Super Legit Marketing Plan

In this Marketing Plan, I intend to identify my unique selling point and decide how I want to market myself and my skills, to understand who my competitors and clients are, and to use this knowledge to my advantage by adapting myself to fit the specific needs of my clients, and identify gaps in the market which my competitors may not be aware of. 

I also intend to create a plan of action for my static show/exhibition in which I will showcase the work I have created over the last 4 years to advertise myself as a make-up artist and gain industry contacts.

1. Understanding my market

1.1 So, who are my customers?

My potential customers are people who require make-up/wig/costume/prosthetics/bodypaint skills. These could include companies/businesses/brands, charities, schools, advertising agencies, brides, photographers, models, hairstylists, directors/creative directors, theatre groups, singers, actors, celebrities, cancer/alopecia patients, people with birthmarks/severe acne/vitiligo/etc, club promoters, people who want their hair/make-up done for special occasions (weddings, prom, parties, halloween, etc), fashion designers, or event organisers.

I can arrange these potential customers into groups depending on their specific needs and the jobs that I would be doing for them, for example: 

- People/companies who hire me because they have a specific concept, character or design in mind and need someone to create it. 
This would involve me working to a set plan and take direction with minimal creative imput.
 
-People/companies who hire me because they have an idea of a concept, character or design in mind and need someone who can elaborate and build upon it to create a final piece 
This would involve me using my skills as a make-up artist to turn an idea into a finished look and create it to a high standard of technical ability.

Currently, I have a fairly small number of customers and I have recorded them in my Client Database post earlier in this blog. They are mostly photographers and models but I have worked in collaboration with a few other make-up artists and as part of a make-up team on a production of The Wizard Of Oz at the Wyvern Theatre.

1.2 Who are my competitors?

My competitors are other Make-up artists, especially those who specialise in the same areas as me, as they could be more experienced in those areas than I am. Also, as the industry is always moving and growing, there are lots of new products and techniques that other MUAs could be trained in that I am not. This would mean that they could offer services that I cannot and my customers or potential customers could choose to use them instead of me. Another reason that customers may choose other MUAs over me is that they feel that they are more qualified or have better skills than me in certain areas, which is why I need to constantly learn everything I can about my industry and practice all aspects of make-up artistry to make sure that I am not falling behind in some areas and could be overlooked when customers are looking for certain skills.

As I intend to specialise in Wigmaking, prosthetic work, and creative fashion shoots, I have a very wide range of competitors and skills that I need to keep track of to ensure that I am always at the top of my game.

I also need to ensure that my marketing and advertsing is effective and successful because another reason for customers choosing other MUAs over me is that they don't know that I am out there. I have already set up a Facebook page for my make-up work and I have online portfolios on two portfolio websites, as well as my instagram on which I frequently post pictures of my work.

1.3 Are there any other marketing activities that I could be associated with?

The make-up industry is very large and diverse, and there are many opportunites for aspiring MUAs as well as those who are already established and successful to show their work and make connections within the industry. A very good example of this is the IMATS (International Make-up Artist Trade Show) which is an annual event held in different cities all over the world where novices and professionals alike come to network, compete, and explore the different aspects of make-up artistry. There are lots of stalls where big make-up brands sell their products for discounted prices and demonstrations where widely-known industry professionals talk about their experiences and show how to create certain looks and effects.

Another event very much like this is the UMAE, which I went to in april. UMAE stands for United Make-up Artist Expo and it is basically a smaller version of the IMATS, with discounted make-up from professionally renowned brands, talks and demos about different areas of make-up, and plenty of people with whom to network and create contacts within the industry.

There are also a lot of other opportunities for marketing my work a little closer to home, however, including wedding faires, fetes, fundraisers, galleries and charity events, as well as the local newspaper called the Swindon Advertiser which often does pieces on the work we do at college and the End of Year Show. 

2. Identifying opportunities 

2.1 What are my strengths?
(I've covered all of this in my SWOT analysis but I'll just go into a bit more detail here. *cough* give me a distinction *cough*)

My unique selling point: I aim to create the seemingly impossible and work hard to deliver detailed work which lives up to my ambitious designs

As well as the points I included in my SWOT analysis, I am very good at plaiting and 1920s style fingerwaving hair, and I have a talent for knotting very neatly and tightly when making wigs or postiche from both natural and synthetic hair. I think these will give me an extra edge over other MUAs on the same level as me and I intend to keep improving on these skills as I continue further into the industry.

2.2 What could I improve on? 

I could definitely improve on my timekeeping, as I tend to spend a lot of time on making the details of my work as perfect as possible and then become overwhelmed with the "big picture" and become anxious and rushed, which can lead me to showcase my abilities as well as I know I could. Also, my initial designs can sometimes be unrealistic and need to be refined to make them more achievable.

2.3 What opportunities are there for me?

As the make-up industry is very vast and ever-growing, there are new trends and niche markets popping up all the time. I think that finding an aspect within the industry that hasn't yet been recognised by my competitors is a very good business strategy as, by filling the gap in the market, I would become the go-to name in it and could branch out into my own brand a lot more easily as I would have little to no competition at the beginning and could create a client base before other MUAs begin to pose a threat. 

With such a large industry, however, it is very difficult to imagine something that hasn't already been explored. During my trips to the IMATS, UMAE, and other such make-up exhibitions, I try to keep this in mind and look for gaps in the market which aren't represented there and could be worth looking into. 

I have found that on websites such as Etsy and Ebay, you can sell custom made costumes, wigs, props or other such wares for an appropriate price according to their quality and the time needed to make them. For a while now, I have been considering setting up my own shop on one of these sites and making custom wigs for customers who have a specific image of what they want the end result to be. I could also use this as a place to advertise my make-up and build a client base. It would involve me being less of a make-up artist and more of a costume/wigmaker, but as I want to specialise in wigmaking, I think it would be a good experience for me. It would also be a very good way to make money because, as a freelance make-up artist, I only get paid per job and there could be large gaps between each job where I am not earing an income from it.

2.4 What obstacles might I come up against? 

There are a great number of obstacles that I could face in the industry, the most important one of all being the threat of being surpassed by my competition, either due to superior skills or better advertising. Because of this, I need to make sure that I get my name out into the industry as much as I can and build up a strong portfolio and client base so that I can get as much work and experience as possible. I also need to ensure that I am always up to date with current trends and techniques such as new products, professional tools, and changes in what is considered current and fashionable.

Another large obstacle is that of finance, or lack thereof. As a student, I am currently allowed certain benefits such as discounts on products, training courses, and student finance, but when I leave education and become a full-time make-up artist, either freelance or contracted, these benefits will no longer be available to me. This means that products and courses will be a lot more expensive and it will be more difficult to have a steady and reliable income. As good quality make-up isn't cheap, it will be harder to maintain a professional standard kit so I plan to purchase a lot of the standard kit must-haves now, while they are cheaper, so that I don't need to spend more money on them later.

3. Objectives

My objectives for this marketing plan are as follows:

- Design a complete look for the EOYS 
- Make, construct and fabricate costume, wig, prosthetics, and any props.
- Carry out design on model on the day of the show
- Evaluate final look
- Plan a successful static show
- Purchase mannequins etc and record expenditure
- Make flyers, business cards etc to advertise my work

4. Strategy and action plan
4.1 Target audience

My target audience at the static show will be photographers, models, filmmakers etc, or anyone else looking for a qualified make-up artist with a background in art and design and a passion for creating the impossible.I think that, from seeing my work, the people who will come to me for my work will be heavily wig/prosthetic based and will require a certain energy to their characters or looks which I can provide.
These may include clients I have worked with before, and will give me an opportunity to reconnect with them and promote a good working relationship which will hopefully lead to their repeated business.

4.2 What products/services can I offer them?

I can offer my customers a high level of knowledge and technicall skill in a wide range of industry-specific subjects including make-up, wigs, hair styling, prosthetics, costume, props, bodypainting, illustrations, character designs and creative inspiration for photoshoots etc. 

As I mentioned in 2.1, I am skilled in knotting very neatly and I am able to create very advanced and intricate hairstyles using different methods of plaiting, twisting, and weaving the hair. I also grasped the tricky technique of fingerwaving to create accurate 1920s looks. These are things that I can offer my customers that other MUAs may not be able to and I plan to use them to my advantage when advertising myself as a make-up artist

4.3 How can I entice these people to take up the offer? 

Hopefully, word of mouth and advertising will be enough to entice customers to hire me for make-up work but just in case, there are many things I could do to give them more of an incentive to hire me. 
For example, I could offer money off to repeat customers who I have worked with and have a friendly work relationship with. This would also ensure that they would continue coming back to me for make-up work and not look elsewhere. 

I could also offer advertising opportunities by promoting their business/brand on my website, Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, or other social media platforms. I think that this would work really well because advertising is very important and businesses/brands are always looking for ways to increase their client base and reach more potential customers.

4.4 How do I communicate this offer? 

I could communicate these special offers by creating flyers or leaflets which have all of the details on them and displaying them on my stand at my static show, or by publishing a press release explaining who I am and what I have to offer my customers. I could also advertise myself, and my stactic show, locally using methods such as handing out my business cards at relevant business events, pay for a billboard or a space on the advertising boards at bus stops or train stations, or asking my local shops and restaurants to display my business cards or flyers in their receptions for their customers to take if they want to. I could use other channels such as the adverts section of our local newspaper "The Swindon Advertiser" to widen my reach and attract more customers. Similarly, I could create a short radio advert and pay to have it played on radio stations such as Radio 1, Heart, or Swindon Radio 105.5.

4.5 Action Plan

(See "Action Plan" post)