopped, it’s about showing things as they are.

We also realize that people need to see people who look like them in the countryside. It’s more interesting than a perfect model without any flaws. Consumers identify more with these people.

Do you do your marketing in-house?

For the moment, we have started to do it internally, but we also have freelance service providers for the management of the website. It is true that the company is starting to have a fairly heavy workload so we plan to take on an agency in the coming months.

This will be primarily to manage our campaigns on Facebook and Instagram, then to gradually add Google Ads. It’s good at some point to outsource that part.

Why Facebook Ads rather than Google Ads?

On Google, if the consumer searches for a moisturizer, they will see maybe 1000 hits. And if the brand is not yet known, I don’t think he will go to that brand. It is better to spread the message first with visuals, photos, before-after, etc.

We are also specialized in chronobiology, so that requires explaining what it is.

Is the objective to outsource everything?

I think we’ll keep some of the internal communication like texts, because it’s important to keep control over the message. We are in the best position to know how the brand is developing, and what it wants to bring in the next 2 to 6 months.

On what criteria will you choose the agency that will accompany you?

The ideal would be an agency specializing in our field (cosmetics), which already has the expertise and experience of knowing how consumers react to this type of product. And also I know there are agencies that are more specialized in Facebook Ads. These are the important criteria for us.

Conclusion

I like to learn from a discussion. Here is what you can remember:

• The Covid has turned our way of working upside down. And like any unforeseen event, you have to use it to move forward. Klytia worked on her lines while production was in slow motion;
• The best market is not necessarily local. Klytia achieves a large part of its turnover (CA) with China;
• E-commerce platforms are an interesting way to supplement your turnover without having to carry out marketing actions. Klytia is positioned on platforms specializing in luxury cosmetics, which corresponds to its positioning;
• Each communication channel positions itself differently in relation to conversion. At Klytia, Instagram is a channel that brings traffic, but little conversion;
• Authenticity is the key to modern communication. Klytia promotes communication with little or no Photoshop as well as instant content;
• Facebook or Google advertising do not correspond to the same issues. When one starts from a consumer request, the other must create a desire. Klytia prefers to raise awareness on Facebook before moving to Google;
• A brand’s message is central to communication. Brands can be wary of outsourcing it. Klytia wants to keep control of it.