5 Actionable ways to revive your beauty business after a downturn

Every business experiences ups and downs and the beauty industry is no exception. 

Whether it's seasonal slumps, shifting trends, or increased competition, a drop in sales can feel discouraging. 

But the good news? A downturn doesn’t mean the end—it’s an opportunity to refine, innovate, and come back stronger. Just as Judy Smith, one of the top crisis managers in the US said, “There’s an opportunity with crisis.” And fun fact, Smith was the inspiration for Olivia Pope in the hit TV series, Scandal (meaning, we trust whatever she says). 

With the right strategies, you can revitalize your beauty business, re-engage customers, and drive sustainable growth. Let’s explore five actionable ways to turn things around and bring your beauty brand back to life.

1. Analyze and adapt your product offerings 

The first step in reviving sales is understanding what’s working and what’s not. Without this knowledge, you won’t know what needs revitalization and what doesn’t, potentially doing more harm than good. 

Take a deep dive into historical sales data. The goal here is to uncover trends, identify best-selling products, and slow movers, and better understand high and low sales seasons. 

Once you have a clear picture or an idea of which products are performing best, worst, and when, make adjustments:

• Double down on bestsellers: Highlight your top-performing products with special promotions, bundles, or limited-edition packaging. Creatively leaning on bestsellers is an effective way to support your beauty business during tougher times. 
• Introduce seasonal or trend-driven products: Refresh your lineup with products that align with current beauty trends or upcoming events like Mother’s Day to capitalize on the excitement and also the increase in customer spending during this time.
• Offer private label products: Differentiate your brand by launching exclusive, branded beauty products through trusted partners like Blanka, giving your customers a reason to shop with you over competitors.

For the slow-moving products, analyze why this might be the case, ask yourself questions like: 

• Is the product seasonal, and are you marketing it at the right time?
• Are customers aware of this product, or does it need better visibility on your site and social media?
• Is the price competitive compared to similar products in the market?
• Have you collected customer feedback to understand potential issues?
• Could the product benefit from a new positioning, such as bundling it with a bestseller?
• Does the product description and imagery effectively highlight its benefits?
• Is there a demand for this product, or does it need a refresh or reformulation?

2. Reconnect with your customers 

Your customers are your biggest asset. They’re the heartbeat of any ecommerce business, without them, your brand can’t survive. 

So during times of downturn, connect with them.  Effectively engaging customers can lead to increased loyalty and repeat sales. 

Here are a few ways we recommend rekindling the connection:

• Email marketing campaigns: Send re-engagement emails with exclusive discounts, early access to new products, or personalized recommendations.
  • For example, Saltyface does this incredibly well. Below’s an example of a recent email that’s offering a giveaway for Valentine’s Day. It targets the season we’re currently in as well as a fun promo: 
• Social media engagement: Host interactive Q&A sessions, polls, and live demonstrations to create an active and engaged community on social media. These avenues also encourage two-way communication, making your consumers feel heard by your brand. 
  • Brands like Bobbi Brown, Clinique, and Sephora can all be found experimenting with live shopping as a way to connect with audiences. 
• Customer surveys: Sometimes, hearing directly from your customer is all you need. Gather feedback on what they’d like to see more of—use this insight to fine-tune your product offerings and marketing.
  • Platforms like SurveyMonkey or Typeform can help you here. If your business lives on Shopify, there are also tons of Shopify survey apps and beauty apps. 

3. Optimize your marketing strategies 

Balancing marketing during times of downturn is a struggle for many brands.

The first instinct is to cut marketing budgets because obviously, fewer sales are coming in. But there’s research and arguments against this. The idea is that even though you’re experiencing fewer sales, marketing is what will help to recover from this slower period much faster and future-proof your business. 

Additionally, a sales slump may indicate that your marketing strategy needs a refresh. Reassess your current tactics and channels, making adjustments to improve performance where necessary. 

Here are some areas to start: 

• Re-evaluate ad spend: Analyze the performance of your paid ads. What keywords are driving conversions? What audience segments are engaged? Can you pause underperforming campaigns and invest more in the high-converters?  
• Leverage influencer collaborations: Influencer marketing and user-generated content have taken the beauty industry by storm, and for good reason. Partner with beauty influencers to showcase your products through authentic, relatable content. They already have audiences that trust and value their recommendations.
• Run limited-time promotions: Use urgency tactics like flash sales, giveaways, referral discounts, and other promotional offers to attract new customers and excite existing ones. As we mentioned earlier with the email example from Saltyface, giveaways and promos encourage consumer engagement. 
• Brand build, brand build…and brand build: Yes, you want to focus on bottom-funnel marketing channels that drive sales. But we also encourage you to keep brand building in mind during slower times in sales. This type of marketing sets you up for success in the long run. 

4. Improve your customer experience 

An optimized customer experience can make or break a sale. 

Ensure that every touchpoint—from website navigation to post-purchase support—enhances the shopping journey and leaves the customer happy with their experience. 

There are a few key ways you can go about creating a top-notch customer experience: 

• Streamline your website: Ensure fast load times, intuitive navigation, and a frictionless checkout process. Depending on your hosting site, there should be plenty of tutorials on how to achieve this. Additionally, tools like Google’s Lighthouse can help to analyze site performance. 
• Improve customer support: To prevent customers from getting frustrated if they encounter challenges or have questions, offer live chat or quick-response email support to promptly assist. If you’re a solo business owner, it’s okay to add hours when you’re “online” so customers know when you’re active. 
• Collect and implement feedback: Actively read or listen to customer reviews and feedback. From here, make necessary improvements to build trust and satisfaction. Remember, as Bill Gates says, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” So don’t shy away from reviews that can be deemed as “negative”, they’re usually the ones that make the most impact. 

5. Build a stronger brand presence 

We mentioned it above, but during high and low sale seasons, building your brand up is always key. 

Your brand identity plays a crucial role in standing out from the competition, strengthening ties with existing customers, attracting new customers, fostering loyalty, and so much more.

A downturn in sales is a time to look at your brand’s messaging and positioning for improvements. 

Focus on areas like:

• Refining your brand story: Ensure messaging resonates with your target audience and clearly communicates your unique value. The audience feedback and customer surveys we discussed above will help analyze whether your story is hitting or not.  
• Refreshing packaging and visuals: A brand refresh or updated product packaging can reignite excitement and interest. Explore design trends within your target market, what colors, typography, and personality are they flocking towards? 

Additionally, offering private label beauty products strengthens your brand identity by giving you complete control over product design, ingredients, and messaging. 

Unlike reselling generic products or ones that you don’t own, private label solutions allow you to craft a unique experience tailored to your audience. This exclusivity differentiates your brand while fostering trust, and loyalty, and increasing your brand's average transaction value.

Reviving your beauty business after a sales downturn

Recovering from a sales downturn is challenging (and scary), but with the right approach, it’s completely achievable. 

Through strategies like refining your product offerings, strengthening customer relationships, optimizing marketing, enhancing customer experience, and building a solid brand presence, you can revitalize your beauty business and set it up for both short-term and long-term success.

Ready to revive your beauty business with a new collection?

Discover what Blanka has to offer!