Worth more or less?
What could be more beneficial for the skin than a good night sleep? Correct, a perfect overnight skin serum! And when this serum is being produced by the L’Occitane, it’s even more promising. So here I am presenting the one and only — Immortelle Overnight Reset Oil-in-Serum from the French skin care brand L’Occitane.
The company was founded in Provence, France, by Olivier Baussan after he learnt how to extract real essential oil from herbs by the process of distillation. From that time until now this brand is known for using only natural ingredients in their skin care products. And this brand is loved by millions of people all around the world because of that.
There are many different skin care brands on the market, so there are a lot to choose from. But how do you find a product that will benefit and replenish the skin in the best way? According to Kerin and Hartley in their book “Marketing: The Core”, market segmentation is a good way to target those customers with special needs and concerns, for example products that are tailored to address oily or dry skin conditions.
Like everybody else I was looking for the right product for my skin that would solve my skin concerns. And I was hesitating between two products — L’Oreal Derm Intensives Hyalorunic Acid Serum Revitalift, which was around $20, and L’Occitane Immortelle Overnight Reset Oil-in-Serum, which cost $59. Regardless of the price, I chose L’Occitane serum, based on my research and brand loyalty, and was completely satisfied with the results this product delivered and even though it cost $40 more.
As Kerin said in “Marketing: The Core”, “Prestige pricing involves setting a high price so that quality- or status-conscious consumers will be attracted to the product and buy it”. L’Occitane priced their product higher because its quality corresponds to a higher price tag, which in turn emphasizes the prestige associated with the brand in the minds of the consumers. And they set the price slightly above-market pricing to differentiate it from the competition, such as L’Oréal. However, the company uses the odd-even pricing approach, making the price $1 less on an even price, which subconsciously makes the consumer feel like they are saving some money, as stated by Kerin and Hartley.
If we are going to think of the word “immortelle”, which is an actual everlasting flower that never fades, (it was patented by the brand for use as an ingredient in their products,) we will associate it with staying young forever, so customers will trust the effectiveness of the product. Indeed, “immortelle” is being used for its anti-aging and rejuvenating properties, like L’Occitane stated. As Keller mentions in the book “Strategic Brand Management” regarding secondary association, when consumers think about France, the country of the brand’s origin, they naturally think about beauty and health. As it is stated on the L’Occitane official website, this Immortelle serum is the best seller and rated number one product, with one being bought every minute worldwide. With this marketing tactic the company shows that their product is very popular and potential customers should trust its effectiveness.
Concluding what I previously stated above, I can proudly say that the product’s ingredients and brand’s image affected my decision to remain a loyal customer of the brand L’Occitane and a member of its tribe, as Godin explained in his book “This is Marketing”.
