From the buying power of the natural hair movement to the rise of homegrown entrepreneurs and digital influencers everyone’s been buzzing about the business of beauty. Recently long time beauty executive Phylencia “PT” Taylor has added her expertise to the mix with the release of her debut book “Evolving Beauty-The Business of Beauty in A New Age”. Featuring a foreword by Carol’s Daughter founder Lisa Price this book provides readers with the tools to navigate a landscape that has undergone a tremendous transformation. Taylor was motivated by a desire to allow others to learn from and be empowered by her experiences and research. “Now that we’re in a new age of beauty” said Taylor “the thought is how do we make decisions that we need to make. A lot of chapters in the book give an underlay of core marketing and communications but they have a modern twist and a digital influence”.
Find more more about Taylor and her thoughts on Evolving Beauty below.
Tell us about the proprietary algorithm you developed with Shine Beauty.
It’s a proprietary algorithm to help you navigate in the digital age that we’re in now. I used tried and true traditional marketing metrics that are well established and well-received and I created an overlay that includes a couple of new ways of looking at it. Because big businesses and small businesses don’t always have the same type of measurements, you have to fuse the theories. Everyone knows about early adopters. Everyone knows about the growth stage, the maturing stage and the declining stage those are great models but what they don’t address is that you can restage a brand. You can give it a new face and refresh it. I put together metrics to help you decide.
How accurate do you think numbers are in determining where a brand is and the influence that it has?
I think that social media should be a factor. Of course you can buy likes you can buy followers but underneath it all you’ll know what kind of engagement a brand is getting. It’s an evaluation factor but I don’t think it’s the factor. The factor is your awareness, and consumer response in conjunction with your sales. The dollars don’t lie. The followers and the likes may be a little bit skewed but the numbers are what they are.
How do you define blogger promiscuity?
It doesn’t come from bashing bloggers at all. It’s about educating them. A lot of beauty influencers don’t have traditional marketing and communications experience and you don’t know what you don’t know. But you can’t jump ship at every opportunity. Chapter two is called “Know Thyself” if you know yourself and you know your brand and you’ve done your homework then you’re going to stand in a certain realm. A lot of beauty influencers are getting a bad rap because of blogger promiscuity. Understanding basic brand essence other than studying it on social media is really important.
How do you think brands and blogger can maintain relationships without sacrificing authenticity?
It can’t be all about the money because people see through that. There have to be some stakes in the ground. As influencers we create our own careers. You have to ask yourself what is your point of difference. You have to say who do I want to work with. Creating longer term opportunities, like year long campaigns will increase brand health from a manufacturer’s standpoint and a blogger’s standpoint.
Consumer tastes are now playing a huge role in the beauty industry. What do you think of this shift?
I think this is a positive thing. It’s a great thing that they’re listening to consumers more. As African-American women we are a smaller part of the population but we spend two to three times more money. We’re still constantly searching for the right product. That’s a problem to me. It doesn’t make sense. That tells me that we aren’t being heard. We aren’t being listened to. We’re spending the most money but we aren’t being courted the most. This is a eighty one billion dollar business! Innovation equals investment.
Phylencia “PT” Taylor is currently on her three city book with stops in Detroit, Atlanta, and New York City.