Insider Tips for Essential Competencies in Cosmetics Product Planning

Overview

In recent weeks, I have deeply contemplated what constitutes the essence of cosmetics product planning and the primary responsibilities and key competencies required of a product planner.

The core competency here, of course, should be 'ability'. It's crucial to have substantial skills such as knowledge of regulations, understanding the manufacturing process, and ensuring quality. However, there has been a tendency to focus more on 'performance' rather than 'ability' recently. Many have started neglecting the development of their abilities for the sake of 'performance'. This calls for a reevaluation of the role of product planners.

In this post, I want to share my insights gained over the past eight years in the cosmetics industry, discussing the essential core competencies for product planners and the criteria that hiring managers and team leaders should apply when selecting product planners.

What are the fundamental core competencies of a cosmetics product planner?

The importance of product planning in the cosmetics industry is well-recognized. Especially, the product planning team is known for its high standards. Preference is given to experienced hires over newcomers, portfolio submission is often required, and sometimes even presentations on new products are demanded during interviews.

This preference for experienced talent is because the product planning team manages everything from A to Z of a brand. Especially in smaller brands, this trend is more pronounced.

Portfolio requirements are used to assess the applicant's experience and product development capability. It serves as an important criterion to evaluate what products they have developed, what product lines they can cover, and their skills.

Presentations are used to understand how well applicants comprehend the company’s brand worldview, their creative ideas, and their ability to plan realistically. Although I personally do not favor this approach, it is a way to assess the applicant's capabilities and achievements.

In cosmetics product planning, there is a strong emphasis on 'the ability to create a product' and 'product development performance'.

"The ability to create a product"
"Product development performance"

Are these two elements the entirety of the core competencies required for a product planner?

Let's examine this in more detail.

The Ability to Create a Product

The essence of product planning is 'creating a product'. Product planners should fundamentally know how a product is made. Without this knowledge, it would be similar to how someone who has only drunk coffee try to make it in a café.

How well do actual product planners know about product development?

Based on my experience, less than 10% of product planners truly understand and work with knowledge of development, mass production, and quality control. This phenomenon is observed even in well-known domestic and foreign companies.

My team also handles OEM/ODM work, receiving requests for product development and mass production from various brands. In this process, I often witnessed product planners who rely entirely on the manufacturer's capabilities to develop products, showing a lack of understanding in product development, mass production, and quality.

Thus, the 'ability to create a product' is actually lacking in many product planners. If relying entirely on manufacturers is considered an ability, then even a newcomer to the industry could perform this task.

So, what is the true 'ability to create a product'? Before answering this important question, let's discuss another core competency candidate - 'product development performance'.

Product Development Performance

As mentioned earlier, many companies tend to focus on 'performance' when evaluating the abilities of a product planner. Performance is not unimportant. Having developed a product can be a starting point for judging someone's ability. If there's no performance, that person is either a newbie or a newcomer.

However, an excessive focus on performance can lead to neglecting the actual 'ability'. If everything was managed by others, what significance does a portfolio hold? Can it be considered one's own achievement if it was carried out by entirely depending on manufacturers? And does having the skill necessarily result in a popular product, and lack of it in an unpopular one?

In my experience working with nearly 100 brand product planning managers, brand managers, and designers, one commonality stood out: none were confident that the products they were creating would definitely succeed. They were hopeful and anxious, but none had the conviction of guaranteed success.

Even in a conversation with a product planning team leader from Japan's famous "S" brand, who had over 30 years of experience, there was no certainty in the products they created. This is not wrong; it's true humility and realistic awareness in the rapidly changing consumer trends.

These cases demonstrate that even if one has experience in creating successful products, it doesn't guarantee future success. Nonetheless, portfolios are overly emphasized in evaluating the abilities of product planners. A portfolio should be a reference, not a complete representation of a person's abilities. Judging a person solely by results is a significant error. Therefore, we need deeper insight in evaluating the true abilities of product planners.

Key Competencies in Product Planning

Product planning can be divided into six stages. I will explain what role each stage plays and discuss which competencies are key.

1. Market Research (Trend Analysis)
2. Pricing Strategy
3. Brand Strategy
4. Product Development and Innovation
5. Distribution and Sales Channel Management
6. Customer Feedback Analysis

Market Research (Trend Analysis) involves understanding current and future cosmetic trends and consumer needs. The core is not market prediction but quickly capturing and responding to changes. This requires continuous interest in the market.

"Core Competency 1: Interest in the Market"

Next are Pricing Strategy and Brand Strategy. Pricing strategy involves setting prices considering market competition and consumer willingness to pay, directly affecting product positioning and profitability. Brand strategy involves building and maintaining a strong brand image and message, conveying the brand's value to consumers and enhancing loyalty. However, as many agree, these are not very meaningful unless creating a new brand. Older brands have established brand worldviews and set price ranges, so in a way, it's about following internal company rules. However, understanding the brand worldview is essential. Without it, one might end up promoting a $100 lipstick in a convenience store. Understanding how to interpret the brand's story, colors, fonts, target age, and core values, and why they are important, is crucial.

"Core Competency 2: Understanding the Brand Worldview"

Thirdly, Product Development, so important that it hardly needs a long explanation. However, it's a misconception that having "product development performance" equates to the ability to develop products. If one is unaware of the manufacturing process, they might make absurd requests to manufacturers, becoming a laughingstock. Also, if unaware of the necessary documents and tests, one might face quality issues and be perceived as a brand incapable of basic management. Thus, more important than having developed products is knowledge of manufacturing and quality.

"Core Competency 3: Knowledge of Manufacturing and Quality"

Lastly, the most needed ability is communication. Since product planning is a central role in all brand companies, communication is frequently required. You need to communicate with channels and manufacturers. If you are really doing it right, you should communicate not just with the sales team of the manufacturers but also with their quality, planning, and production teams. Also, communication with other departments like trade and sales within your company is necessary. Thus, an indispensable core competency is communication skills.

"Core Competency 4: Communication"

Distribution and Sales Channel Management, Customer Feedback Analysis involve efficiently managing various distribution channels, including online and offline, and collecting and analyzing consumer feedback and data to improve products and marketing strategies. In addition to the above four core competencies, meticulousness will further enhance one's qualifications.

Conclusion

The core competencies of a cosmetics product planner are 'interest in the market', 'understanding of the brand worldview', 'knowledge of manufacturing and quality', and 'communication skills'. These are crucial for product planners to quickly capture market changes, convey brand values, develop high-quality products, and effectively communicate and collaborate with stakeholders. This is the key to sustainable success in the cosmetics industry.

Companies should not only focus on past achievements or performance but evaluate the potential and comprehensive abilities of candidates. Job seekers preparing for employment should enhance these competencies and focus on effectively conveying their value. Success as a product planner lies in sensitively capturing market demands, deeply understanding the brand's authenticity, accurately grasping the technical aspects of product development, and collaborating with stakeholders through smooth communication. This is the essence of achieving sustainable success in the cosmetics industry.