EFMP’s French Partner, Impact Field Marketing Group (IFMG), took on the challenge to help Panasonic market their ‘Prestige’ products in the Beauty and Wellness sector to improve the well-being of the individual and to help slow the aging process of the skin.  And as a result of the campaign, IFMG have won the best outsourcing sales force initiatives imagined and implemented by agencies.

These new "Prestige" products from Panasonic meet different consumer expectations. This particular consumer group is targeted to, not only secure sales, but also to build a relationship of trust between the existing or potential clients and the brand. 

While Panasonic, Europe enjoys a good reputation the brand only started the distribution of electro-beauty products 10 years ago, relying on its traditional physical network (of small specialized stores, national multi-specialist brands, and hypermarkets), and more recently, they embarked on a digital distribution process.

The lesson learned from the ten years in this sector is that the markets are mainly focused on low value products <€50, requiring  little or no in-store advice;  and the historically well- established brands dominate the sector (Philips, Braun, Calor).

However,  the products in the "Prestige" range are positioned in a different price range, they are similar to those used in professional beauty salons, with a unit value between € 200 and € 500. 

So they fall into a different category which in turn, presents different challenges.

The challenge for the IFMG was to build a new model within an established international structure, and to operate it in "start-up" mode.

France is the only subsidiary of Panasonic in charge of developing a completely different distribution model, which is itself a huge challenge, as the success of this enterprise could set the tone for the rest of Europe.

The Solution

Panasonic carefully considered various options for launching their new product line.

Since Panasonic is not a brand-distributor, it was necessary to associate itself with a partner capable of providing the required framework in which to conduct field marketing and to engage in direct sales. The factors that they looked for in a partner were; flexibility, billing / digitization capabilities, data storage, adaptation of financing capacities, and recruitment of a sales network, to name a few.

Impact Field Marketing Group was found to be the ideal agency to support Panasonic in the development and functioning of this new network.

And so Panasonic Beauty Direct Sales was born!

The keys to the success of "Panasonic the home-based institute" were notably the development of the network, the exclusive circuit, the animation of the network and finally the renewal of the offer. The community management dedicated to this device with three slogans: “To know, relay, and influence” is also a highlight of the project.

In order to reach the set objectives, IFMG and Panasonic have set up a dedicated managerial structure, a community manager, a specific ambassador network, a physical and digital beauty academy, a web and mobile application, a payment solution adapted, as well as integrated logistics.

The major innovation was to place digitalization at the heart of the purchase journey via orders placed on a mobile application at the end of the meeting, the selection of the place of delivery, the establishment of an electronic signature on the terminal, a secure online payment up to 5 times without fees, and the entire dematerialization of the order tracking.

Over the course of the campaign 250 ambassadors were trained, more than 30 000 user experiences generated, 3500 converted customers, and achieving a turnover higher than 750 000 €.

Panasonic, France's goal is for this business to reach 5% of the turnover of its beauty division by the end of 2019. In total, the French subsidiary has recorded more than 400 million euros in revenue. Last year it was the case that about 10% of these sales were in the electro-beauty domain.

In the long term, home-based sales can be broken down into new businesses requiring a "long" sales process and a client-based approach, based on advice and personal attention.  This has proved effective for the sale of air purifiers, Japanese toilets, pressotherapy equipment, which  used  for lymphatic drainage, as well as various relaxation-based products.

The entire French project is a massively important undertaking for both Panasonic and Impact Sales and Marketing, as its success  will determine the brand's strategy across all 5 major European countries (France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and the UK).

This is a fact of which EFMP French partner, Impact Sales and Marketing Group, are only too well aware; and as a result, they are putting every effort into making the enterprise into a major success story for their client, Panasonic.