L'Oréal - Dercos
Can We Improve the Shopping Experience for Consumers with Hair and Scalp Concerns While Achieving Dercos' Business Goals?
To enhance user education and boost site traffic and revenue, I led my team to optimize the user journey. Using both design and marketing frameworks, we improved the Dercos shopping experience on the Vichy Canada website and launched a nationwide campaign. Our efforts led to a 3.7x increase in revenue and a 4.4x boost in traffic.
The dermatological hair care market is growing faster than any other hair care category. This presented a golden opportunity for Derco, Vichy's dermatological hair and scalp care brand.
More Support Needed for Dercos' Shoppers
Competitors Adapt to Consumers' Needs While Dercos Falls Behind
Dercos' lack of differentiation hinders its ability to establish itself as a dermatological hair care brand.
Education can help consumers understand their hair and scalp concerns and find suitable products to treat their concerns and help them feel less alone. In addition, consumer education can help Dercos build trust and credibility.
Business impact is important and revenue is a key business KPI.
A simple product listing wouldn't suffice. Here are some ideas I had to increase touchpoints:
Working with Dercos' Marketing Manager, we prioritized ideas using these guiding principles:
Using the marketing funnel framework ensure that every touchpoint for consumers, from the awareness to loyalty and advocacy, was carefully orchestrated in their journey to healthier hair.
Step 1: Awareness
Social Media Ads: Ad spending was allocated based on A/B testing different versions of the ads.
Dercos-Focused Newsletter: The newsletter invited readers to visit the Vichy website to learn more.
Website Banner: The original model-focused banner made Dercos seem less dermatological. The new banner helps consumers quickly find products for their hair and scalp concerns.
Other Touchpoints:
SMS Promotions: Text messages about Dercos and the promotions were sent to to Vichy subscribers.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM): SEM helped shoppers find Dercos on Google.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Keywords in magazine articles help improve Dercos' visibility in search results.
Step 2: Consideration
Consumer Education Through Vichy Magazine: Science-based articles on hair and scalp routines and ingredients are easily accessible from the category landing page (CLP). The Dercos campaign introduced content blocks on the CLP, which is now a standard practice.
Educational Newsletter: The newsletters featured articles on routines and ingredients with direct links for easy access.
Email Newsletter Featuring Consumer Reviews: The newsletter helped consumers with hair and scalp concerns feel less alone and trust Dercos through reviews.
Step 3: Conversion
Seamless Add-to-Cart Experience: Consumers can effortlessly add products to their cart after reading the articles.
Promotions-Focused Email Newsletters: The newsletters encouraged users to purchase and try Dercos products.
Step 4: Loyalty and Advocacy
Leave a Review Campaign Featuring an Exclusive Promo Code: I proposed a post-purchase campaign where consumers who purchased Dercos during a summer promotion would receive an exclusive promo code via email for their next purchase and be encouraged to leave product reviews. This campaign was not implemented due to organizational changes after my internship.
How the Updated User Journey Can Help People with Rebecca
Awareness
Consideration
Conversion
Constraints of an Established Brand
Designing for an established brand requires considering existing conversions and technical feasibility. L'Oréal Canada follows strict guidelines from France, limiting implementation options. For example, my routine pop-up idea couldn't be executed.
Navigating Unexpected Changes
During the campaign, I encountered two unexpected changes. First, a key agency faced a month-long delay. This prompted me to improve my collaboration with external stakeholders by balancing firmness with understanding. Additionally, three products went out of stock due to transportation issues, requiring quick adaptations to the campaigns. These challenges taught me to be more agile in the face of unexpected changes.
