ABOUT THE BRAND

Dose of Colors is a makeup brand with a cult following built for every skin type and shade

Dose of Colors was founded over a decade ago by makeup artist and influencer Anna Petrosian. At the time, Anna saw a makeup industry that had failed to create high-quality makeup for customers with a wide range of skin colors and types. After working with her diverse clients daily, she developed a makeup line focused on lip, eye, skin, and face products, and the brand was born.

Today, the company has over 3 million followers on Instagram and is famous for its high-quality products and must-have collabs with other influencers and makeup artists.  

Recently, we had the chance to sit down with Jessica Hurwitz and Jodi Lynn Elle, who serve as the company’s Director of Digital Marketing and CMO, respectively, to discuss Dose of Colors’ Tapcart success story. 

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THE CHALLENGE

How could DOC outsmart competitors in the beauty space… without outspending them?

It’s no secret that the beauty space is crowded, and over the past few years, the industry has only become more competitive. According to Jessica, Dose of Colors wanted to create an effortless way for customers to purchase products. You know… no complex log-in, multiple steps, or any other hassles of ordering off a website. 

“We just wanted something in the customers' hands at all times that they could always reference and be able to shop with,” Jessica said.

And from this idea, the brand decided an app was the logical next step. But there’s more to the story because the app wasn’t just an easy way for customers to buy more product, but a way to one-up Dose of Colors’s competition.

"I know we're a successful brand, but we're nowhere near as well-funded as some other brands substantially larger than us. So we need to work smarter because we can't outspend the competition. So we must outsmart them.”
Jodi Lynn Elle, CMO

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THE SOLUTION

The app makes engaging with VIP customers a breeze

According to Jessica, the company’s app customers’ average checkouts are much higher than those of customers who shop in other ways.

This is critical to Dose of Colors, considering the beauty brand’s nature of repeat purchases and cult fans — making the app an integral part of a successful tech stack and the preferred sales channel for loyal customers.

To get even more fans to the app, the company implemented app-only exclusives, cross-promotions on social and email, pre-sale access, and loyalty points for app downloads. 

It worked. 23% of Dose of Colors customers have downloaded the app.

And, if you ask us, all those efforts are super strategic. After all, when a customer downloads your app, you already know they’re a pretty big fan of your brand. And what better (and free) way to engage with those fans than push notifications? 

"Push notifications are virtually a built-in cost that’s worth it because not only are you reaching people in their hands, but you're reaching the fans who are interested in the message. So you will get people to notice, increase their brand awareness, and stay top-of-mind.”
Jessica Hurwitz, Director of Digital Marketing

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THE RESULTS

The app offers a direct line of communication to (and tons of insight into) VIPs

Dose of Colors’s app provides the brand:

• An affordable way to scale retention with a superior and personalized customer experience.
• An effective retargeting tactic to keep customers engaged at no extra cost through push notifications.
• True ownership of its app audience without relying on social media algorithms or third-party SMS services to deliver messages.
• A fast, convenient, and enjoyable way to shop while the website awaits its makeover.
• Stand out in the competitive beauty and cosmetics industry since most makeup brands don’t have apps.
• Insights on the pulse of its community, especially VIP shoppers' wants, likes, and behaviors.
• A higher AOV and purchase frequency for app customers.

When asked what the company would miss most if its app disappeared, Jessica mentioned leveraging it as a crucial communication tool, especially when spending needs to be reduced. (Remember, it’s all about outsmarting the competition, not outspending them?)

“We have been playing around with our media and when we pulled back substantially on paid ads during the summer, we increased our communication through our owned media like email, SMS, and most notably, our push notifications.”

Jodi mentioned that the app also gives the brand fascinating insights about their “hardcore” customers. 

"There's not too many other brands out there that have their own app, so it gives us a different way to reach our loyal customers. Somebody will not download an app unless they're a true customer of ours. So it also gives us insight into what that loyal Dose customer looks like.”
Jodi Lynn Elle, CMO

Jodi and Jessica also gave a shout-out to their Tapcart's 5-star customer success team, specifically their dedicated Account Manager, Alex.

“Every call, he says, ‘Hey, there's something new coming,’ and we're always excited about it. We really appreciate that Tapcart is constantly proactive and always developing new the product. The Tapcart team has consistently brought to the table improvements that we hadn't even considered as something that should be done.”

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Find out how Dose of Colors and other top beauty brands — like Glamnetic — are breaking boundaries and sales records with Tapcart. Let's chat.