Between fashion and cosmetics, there are several points of contact, especially when it comes to customer relations. How to engage them? How can a brand keep its communication alive? How to guide them in their purchase, even if it is a product costing less than seven euros? Here, from first-hand accounts at Fashion Digital Excellence Roundtable, is the modus operandi of Layla Cosmetics–a company founded in Milan in 1936, which has made a name for itself in the production of nail varnish, today distributed in more than 3,500 sales outlets – and that of Avon, whose history began in the USA in 1880. At the time a young home seller, David McConnell came up with the idea of gifting his customers with a perfume. Later, he decided to hire Mrs Albee, who had been one of his first customers, as a representative for his beauty business.

Babila Spagnolo, CEO, Layla Cosmetics:
“No filters, no deception: on social media, I am myself.”

“Our prices are certainly not those of fashion – a nail polish costs €6.90–but engagement is equally difficult. With Covid, I immediately discarded the blogger hypothesis and started talking to my customers as ambassadors, organising live broadcasts on social media. So, the followers on Instagram grew from 15 thousand to 107 thousand. I cultivated them with consistency, creating trust and continuing the path taken during the lockdowns: since 2020 I have been speaking on behalf of Layla.”

“To this day, despite my hectic schedule, I launch products live, avoiding communication–quite common in the beauty world–that is fake and unreachable for ordinary women. We live with make-up, but it has to come as a personal experience: so, it is better to try the product on non-perfect faces and use irony, to entertain consumers. For example, we called Rocco Siffredi to launch our mascara “The Longer The Better”. Even so, we achieved a 0.7% share of the Italian mascara market, according to Nielsen data, of which I am very proud. Customer trust has been built personally, so much so that now those who meet me call me Layla and not Babila.”

Arianna Gallicchio, head of communication media and advertising, Avon Cosmetics Srl:
“Don’t call them salespeople: ours are consultants.”

“Avon has about 140 years of history in cosmetics and is a forerunner of direct door-to-door sales, thanks to our salespeople, whom we call consultants. They are also our first loyalty community, our brand ambassadors, in a B2B2C business model. There are over two million of them in the world, 50 thousand in Italy, who are attracted by the financial opportunity but also by the fact that we guarantee them flexibility, few hierarchies and the possibility of working where they want, how and when they want. Some do it while travelling and some while studying.

Avon immediately thought of women to sell, and today the consumer engagement follows various modalities. For example, through our catalog, for a personalized experience, exploiting the customer’s relationships and knowledge to recommend the most suitable products. But there are also those who opt for the digital channel, without ever meeting consumers. In this sense, we offer training courses on the product, negotiation and how to find new customers. There are also those who open their own e-commerce on avon.it and only sell via digital, becoming a beauty micro-influencer.”

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