Youth Trip: Help Your Business Speak Teen! by Annet King Generation Y. The Me Generation. The I Generation. Millennials. Sophisticated? Yes. Savvy? Absolutely. Spending power? Definitely: an entire generation of 8 to 23-year-olds spends about $200 billion annually. But ask this multi-tasking, ambitious, hyper-connected and techno-savvy generation if they really know how to take care of their skin, and you’ll find they come up short. While throwing around negatives such as narcissistic, hard to reach, impatient, materialistic and overindulged, market researchers admit teens and young adults are a generation of multi-taskers, they are ambitious and well-educated (64% of women and 60% of men go to college), and they are socially- and civic-minded. They also heavily influence their parents’ big purchase decisions, drive trends and have access to more information than any other generation in history. Before assessing the vast gap between your teenage years and theirs, keep this in mind: teens and young adults still struggle with one of the most prevalent pangs of adolescence: skin that seems to be out of control. There’s no doubt you can remember what it was like socially to have “imperfect” skin. What you learned about your skin came from magazines and friends; today’s teens source advice from internet advertisements and friends on Facebook. Occasionally, parents intervene, directing teens to use what they use, or they take them directly to a dermatologist for intensive, harsh and even pharmaceutical-based treatments. Teens and young adults of this generation commonly select alcohol-based products that overstrip oils from skin. They know they should wear sunscreen, but they don’t let it influence product selection. They know they should cleanse, but not with what nor how often. They pick, poke and pop their breakouts. They cover with cosmetics rather than correct, and they can be misled to believe that a piece of chocolate could be causing their breakouts. All this sounding familiar to when you were a teen? Target the Teen/Young Adult Market Transform teenagers' stressful skin situations into a simple, manageable part of their daily routine, and you’ll have clients for life! No teen clients? Start here: • Target their parents! Ask your clients if they have teens who are interested in starting a skin care routine, and create a special teen sampler pack for clients to take home. • Cross promote: connect with teens visiting your salon or spa for hair or nail services by giving them free Clean Start by Dermalogica samples or amenity packs. • Social Networking: create a social network page (think Facebook) that lists in-store events
exclusive to teens and young adults. • Appeal to their philanthropic side: offer a free skin treatment or travel kit to those who perform a community service or to students who are on the honor roll at your local middle or high school. Have teen clients that self-select products to meet their skin care needs? Start here: • Set up a fun, no pressure environment filled with energizing music and healthy snacks. Chances are your current teen clients will bring a friend with them to the event! • Offer complimentary product in exchange for a review of your business online. • Create buzz agents to spread the word about your business. • Word-of-mouth or blog-of-mouth: offer incentives when they refer a friend! Through our continued efforts to research the needs of the industry, The International Dermal Institute recognized that no one is addressing the true needs of teenage and young adult skin. Ample options don’t equate to good choices: most products tend to use harsh, and inexpensive, ingredients to strip the skin of its natural oil, which we know, as skin care professionals, is actually counterproductive. Clean Start by Dermalogica is a system of eight products that address the needs of teenage skin. Developed by the International Dermal Institute for Dermalogica, the system stays true to the same strict specifications all Dermalogica products follow: no artificial fragrances or colors, no mineral oils, no S.D. alcohol, and no comedogenic or allergy-causing ingredients. Simply put, Clean Start cuts through the hype that most skin care lines funnel towards teens with amazing products that deliver results! Like the generation that will be using them, these products also multi-task, offering two-in-one functionality.