Ch. 15- Marketing Communications

Shea Moisture understands the importance of communicating information about the firm and its products to their target market and the public through different promotion strategies. Through the use of advertisements, the marketing team at Shea Moisture is able to send a given message, aiming to inform, persuade, and/or remind their target market to purchase the goods being promoted. In this day and age, marketing teams from many companies are aware of the more cost effective channels in which they can transmit their message to the public, which is why social media has become one of the most commonly used channel for many. Shea Moisture promotes most of their products with online advertisements. The use of videos to promote items has also been working out for them as well. A company may post a video onto YouTube, Twitter, Facebook to maximize the spread and sharing of that video meant to promote goods, events, or services. Not only is social media a good tool for promotion, but also for attaining feedback on the goods and services companies are selling. Shea Moisture does a fabulous job at interacting with customers on their twitter account, where they can monitor what people are saying about the company and its products with just a single search of their name. This is important because they can aim to fix what ever it is that a customer has complained about online.

Saving money is really important to many people, so people LOVE sales and promotions. But everyone has to love free things. Marketing activities such as sales promotion stimulate consumer purchasing and dealer effectiveness. An example of this is demonstrated in the advertisement above, used for Target stores, which communicates the message that there are products that can be won by a customer if they enter a sweepstake.

The goal of this is to actually sell this product. It is aimed at existing and new customers and is a very affective way of marketing a product, especially if its a new one. 

Ch. 10 - Product Concepts

The main premise of a business is to SELL. SheaMoisture is a company that thrives off of brand loyalty and maintaining relationships with existing customers who love the products and continue to buy specific products. Knowing this, SheaMositure's team made it so that certain products belong to certain lines, depending on the ingredients used, or the particular beauty needs the product works for.
For a long time, the needs of women with curly and kinky hair weren't being fulfilled by the majority of beauty brands. The neglect of these needs amongst generic beauty brands is something that the people at SheaMoisture took notice of. They understood that women came in all shapes and sizes, from different places and cultures, and also have unique responsibilities when it comes to caring for their hair. Taking all of this into account, they introduced a fraction of their haircare and products meant for maintaining beautiful kinky and curly hair.

SheaMoisture's Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie is one of the company's most highly rated consumer products. It is part of the Coconut & Hibiscus product line, and caters to women who are looking to enhance or maintain healthy and beautiful curls while avoiding the damage other products that contain chemicals might create.

In this simple advertisement, SheaMoisture showcases the different hair types in which their products might be put to use on. Not only do they display kinky, curly, wavy, and straight hair but they also give the message that being natural is being yourself and promote some of the product lines they sell that can help women achieve that. 

Through the use of product lines, SheaMoisture is able to sell many items at once. A lot of consumers are willing to buy a whole line of products, especially if they've had a good experience with one specific product from that line. They've also been successful at creating new product lines, such as their Men's Shave line, which targeted a whole new set of consumers for the company. Through this, SheaMoisture is able to keep sales coming while catering to the needs of their demographically diverse customers.

Ch. 17 - Personal Selling and Sales Managemnet

Relationship selling is a multistage process that emphasizes personalization and empathy as key ingredients in identifying prospects and developing long-term, satisfied customers. SheaMoisture understands the value of customer relationship management. They strive to build long-term relationships by developing trust over time. Through its online store, sheamoisture.com, "everyone gets love" and can get the latest news, tips, and offers by subscribing for updates with their email address. SheaMoisture is able to make the most of these updates by implementing advertising and sales promotion as well. 

Building customer relationships is crucial for a business that sells standardized products with low value that are easy to understand and has many customers that are geographically dispersed. SheaMoisture is aware of this and, as mentioned in an earlier post, part of the company's success is its ability to build and retain customer loyalty by living up to its promise and also maintaining customer satisfaction. Some ways in which this is done is by interaction with customers on social media. SheaMoisture is big on responding to feedback and comments on social media platforms like Twitter. 

Other than selling from retailers and online, SheaMoisture has also used pop-up shops and launches in order to sell customer favorites or new products. Here, anyone who attends would be able to speak to representatives of the company in order to learn more about certain products, and the company in general. Interaction amongst customers and the company is important in order to maintain a relationship. 

Ch. 16 - Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

Advertising, public relations, and sales promotion are all tools that communicate a message to consumers that represent a particular brand. Through advertising, SheaMoisture is able to show what they are selling, why people should consider buying it, and where the product can be purchased. The beauty industry is constantly pushing products at consumers through the use of provocative advertisements, but SheaMoisture has a much simpler approach. Through the use of print ads, SheaMoisture is able to demonstrate their brand and promote their wonder products. However, like most cosmetic and beauty companies, SheaMoisture uses a health appeal. This attracts customers who are body conscious or who want to be healthy. This is also a reason they constantly promote their products as organic and natural. 

The advertisement above was made to promote SheaMoisture's new Color Cosmetics. The usage of color was used to make a straight forward, simple ad into one that can catch an eye. This ad, much like many other of SheaMoisture's, would most likely be featured on a magazine. 

Surprisingly, SheaMoisture has yet to release an advertisement of theirs on television. They do however, gain a lot of their promotion from lifestyle and beauty bloggers. 

A marketer must understand the importance of advertising, public relations, and sales promotion in order to perfectly communicate the brand's message and maximize profits. 

Ch. 14 - Marketing Channels and Retailing

Nowadays, it is important for businesses to gain name recognition and make their products available for sale from multiple channels. Therefore, creating partnerships with retailers may be crucial when a company's marketing efforts are meant to maximize profits. Companies like SheaMoisture understand the importance of having firms that sell directly to consumers as their primary function. This is why they've created partnerships with many retail chains. Select SheaMoisture products are sold at places like Bed Bath & Beyond, Christmas Tree Shops, CVS, drugstore.com, Duane Reade, Face Values, Giant, Kroger, Meijer, Rite Aid, Sally Beauty Supply, Shop Rite, Stop & Shop,  Target, Ulta Beauty, Walgreens, and even Walmart, the largest existing chains. 

African Black Soap, one of SheaMoisture's signature products, is sold at majority of the company's partnered retail stores. The products that are sold at these retail stores depends on the retailer's demographic. This demonstrates the need for some of SheaMoisture's products- considering it is sold at many major retailers. On average, African Black Soap is sold for $5 dollars a bar. In popular chains like Duane Reade, customers may be able to find the soap on promotion or pick up a second bar of soap for half off. 

Like many other companies, SheaMoisture has made it possible for fans-or new consumers- to access their products by shopping online. On SheaMoisture.Com, customers are able to access a wide variety of the products sold by SheaMoisture. 


Considering majority of a company's sales are made through their retail stores, it is important to understand how retailing works and why its so crucial for producers of products to be able to create relationships with other companies. 

Ch. 6 - Consumer Decision Making

In the beauty, cosmetics, and personal care industry, much like every other business, the customer's decision to buy is what allows a company to sink or swim. There are many factors consumers take into consideration when buying a product, and understanding how customers make decisions can help marketers execute a plan when releasing products into the market. 

SheaMoisture's growth was said to have started from word-of-mouth. This means that early buyers of the product believed in the company's African Black Soap, Shea Butter, and other natural remedies. When buying products, customers have expectations from those purchases. Many women of color, more specifically black women in Harlem, NY, have used SheaMoisture products since its inception. It was promised that SheaMoisture's products will help them maintain their natural hair without the added chemicals and just natural ingredients. Dennis has stated that "it's important to understand that consumers - regardless of skin color - require products that target specific skin and hair care solutions for their special needs, but they want flexibility and versatility in their looks and styles, especially in hair care to wear their hair natural, straight, etc." SheaMoisture was able to offer products for needs that were neglected by other beauty companies. Part of the company's success was its ability to build brand loyalty by living up to its promise but also maintaining customer satisfaction. 

A person's buying decisions are also influenced by personal characteristics that are unique to each individual, such as gender; age and life cycle stage; and personality, self-concept, and lifestyle. Although SheaMoisture's popularity is mostly amongst women, men are starting to use it as well, especially with the introduction of their mens care and shaving line. For those who are into personal care and cosmetics  but aren't fond of excessive chemicals and artificial ingredients, then products like those of SheaMoisture would fit their lifestyle.

As a marketer, it's important to understand how customers make buying decisions in order to best serve and compete in the market. 

Ch. 5 - Developing a Global Vision

Existing since 1912, Shea Moisture's standing today shows the long-term success that the company was able to obtain. Keeping a company going for more than 100 years isn't easy, but when quality products are created and marketing efforts are just as good, maintaining success isn't impossible. 

As discussed in previous posts, Shea Moisture was founded in Sierra Leone, Africa by Sofi Tucker. But it wasn't until 1991 when her grandson, Richelieu Dennis, began making and selling her products in the streets of Harlem, New York- and the rest was history. 

Shea Moisture prides itself on its use of fair-trade ingredients. They import most of their ingredients from villages in different parts of Africa. They continue to use the same production processes they've always used. Dennis once said that his sister, the maker of newer recipes, studies how different cultures use different ingredients to resolve an issue pertaining to beauty (hair, skin, etc.) As the company advances, they've started to include ingredients indigenous to Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. This is important because fair prices are paid to the people in the communities that are providing these organic, raw ingredients. In a world where many companies exploit developing cities and countries to maximize profits, Shea Moisture continues to be ethical. 

Because of the company's involvement on social media, Shea Moisture is able to market globally. Through the use of social media, new customers are able to be targeted. Shea Moisture's retail partners allow accessibility of the products. Many of these retailers are available nationwide, and some even internationally. These partners include Target, Duene Reade, Ulta Beauty, Bed Bath and Beyond, Walmart, and more. The company's online store also makes the products accessible to anyone interested in buying.