National Trainer Orlane Paris
by Denise Gorant
Denise Gorant
In 2008, Orlane conducted a study to research consumer expectations in terms of the Orlane brand, its product offers and how well its image is communicated as well as to identify the brand’s progress. The conclusions revealed not only Orlane’s undisputed, upscale positioning, real cosmetic know-how and the quality and effectiveness of its products and formulas but also the need to promote its desirability, establish a clearer message about its offerings and raise the brand image to the same level as the quality of its products.
In response to that study, we began a program in 2009 to heighten visibility, to reinforce our luxury positioning and claim our anti-aging specialty by structuring and simplifying the product range and setting the brand in a more feminine, glamorous and pleasure-focused culture. Our aim was to accompany women at each level in their lives by providing them with pleasurable and effective products for their skin.
The obvious next step involved new segmentation of the brand and new packaging. The new packaging aims to heighten clarity by offering a different color for each program, simplified facing that highlights the range and benefits of the product and conveys a modern identity with high impact on shelves for greater visibility. New segmentation in age ranges makes the brand easier for the product specialists to understand in open-sell and inter-sell environments and for the consumer.
This required the re-education of a team of product specialists, Beauty Advisors, freelancers and Account Executives that each average a decade with Orlane. We are extremely fortunate that we have a hard-working and dedicated team, but changing the selling structure completely presented a challenge for them as it sometimes contradicted what we’d been saying for years. The training plan of the past two seasons has been to reinforce selling basics and our new approach of selling the products.
Orlane believes the skin ages as a result of four major causes—lack of oxygen, stress and fatigue, loss of memory (lines & wrinkles) and loss of firmness. We have identified which of these concerns acts on the skin at each age. More than half of our day-long training session deals with how these concerns relate to different ages of the skin as well as covering the launch of our new segment for 25-35 year olds and “invisible aging,” which is a whole new client-base for us.
It is important to educate the product specialists on how to present a program based on the age of the skin, to combine products across categories to customize the best solution for each client and to help them understand how to introduce new products. The product specialists have to learn how to move a client from one program to the next and help them understand the importance of periodically introducing “prestige” programs at monthly intervals for more intense benefits.
Training sessions include a lot of open dialogue, questions and example scenarios to show how our former concepts work with our new concepts. My presentation shows the evolution of the skin at each age, how we can accommodate a woman beginning at the age of 25 and take care of her skincare needs for her lifetime.
At-counter, the product specialists are equipped to establish with the client the concerns she wants to address, as well as evaluating the age and condition of her skin. Products and samples are recommended. Follow-up for each is key in establishing and continuing to maintain the relationship, which ensures the client knows we are “in it” with her for the long haul. And, we really are.