Recommendations

 

Product & Process Implementations [Kimberly & Julissa]:

Daniel Colon, Legion Beauty Supplies’ IS and general manager, works together with his colleagues as they compete in the beauty industry by selling high quality body waxing products around the tri-state area. Therefore, they offer a competitive advantage through product implementations because they primarily sell unique waxing products from Italwax which is a supplier based in Italy, as well as NaturaVerdePro. Although these suppliers are pricier than other wax brands in the market, their products are much more sensitive to the skin and allows the waxing process to not feel as painful for the clients. Legion Beauty Supplies’ ultimate objective is for customers to purchase the best quality waxing products so their clients don't dread wanting to get hair removal using this method. Rather than making this feel like a painful experience, Legion Beauty Supplies aims for these products to alleviate as much pain as possible so it becomes minimal. Women should leave their wax appointments feeling beautiful and confident in their smooth, hairless skin which is another angle the company can consider to market its exclusive products upon to appeal to new potential customers. Anyhow, they really put an emphasis on differentiating their products and are focused on putting customers’ happiness and satisfaction first with the purpose of building that connection with their customers and gaining their trust. Furthermore, these wax products are so advanced that they grasp onto every hair follicle from the root while preventing any rashes or burns from developing on the skin which is what sets Legion Beauty Supplies apart from other wax suppliers and distributors in the industry.

However, there is always room for improvement which can be done through both product and process implementations. Legion Beauty Supplies can consider creating their own product line which would ultimately turn them into both a manufacturing and distributing company. As a manager, Mr. Colon and his team can continue promoting these products through social media and maybe even consider getting in contact with influencers that would be willing to utilize these products and promote them via their channels for some profit. This can not only generate a great deal of exposure to their products but also lock in buyers as now-a-days people tend to follow these trendsetters and are easily influenced by the products these celebrities use which would potentially result in more business for Legion Beauty Supplies while solidifying their alliances with Italwax and NaturaVerdePro. It is also important that the company ventures out and establishes new alliances with other suppliers to have more variability and get better deals on the most advanced wax products and supplies. Not to mention but, our company can consider offering price deals to its customers to become more competitive cost-wise. This would be better for their business as it would allow them to profit more if customers start purchasing these products in bulk. This can also eventually promote brand loyalty which will help raise barriers and make it harder for new competition to enter the market. Meanwhile, implementing reduction costs can help the company decrease its expenses to maximize profits so they can consider cutting employee costs by decreasing the number of employees on site and rather investing in technological solutions that require less human involvement. In fact, purchasing packaging material in bulk can also save the company some money as vendors tend to provide certain discounts when businesses purchase in large quantities. 

Moreover, they can consider other product implementations such as creating an app that buyers can download on their smartphones and place orders from rather than having to go on the online website. They would be able to get quick direct access to inventory so they are aware of what is in stock, what is low in stock, and what is out of stock. This could help Legion Beauty Supplies stay on top of their inventory and make sure orders are placed with their Italian manufacturers with plenty of time. Through this app, they can possibly keep track of their orders as well to be aware of when their products are expected to be shipped and delivered. On the other hand, they can continue differentiating their products by expanding in the supplier market and teaming up with multiple international suppliers and brands to give our company a more competitive advantage as well. They can stay ahead of the game and discover new waxing products and introduce them to the market before their competitors. Even though this can be a risky and costly expense at first because they’re new unknown products, they can quickly recuperate and the outcome will eventually outweigh the risk once customers start working with them and realizing that they offer better quality and work more efficiently which is definitely worth the cost for buyers. In conclusion, by incorporating a combination of their current product and process implementations with our new suggestions, Legion Beauty Supplies will be able to continue locking in its customers by making it difficult for them to switch to other low-cost products because they will be certain they’re purchasing top-notch waxing products that have been proven to be safer on the skin and reduced pain significantly which benefits both the company and its customers.

Problems [Kimberly]:

Structured Process:

• One current issue is that there is an existing information silo between Ecwid and Excel due to the fact that there is no connection or correlation between these information systems which prevents proper communication leading to inaccurate sales and inventory counts.

• On the other hand, because the sales team is composed of about 10 to 15 people, human error easily arises when notating customer information and sales data on Excel. This results from the fact that they all have access to the same Excel sheet and are updating it at the same time. 

• Lastly, too many people throughout the company have quick and easy access to these information systems which results in tampered data and affects the company's records in terms of sales made and number of products/supplies sold on a monthly basis.

Dynamic Process:

• After further analyzing the company's social media accounts, it is evident that the content posted for marketing is reposted on each platform from Facebook and Instagram to TikTok making it repetitive and thus unappealing to the audience. For example, they post before and after transformations as well as promotional skits for audience entertainment which is beneficial but the company should definitely consider venturing out in this aspect.

• Meanwhile, Legion Beauty Supplies' social media content is clearly posted randomly which results in lack of organization. In other words, they have no set times for uploading content which rapidly lead followers to lose interest in their posts. The company must aim to keep their audience on their toes and wanting to see more of their content. We noticed that while some posts have high level of engagement from the audience, about one third of their posts has minimal audience engagement which is why they must be strategic when uploading their content on social media.

• As for the social media platforms Legion Beauty Supplies posts content on, we observed that Facebook is the most underdeveloped by the company. They barely post content on their Facebook account compared to Instagram and TikTok which is ultimately affecting social media plan as well as their ability to expand. There is a whole other target audience on Facebook as nowadays, young generations mainly stick to Instagram and TikTok. They are missing out on reach a new target audience on Facebook which can be older generations that have already developed their waxing businesses but are looking to implement new products or supplies or even new innovations. Therefore, the company must be equally active on all social media platforms to take full advantage of them and promote their business as much as possible.

Recommendations [Kimberly]:

Structured Process:

• First, to possibly resolve the first issue mentioned for the structured process, we suggest that Legion Beauty Supplies consider creating an app where they can easily record all sales data in one place to avoid inaccurate and miscounted sales counts. For instance, Ecwid currently tracks the online sales made the company website while Excel tracks in-person sales made from the few walk-in customers that visit the warehouse and those made by sales team personnel on their daily salon visits. Therefore, this app would allow the company to easily remain organized and ensure that they are collecting precise counts of sales data as this is essential for the company to know where their business is succeeding and on the right path.

• To address the human error issue, we believe that the company should cut down the number of people on their sales team to prevent this problem from continuing on in the future. Not to mention but they should also consider reinforcing employee training utilizing different resources such as preparing sales workshops for both current and new employees as part of the onboarding process. This would certainly help employees thoroughly understand what is expected from them on a daily basis so they become more conscious when performing their job thus helping to minimize the number of errors that are made. 

• Then, to avoid resulting with tampered data, the company should select a few members of the sales team to grant exclusive access into Ecwid and Excel. They should be given special authorization by managers to make any changes on these information systems to ensure the company always has accurate records. For example, they can designate three or four individuals to update the information systems after the rest of the sales them reports to them first. Once all the sales made are verified and confirmed, these sales representatives can enter the data into their system. However, security and privacy measures should always be taken therefore, they should be given a designated username and password in order to access the company's information systems and make the appropriate changes.

Dynamic Process:

• To avoid repetition of content on the company's various social media accounts, Legion Beauty Supplies should study the type of content other wax businesses within the industry post to develop new ideas that will result in bringing fresh content to the public. They may come across new ways to market their products and supplies such as by making videos where they use other waxing brands and make videos showing how they function on different client's skin compared to their own waxing products and supplies. For instance, they can record a client who is getting his or her eyebrows and on one eyebrow use Legion Beauty's wax and on the other use a different known brand such as Starpil to really prove first-hand the high quality of their products in the eyes of the audience. This will keep potential buyers intrigued by their content and wanting to invest both their time and money into their unique waxing products and supplies. 

• Then, to prevent posting their content randomly the company can look into setting up a schedule for the marketing team to have designated days and times to post their content on their social media accounts. For example, to make this method as effective and efficient as possible, they can first consider analyzing their accounts to determine when their followers are the most active. They must take advantage of these specific times to post as this is when their followers are most likely to view and interact with their posts. This way, the company can optimize the value of their content and ensure each individual post is getting viewed, liked, commented on, and shared by as many potential buyers as they can.

• To conclude, to reach a new stem within their target audiences, they company must work on building their presence on Facebook. In order to make sure they don't leave this social media platform on the side, the marketing team must also set aside some time to dig in to their Facebook analytics to discover how they can promote their products in ways that are smart, effective, and that will help Legion Beauty Supplies reach a huge range of potential buyers that they might had not considered before. They must be innovative and come up with creative out-of-the-box ideas to really make Legion Beauty Supplies truly stand out against other wax suppliers within the beauty industry.