Special(ty)Soap
Meredith Schwartz -- Gifts and Dec, 6/20/2011 1:24:08 AM
Drugstores and supermarkets have whole aisles devoted to these categories, not to mention the big boxes. here are some essentials - pun intended - for making sure your customers realize just how special your offerings are.
Hosting a makeover event can bring new customers into the store as well as getting them to try your products.
Sample, Sample, Sample Nothing sells a personal care product like a first-hand (cream) experience.
1) Place sample items for customers to test in front of purchasable product. "Our soaps sell the best when tester samples are included as part of the display, so our customers can sample and sniff each scent,' says Meryl Gabeler, co-founder of Anjolie Ayurveda. Prominent labeling will help keep people from messing up packaged goods to take a whiff . But that's only the beginning.
Combine signs, hangtags, handouts or qr codes with an educated staff that can answer questions. 
2) Everyone who has tried a pump of something sweet-smelling in the ladies' room at a tradeshow knows that putting your merchandise in your "facilities" can drive sales, as well as being the kind of luxurious detail that makes your store a delightful place to visit from start to (pit) stop.
3) Consider partnering with a non-competing business, such as a restaurant, that attracts a similar customer to put hand wash and lotion in their restroom too, with a sign that says "compliments of [your store name]."
4) If your vendor makes a sample size, consider using them as a bag-stuffer or gift with purchase. 
5) Many vendors will contribute a free sample with each order, but if not, consider it a cost of doing business, and build it into the markup.
Judge Bath by its Cover One of the major advantages of specialty gift bath and body lines over their drugstore cousins is looks. This is, of course, particularly important in gift giving, but it is also increasingly important in self-purchase, particularly for products that are going to be visible in today's larger and more luxurious bathrooms. That means one effective way to merchandise personal care products is to sell them the way you'd sell any other piece of home decor: in vignettes. If you have room and budget to create a lovely vanity and merchandise it with fine linens and potpourri, go for it. If not, consider investing in good photography and lighting to suggest the same effect.
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Educate Staff, Shoppers Environmentally friendly claims are a large and still-growing part of the gift bath and body market, and one of the prime differentiators between our offerings and the chemical-laden mass market brands. Functional, and especially anti-aging, claims are another strong selling point. However the vocabulary of things they don't have (such as parabens) and do (like antioxidants) can be long and confusing. Ask vendors for educational materials or make your own to distribute.
"A prominent display in addition to our Anjolie postcard handouts are the best way for our customers to understand our products," says Gabeler. For best results, combine point-of- purchase information on signs, hangtags, handouts or QR codes with an educated staff that can answer questions and provide a human touch.
You may even want to bring someone in from the vendor to do a training with the staff .
Make Up an Event Makeovers are popular with a woman on her own; a pair of girlfriends, sisters, or mother-daughter; or a group girls' for a night out. Hosting a free makeover event is like sampling on steroids - it can bring new customers into the store as well as getting existing ones to try products, and feel grateful for the privilege. (Especially if you offer after-hours private gatherings.) You may be able to partner with a local salon for free or reduced price services, since they get a chance to promote to your customer list. 
Balance Staples with Surprises One of the advantages of selling bath and body products is that someone who gets hooked, will use up the products and come back for more. It's important, therefore, to commit to bestselling lines and make sure you've always got essentials in stock. However, like any section, you still need to keep things fresh. Season-specific supplements are one way to accomplish that, whether its flip-fl op-ready foot care for summer or chap-chasing winter balms. Products for underserved niches such as kids or men are another, even if women are still mostly doing the buying.
We would love your feedback!
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