SUITE 13™: A VIRTUAL BEAUTY EXPERIENCE BY MARY KAY
proud sharing it with their consumers so they could explore it on their own? We have distributed surveys to IBCs in every market post-launch to gather their feedback on their initial experiences in Suite 13™. Below are some key findings: • 73% of IBCs in Mexico would recommend using Suite 13™ to another IBC. • 83% of IBCs in Spain said they would use Suite 13™ to promote their businesses. • 53% of IBCs in Russia said Suite 13™ helped them in closing a sale. • IBCs in the United States reported having 2-3 customers per consultation, with each customer purchasing at least one product. Launching this new, innovative tool has not come without challenges. Introducing new technologies will always require a learning period for users. To educate them, we’ve acted on the feedback we received from the surveys discussed above. For example, we have responded by adding extra navigation support in the lobby when a visitor enters Suite 13™ and by increasing the product assortment, building the Lounge space on the Mezzanine so markets can more prominently display relevant products. We also continue to deliver more IBC education to increase their confidence using the resource. Since launch, our team has distinguished three lanes of continued work: launch, maintain, and innovate. First, we are continuing to launch Suite 13™ in new
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markets around the world, as the relevance and IBC feedback continues to remain positive for the experience as a selling resource. Second, as market priorities shift, fresh marketing content becomes available, and new products are introduced, we continue to maintain Suite 13™ and keep the site fresh to ensure IBCs can book their second, third, and fourth appointments with their customers. And last, innovation tops our list. We are planning strategically for the future of Suite 13™. According to Gartner, in their article, “Hype Cycle for Digital Commerce, 2021,” immersive commerce is just emerging from the “Innovation Trigger” phase, meaning the outlook for this technology still has many years of continued growth and innovation before becoming mainstream. This puts Mary Kay at the forefront of leveraging this technology to support Independent Beauty Consultants as they build their businesses moving forward. With the dawning metaverse, and as customers search for elevated shopping in a post-COVID world, Suite 13™ is an opportunity for IBCs to dive into the future of direct selling. We are currently exploring new ways of integrating other Mary Kay digital tools and apps and looking into new capabilities our vendor partner is making available on the platform, such as co-shopping (exciting details to come about this innovative shopping opportunity!). “[Suite 13™] is a business game-changer, for sure,” an IBC from Canada said, “Thank you, Mary Kay!”