With a successful decades-long career crafting marketing strategies for multi billion-dollar brands like Behr Corporation and Nestle USA, it’s fair to say that Tanuja Singeetham’s marketing savvy runs deep.
For the past year, the marketing maven has served as the Head of Digital Marketing and the U.S. eShop for Henkel North America. In her time with the company, she has been responsible for leading the digital marketing for the North American Regional Team as well as special e-commerce initiatives for the Hair Care Professional team. With Singeetham at the helm of the digital marketing department, Henkel recently launched the company’s first online shopping experience exclusively for the U.S. professional hair salon community called SALONORY.
To learn more about Henkel’s exciting new venture, The Tease spoke with Singeetham to discuss the origins of the e-commerce platform, what makes it different, and what we can expect in the future from SALONORY.
The Tease: What was the catalyst for launching SALONORY?
Tanuja Singeetham: E-commerce has exploded over the past few years, particularly among salon professionals. As an organization, Henkel is adapting to the fast-paced changes in the global marketplace. The launch of SALONORY supports our commitment to innovation and to meeting the needs of today’s consumers and customers. SALONORY is an online shopping platform that provides salon professionals with an easy and convenient way to get the products they need delivered directly to their door.
How would you describe SALONORY and its mission?
Singeetham: At SALONORY we treat every visitor as a valued guest. It is an online shopping destination developed exclusively for stylists, helping them save valuable time, enjoy the convenience of direct delivery, and earn reward points with every purchase. With over 1,500 products from more than 10 Henkel brands, SALONORY provides the stylist community with an easy and effective one-stop-shop for many of their salon needs—which, in the age of digitalization, has never been more relevant. And for the first time, it provides us direct access to our customers to ensure they get the best customer service and collect valuable input and feedback from them to improve our products and services.
What behavioral changes were being noticed regarding how salon pros approach online shopping and how did that inform the vision for SALONORY?
Singeetham: Even before the pandemic, Henkel recognized the critical importance and growth of digitalization —it’s been a key priority for our organization for quite some time. The pandemic further underscored the importance of investing in innovative digital tools and experiences to build powerful customer-focused experiences. As the world changed course seemingly overnight, we knew we needed to evolve in tandem. From our insights and understanding of the growing e-commerce trends among salon professionals, we developed SALONORY to create a personalized platform that helps us to increase customer proximity and direct interaction with our valuable customer base in the fast-changing marketplace.
What do you believe differentiates SALONORY from other shopping destinations targeting salon pros?
Singeetham: The SALONORY PRO Rewards Program, a cornerstone of the platform, is easy to use and offers a rich catalog of rewards for a more personalized experience for our salon pros. By joining the program, stylists can earn valuable reward points with every purchase, which can in turn be redeemed for products, money-saving vouchers, and salon accessories.
We are leveraging the power of social commerce through integration of user-generated opted-in content in social media with featured products and shoppable units. In-depth product information, useful how-to videos, 360-degree product images, gallery images, and ratings and reviews provide customers with extended information to assist them in their discovering and purchase decision process.
We are consistently adding new content, including articles, videos, and tips each week to provide stylists and salon owners with information that is timely and relevant to what they are looking for. It could be everything from trends to education to tips for managing or growing their business. We really want to show our commitment to being a valuable and trusted partner to this community we are serving.
Tell me about the community and content aspects of SALONORY. Why was it important to include a rewards programs as well as house user-generated content on the e-commerce platform?
Singeetham: In today’s era of innovation, we wanted to do more than just build a website —but rather, create an experience that would benefit our salon professional community. Having a rewards program makes it worthwhile for our customers to remain loyal to SALONORY long-term, because we are providing discounts and promotions that they may not receive elsewhere. Ultimately, the combined rewards program with our unique arsenal of brands and products makes for a more valuable experience, overall.
Customers can sign up with one click and start earning points with every purchase. Signing up is FREE and easy — and points earned can be redeemed for products, money-saving vouches, salon accessories, and so much more. We also offer a robust catalog of rewards and feature monthly bonus points and double point offers, which are updated on a frequent basis.
SALONORY currently features over 1,500 products from over 10 Henkel professional hair brands. How do you decide which products from each brand are available for purchase? Are there plans to potentially offer more brands on the site?
Singeetham: SALONORY is proud to offer Henkel Beauty Care Professional brands in one convenient destination. Our current portfolio includes Schwarzkopf Professional, PRAVANA, ALTERNA, Kenra Professional, SPARKS, SexyHair, Authentic Beauty Concept, and STMNT Grooming Goods. Stay tuned, SALONORY will be adding additional brands soon!
What impact do you hope SALONORY has on the salon industry?
Singeetham: We believe that SALONORY opens new doors for the salon industry, and we anticipate that other companies will see the benefit that e-commerce platforms can bring to the salon professional community. The launch of SALONORY shows Henkel’s commitment to innovation and digitalization, but more importantly, our commitment to customer satisfaction and building a valuable experience for the professional stylist community. There are so many stressors in the world today —being able to easily purchase your favorite brands and products should not be one of them.
Looking ahead, what can we expect in the future from SALONORY?
Singeetham: Our goal is to build the most valuable experience for our professional stylist community. We welcome and value customer feedback and suggestions, as we continue to grow and aim to meet, and hopefully exceed, evolving needs and expectations. Customers can also stay connected with us on Instagram @SALONORY and contact us directly with feedback at teamsalonory@salonory.com.
For more information about SALONORY and Henkel, be sure to follow them both at @SALONORY and @henkel on Instagram.
