Eight out of 10 customers recommend! Ninety percent of users saw results instantly! Effective for 80% of participants!
We’ve all seen the claims that come stamped on the side of beauty product packaging and emblazoned in glossy magazine ads. They lend credibility to the product and entice us to make a purchase. But where do those claims come from?
The origin of the claim is just as important as the claim itself. The same holds true with statistics. Data can be read a number of ways and the entity behind the data could have a vested interest or lack real credentials, making their claims suspect.
Some things are easy to gauge on your own, like finding makeup that compliments your skin tone. But for the times when the benefit isn’t so obvious or isn’t a sure thing, it helps to know where the marketing hype comes from.
Third Party Product Testers
Leading market researchers like The Benchmarking Company help determine the effectiveness of products and customer satisfaction. Product testing can be conducted within controlled parameters to assess the efficacy and account for variables. Those findings are what become the beauty product claims.
When you see claims that note what percentage of users saw a certain result after using a beauty product, it likely came from a third party product testing company. The company creates standards and benchmarks that are used to accurately measure results compared to a baseline. The results from each participant are compiled together to reach the overall percentage.
In addition to the visible results, duration or length of time may also make its way into the claim. The results from third party testing can be phrased in different ways to highlight benefits, but in general, these types of claims tend to be the most reliable.
Expert Beauty Resources
Sometimes beauty publications or professionals will take a closer look at products to determine which ones are worth buying. Often they test out the product themselves and then rate the product or give it a seal of approval.
One common example of this is the Allure Best of Beauty Awards. Allure is a women’s magazine that focuses heavily on beauty products, makeup techniques, and the latest looks. Every year they award Best of Beauty designations to products in 16 categories largely based on their editor reviews. Many companies prominently display the Best of Beauty badge on their packaging to back up their efficacy claims.
User Evaluations
When you see a claim that includes a phrase like “4 out of 5 women surveyed,” that’s an example of user evaluation or self-assessment. This information can be collected in a number of ways.
Third Party Facilitator – A third party can conduct self-assessment surveys and polls for a company, which helps add legitimacy to the findings. The facilitator will recruit users, have them use the product for a specified period and then ask the users a serious of questions.
Company Surveys – Other times the product manufacturers will conduct the user surveys themselves. However, these aren’t as reliable since the company has a vested interest in getting positive results.
Beauty Sites and Resources – Allure also uses reader reviews to give out their seal of approval. In February, online surveys are sent out to subscribers who vote for their favorite products. For 2017, 49 beauty products were given the Readers’ Choice award. Beauty stores like Ulta and Sephora also collect thousands of user reviews that find their way into marketing claims.
The makeup industry is a significant segment of the global economy. The latest projections estimate that the industry will jump from $460 billion in sales in 2014 to $675 billion by 2020.
The increase is in large part due to the rapid increase in products being brought to market. Not all of those products are worth the money that’s spent. Pay careful attention to the claims that are made and who they come from to determine if a product is worth the investment.
