Tarte Cosmetics-- Listening Blog Post

Tarte is a cosmetic brand that I have noticed an increase in familiarity over the past few years when I go to the Ulta Beauty cosmetic store. I use some Tarte cosmetic products and enjoy them, so I wanted to take a closer look at their marketing, and background of their company. I enjoy their “Lights Camera splashes” waterproof mascara. They are also known for their concealer line, which I use as well. Another aspect that drew me to this product is the design of the colors of the product packaging, as well as the variety of eye makeup colors they offer.

An interesting tool Tarte uses to promote their brand, is they allow consumers to apply to become a Tarte beauty influencer. This means if you are a social media influencer you can apply to be a part of their program, you will get rewarded every time your audience shops your recommendations. Tarte offers a competitive commission for this program with all the tools you need to get paid while sharing their product.    

With Tartes beauty influencer program, it was interesting to not be able to find a ton of posts about Tarte cosmetics. I did, however, see several posts about their Tarte Shape Tape Concealers everyone who has used it has positive things to say about it. That it is lightweight, blends easy, makes under the eye area look great, and minimizes the appearance of lines and wrinkles. I have yet to see any negative feedback on their products in social media posts I have found. From my personal experience I have to agree on what is being said about Tarte cosmetics on social media. I agree the concealer is easy to use, smooth, blends well and helps brighten below the eye area. I have yet to have any personal negative feedback on their products, I have not tried any of their products that I do not like. The lack of negative feedback on social media regarding these products leads me to believe they are a good quality cosmetic line.

Tartes value proposition is: At Tarte, we believe in Breaking Down BEAUTY BOUNDARIES shattering stereotypes and being kind. We believe in high-performance AND natural. We believe in artistry AND good-for-you ingredients.

We never compromise when it comes to what we put on our skin, and neither should you. Why choose between the beauty that works & beauty that's healthy?

It's time to RETHINK NATURAL.

This cometic line makes it known that they support cruelty-free cosmetics, as they are vegan friendly, hypoallergenic, and dermatologist tested, to support their idea of a healthy and natural cosmetic line.  They are a high performance natural cosmetic line. Their message is also to break boundaries in the beauty industry by supporting an all-natural product and not skipping on the quality of the product.

Tarte's marketing efforts I believe are done well for the most part. Tarte makes a point

to connect with its consumers by allowing them to have the opportunity to be a beauty influencer for their company, which is going beyond just delivering a great product to their consumers by getting them involved with their company and giving consumers a voice to their brand. I think Tarte made their message of their desire to break through boundaries in beauty clear, and that their products are cruelty-free and all-natural. Their web site is clear, easy to read and navigate through, with helpful descriptions of each of their products on their web site. Tarte made their why clear and personal as well by stating part of their mission is to “break down beauty boundaries, rethink natural and always be kind”. The statement, “break down beauty boundaries” is versatile and can mean many different things and be personal in a different way to each consumer.

The marketing challenge I see for Tarte is competitive pricing for its products, as it seems other brands cost less and claim to deliver the same benefits. As I have personally used other brands of the same products, I can say Tarte typically delivers a better-quality product than others that cost less. Tarte was established in the year 2000 and I did not hear about tart until a few years ago, maybe they are not spending enough funds in advertising and getting their company name out. I also feel a challenge for Tarte is incorporating its mission better and being more prominent in making it be a force that drives the company. I think the mission of Tarte is great as the company wants to deliver a quality product that is natural but not compromise it in the processes of making it a natural product. I think the “Why” of the company is important and more passion can be added to it, highlighting the importance of the “Why” that drives the company to do what they do.

 

I did see on social media outlets Instagram in particular, that Tarte consumers enjoyed the social media content but on several different posts had complaints of not being able to figure out which products they were referring to; in their social media posts. Some consumers also commented on having a difficult time finding their sales on the Tarte website, that was being referred to in their posts. I found that Tarte cosmetics responded to many of their consumers in general, giving positive feedback and agreeing with them and by making positive comments to their posts. When consumers could not find a sale on a product, Tarte responded directing them to the web site where the sale is available, which was typically Saphoria.com which is another cosmetic store. I also saw Tarte reply to consumers to explain which products were being referred to in certain posts, that consumers had a hard time identifying.

There was another comment I seen where a consumer was complaining about not receiving an order from the company. Tart took time to reply in a positive way directing the customer to contact the Tarte help desk and gave detailed information on how to do so. Tarte even used hearts and other emojis in their responses to their consumers. Each response appeared to be positive, helpful, and upbeat.

I feel it was a good choice for the company to respond to the customers because they were helping to solve a problem or being encouraging in each situation. I think when Tarte replied to the consumers it was always positive reinforcement, responding to someone who was raving about how amazing their products are. Tarte also showed they cared by responding to help their consumers solve a problem, of not knowing which product they were talking about or where to find a sale they were advertising in their post. Tarte was clear and to the point in their responses, and showed they cared by taking the time to respond to some of the many comments on their posts. Tarte also added an extra touch by not only taking time to respond but to respond with emojis in their response as well, making the response more pleasing to the eye and a small personal touch to the responses.

If I were the brand manager, I would have made the decision to respond to many of the consumers as well. I think I would have shown a little more appreciation toward the consumers inquiring about products. I would have added a small note of “Thanks for using Tarte, we appreciate your inquiry, etc.” As the brand manager I would even have Tarte respond to social media posts that tag the Tarte brand in their posts, with a positive comment like a compliment or a word of appreciation of the consumer using our brand. I’d do this to make it more personal to each consumer, I may even consider having a position within the company that the individual does nothing but respond to posts on social media in regard to the Tarte brand. I am guessing Tarte may have employees like this.

While doing this assignment I learned that a cosmetic brand I use every day is a high-performance natural product that supports cruelty-free and breaking boundaries in the beauty industry. I had no idea that Tarte was a support of natural products, this makes me respect and think more highly of the brand Tarte. This brings more comfort to me when using the product that they are all-natural and believe in breaking boundaries in the beauty industry, this seems exciting to me and, I will definitely be keeping a closer eye on what the brand Tarte is up to; as well as I will be shopping online here shortly for some more Tarte cosmetics! I enjoyed learning about the brand Tarte and exploring their marketing, and how they can improve and what the company’s strengths are.