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CH17:Advertising and Public Relations

When it comes to advertising, Kiehl's, whose philosophy of not spending money on advertising or packaging has endured throughout its existence, sticks to that policy even as a part of multinational L'Oreal.

Kiehl's believes in developing positive image of itself on its customers through word-of-mouth strategy and building emotional connection with its customers. The company's core values, which includes 100 percent money-back guarantee, a staffing level that is two time the industry average and free consultations, has been key to establishing its relationship with customers. Also, I think that the generous samples of its hair and skin care products it gives out to customers to try before they actually make a purchase is a kind of low-key, low-pressure image it exchanges for a slick of advertising.

Kiehl's has a good press relation to major magazines of different styles, from fitness, living style to fashion magazines. This is one of the methods Kiehl's applied for its new-product publicity.

CH15: Retailing

Cosmetic products are processed material. After Kiehl's was sold to L'Oreal in 2000, the company expanded its 1 flagship store at Manhattan to more than 30 stores cross the world. 

Marketing strategy

Sampling 

Kiehl’s uses a “grab-what-you-want” approach when it displays the products on the counter, while its competitors keep their products under glass until a salesperson arrives. Committing to its “try before you buy” approach in marketing its products, Kiehl’s gives out a lot of free samples to potential customers. This helps to signal the quality of their products, as well as convey the strong confidence in the effectiveness of its skin care, body care and hair care product ranges. Sampling makes up around 60% of Kiehl's marketing budget.

Road show

Kiehl's organizes a plethora of road shows and events to raise awareness for their brand. In some countries where the Kiehl's brand is already widely known, road shows and events help to increase the awareness to trial ratio amongst skin care users and also to increase consumers' brand preference for Kiehl's.

Kiehl's uses innovative themes for its road shows and events in order to stand out from its competitors, and slowly edge its brand into consumers' top-of-mind recall.

CH6: Consumer Decision Making

Need recognition
Due to Kiehl's relatively low brand awareness and advertisement, consumers basically recognize it by external stimulus, a friend's experience and review on its products. This is known as its famous word-by-mouth endorsement.

It is necessary for consumers to perceive Kiehl's as a skincare brand that invest heavily in research and development and constantly comes out with new product innovations that are beneficial and effective, and improvement on existing products with enhanced results. In order to stand out from other competitors from a consumer's evoked set, Kiehl's develops its exemplary customer service, retail brand experience and general sampling program. Kiehl's does not hire make-up experts, rather, they prefer to hire a diverse range of people like artists and athletes, all of whom are naturally engaging and have an aptitude to learn and teach about cosmetics. Their sales people, called "retail partners", are professional beauty consultants who had undergone intensive training that drills them in the chemistry, use and application of Kiehl's products.

The main bases of Kiehl's customers are young crowds from mid-20s to mid-30s. In spite of its stable women section, male consumers are steadily increasing. Most of them are working classes.

CH5:Developing a Global Vision.

Even though Kiehl's products are available to customers internationally, it's a born and bred New Yorker. When it comes to globalization, Kiehl's still stays with its own promotion culture which is word-of-mouth awareness building, generous sampling and extrodinary customer service. Before Kiehl's come up its chain to a new country, it complete a concise consumer research. Only if the customers already knew some basic facts about Kiehl's, such as its origin in New York and its reliance on natural ingredients, did Kiehl's establish its new chain at that country.

//After sold to L' Oreal, Kiehl's has expanded its retailing stores into 37 countries.