A few months ago, I ran a competition on the Belter Marketing Facebook page. I offered a day’s worth of marketing consultancy for one lucky winner. Turns out, I was quite lucky with that competition too. Let me explain…
One of the benefits of being a marketing consultant is coming across some amazing businesses (and people) who take a seed of an idea and develop it into something magical. Don’t get me wrong there’s nothing ‘magical’ about that process – it takes hard work, determination, enthusiasm and usually a few sleepless nights!
To be involved in the process is a bit of an honour – you’re sharing part of their journey.
I’m delighted to support the launch of Aromatizer and welcome my first blog guest, Gemma Marshallsay. (Instead of a drum roll, here are some party pineapples...)
Photo source: Pexels, April 2021
What is Aromatizer?
Aromatizer is a new company and brand that I launched in May. Our introductory product is Uplifting Defence. It's a hand mist with a unique style and scent carefully designed to defend, protect, cleanse and uplift.
During the first lockdown (while feeling a bit low as the world around me was turning into a disconcerting, restrictive, sterile and regimented environment, which I couldn't change or do anything about) I decided to take the one thing that we were all being asked to use many times in a day and transform this mundane ritual into an enjoyable experience. I created a more luxurious alternative to the standard, sticky hand gel sanitizer.
I believe that having frequent uplifting moments throughout the day contributes to our wellbeing and so I created a hand mist that is enjoyable to use. Uplifting Defence is effortless and satisfying to apply; feels light and luxurious with a dry finish and our pure essential oil blend surrounds your senses with an uplifting aroma. It has a highly effective alcohol defence with a fresh, invigorating scent of Lemongrass and May Chang - all captured in a desirable, dark green bottle.
Tell us a bit about your journey so far – the highs and lows.
The idea was born last year when there was a shortage of hand sanitizer, which led me to research how to make hand sanitizer for myself. I happened to have some of the ingredients, including alcohol from my shellac nail kit and an aloe vera plant, so made my first hand gel.
I was finding that working on my creation was really helping to divert my mind away from the news that Covid was spreading far and wide and fast!
I then progressed to developing a lighter-feeling hand mist. It was a challenge to make the product nourishing for your hands without leaving a residue. I also spent a lot of time blending together essential oils trying to mellow the strong alcohol smell that is of course required for defence. It involved lots of trial and error!
I had to do vast amounts of reading and research into the different routes to gain approval from a safety assessor. Most of this had to be done in the evenings when I was completely exhausted after a full day of home nursery schooling and looking after my newly born baby! I was also breastfeeding and getting up during the night so there were many times that I wanted to collapse onto the sofa after the kids were in bed! This was definitely the hardest part as I was also striving to keep on top of the housework, laundry and gardening!
I've always had a creative flair and I really enjoyed the design side, creating my brand colours, photography, logo, bottle and website. I found it really exciting to see my ideas turn into visuals and this definitely helped to spur me along.
The high points were the inspiration and encouragement that I received from other women in business. The first being a friend who had just launched Artisan Wax, a luxury home fragrance business also during lockdown and with kids in tow. The generosity of information that she shared with me was overwhelming. The other being Jen from Belter Marketing. Having no real prior experience in Marketing, she made me feel at ease and able to express my thoughts and ideas freely. She gave me lots of useful tools, templates and exercises to help me consider and organise my thoughts into a structured, focused approach to Marketing. Another very successful woman in business was the owner and creator of The Perfect Style ladies boutique in Peebles who offered to stock Aromatizer in her shop as a way to help me to get the word out about my new hand mist. I probably wouldn't be writing in this blog if it wasn't for the help of these empowering women. I also had lots of offers of help and design feedback from many of my lovely friends.
Photo source: Pexels, May 2021
How has marketing consultancy helped your business in these early days?
It has helped me to develop my brand and understand who my ideal customer is. It has also brought consistency across the design and key messages for my social media, packaging and website. I've a better understanding of how marketing can help my business and the different options available to me.
What are the next steps for Aromatizer?
It's still very early days so I am looking for more places to promote my product and new ways to reach out to potential customers - I want to get the Aromatizer brand out there! So many people have tried it and absolutely love it. I am really keen for more people to try swapping their sanitizer for Aromatizer and start having some uplifting moments too!
Most of my sales have been via my website but I am also keen to have it available to buy/use in some exclusive shops, hair/beauty salons and restaurants too - if you have a business that might be interested please get in touch.
Longer term I would like to release a different scent and I also like the idea of having a trio of antibacterial hand wash, hand cream and hand mist to display at home.
I am also going to be looking into ways of providing refills for the bottles.
Where can we find out more?
Well, I have my website (which includes my online shop) and there is also Facebook and Instagram which I invite you to follow to keep updated on my journey. I also encourage you to try it out for yourself!
Finally, here's my customer review too.
My first Aromatizer order arrived last week and I genuinely love the product. The smell is amazing - really fresh - and there's no mess with the mist compared to a gel. It's kept my hands soft plus it looks great in the bathroom!
If you're looking for some help with marketing your business please get in touch. I'm always happy to hear about new (or existing!) businesses and support how you develop, plan or implement your marketing.
There are no paid endorsements for this blog.