Mary Kay and Customer Satisfaction

Published 01.25.10

Mary Kay And Customer Satisfaction

Note: The following is a transcript of Vice President of U.S. Marketing Yvette Franco’s speech on customer satisfaction given at Leadership Conference 2010. The source for the survey results mentioned is a survey Mary Kay conducted with consumers of Mary Kay® products through an independent research firm in 2009.

Good morning! Buenos dias!

Today I would like to share some very current research regarding customer satisfaction – your customers’ satisfaction with Mary Kay® products and your service.

I am sharing this information with you today:

To give you confidence in yourselves as you work with Independent Beauty Consultants in your unit.
To give you confidence about Mary Kay® products.
And, to give you confidence in building new customers who are just waiting to experience customer service the Mary Kay way.

You will probably not be surprised by these results, but this information provides some great reminders about selling. And while these results should make you feel great about what you are doing, they should also help you to recognize some opportunities to focus Independent Beauty Consultants--to help them increase their business with current customers and to attract new customers.

We conducted this research to find out about consumers’ level of satisfaction with Mary Kay® products; to understand what matters most in their purchasing experience; and learn how Mary Kay® products fare compared to competitors. For this study, satisfaction is based on how consumers rate the effectiveness of Mary Kay® products, their intent to repurchase, and their intent to recommend Mary Kay® products to others.

Let’s take a look at six key learnings from this study:

Nine out of ten of your customers are satisfied with Mary Kay® products.
In fact, 68% said that Mary Kay has “excellent” products. The remainder responded “good” or “very good”. This all sounds excellent to me!
89% said that they plan to repurchase the same Mary Kay® product. This is further proof of our exceptional brand loyalty.
And, 94% are likely to recommend Mary Kay® products to others.
Consumers are more satisfied with their Mary Kay® products than with other products that they use. (Mary Kay® product users are also satisfied with other brand products that they use, but to a lesser degree.)
Many of your customers have skin concerns, but are not using supplemental products to help manage them. What an opportunity to focus even more on needs and concerns, and to advise your customers how to address them!
What are their top concerns?
Under-eye bags and puffiness. (You could recommend Targeted-Action® Eye Revitalizer to your Miracle Set™ customers.)
Sunspots, age spots and uneven skin tone. (You would recommend the TimeWise® Miracle Set™ and TimeWise® Age-Fighting Moisturizer Sunscreen SPF 15*, as well as TimeWise® Even Complexion Essence plus TimeWise Even Complexion Mask. *Over-the-counter drug product.
Diminished skin elasticity and firmness. (To address those concerns, suggest the TimeWise® Miracle Set™ and Replenishing Serum+C.)

While some might see price as a concern with supplements, 87% of your customers say that Mary Kay® products are good quality for the price and worth the expense.

Your customers trust Mary Kay! But not all of them think that Mary Kay® products meet all their cosmetic needs.
However, you and I know that we have what she needs! This is a strong reminder for Independent Beauty Consultants to ask their customers about their needs and to recommend the best product for that need. Knowing women’s most common concerns and the Mary Kay® supplements that address them—like those just given—is a great place to start!
Your customers trust Mary Kay the most when:
She finds a great selection of products that meet her skin care needs.
When she finds products that work with her skin type.
When the products deliver what she expects.
When she finds a foundation that matches her skin tone.

Your customers spend 67% more on skin care and makeup when they are highly satisfied with their Independent Beauty Consultant. Wow! Now, you must be asking yourself, what makes a customer most satisfied with her Beauty Consultant?
When she provides detailed product use instructions. Your customers really want to know how to use the product correctly once you leave.
When her Beauty Consultant follows up to make sure that she is satisfied,
When her Beauty Consultant is always available in a time frame that meets her needs
And when her Beauty Consultant makes it easy to purchase products.
Best of all: 99% of your customers agreed that they are “highly satisfied with their Mary Kay® Independent Beauty Consultant”!

Ninety-nine percent! This is great recognition of your efforts to your customers feel great about Mary Kay, but this information becomes more valuable when we use it to take action for the future.

Now as Independent Sales Directors, what does this mean in terms of educating Beauty Consultants? Here are the six most important things to consider:

Product knowledge. Don’t complicate it. Keep Independent Beauty Consultants focused on the Product Fact Sheets on Product Central. These sheets have everything that we as a Company are claiming about the product. All other literature is created based on this information. But there is one piece missing from the Product Fact Sheets, and that is an Independent Beauty Consultant’s personal experience with the product.
Offer to help Beauty Consultants understand that Mary Kay is the brand leader among your current customers, so, knowing this, she should approach new customers with confidence.
Offer to teach Independent Beauty Consultants how to ask her customers about their skin care and makeup needs, and then how to recommend the best Mary Kay® product solution.
Only 32 % of Independent Beauty Consultants have a Mary Kay® Personal Web Site. Help them to see how necessary this tool is for a modern Mary Kay business. Remember that every customer wants easy access and a Mary Kay® Personal Website will keep Beauty Consultants available 24/7.
Help Independent Beauty Consultants to imagine new customers spending 67% more with them when they keep their customers highly satisfied. Every Beauty Consultant can be a Star Consultant!
Work with Independent Beauty Consultants to become more confident in asking for referrals. Remember, nine out of 10 customers are already willing to recommend Mary Kay® to people that they know. Women trust the recommendations of their friends and families, and this can be one of the best ways to grow a customer base.

I hope that this information gives you great confidence as you teach your unit members to reach out to new customers and to build the business of their dreams.

* over-the-counter drug product