I think it's human instinct to look over our shoulder every now and then to see what others are up to. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, especially if it lands you a few tips, a better way to do something or even, something completely new. Call it voyeurism, call it self-improvement - I'm all for it!
That's why I thought this journal was worth sharing. At face-value, it might look like a post about us, but it's actually an interesting insight into the male psyche and how men think about skincare in 2021.
A few weeks ago, we asked all of our customers for the #1 reason why they bought from us. Our goal was to understand the real reason that men like us choose to protect our skin. The response rate was incredible and really helpful.
To avoid answers like "I'd run out" (which doesn't quite hit the mark at an emotional level), we provided a list of multiple choice options. All the person had to do was click on the single response they felt was most appropriate for them personally. I can hear you saying that this invalidates the research - and I tend to agree - but we wanted to maximise responses by making the selection process as simple as possible. Nobody fills in a free text field these days and as I said, the responses might not have delved as deep as we were after.
So, on a train trip one day, Jono and I put ourselves in the shoes of others. We tried to imagine all the different reasons guys might choose to care for their skin. We actually speak to a lot of our customers individually so this exercise wasn't completely blind. For each idea, we stopped once we couldn't ask the question "why?" any more. That's when we felt we'd reached the nucleus of the reason. The 'emotional' driver, if you will.
And, here are the results...
Surprised?
I was.
Only 9.7% of people say they protect their skin for 'cosmetic' reasons whereas a huge 41.0% of people said it's to defend against skin cancer. The fact that so many of our customers are thinking about serious forms of skin damage is fascinating insight and shows the message is starting to sink in.
Clearly, there's no right or wrong though. I'll be honest, I'm (personally) more in the camp of those people who use skin protection products to keep looking younger. What matters most is that men seem to be listening and acting. Whatever the motivation, we're just pleased people are finding us, protecting themselves and looking after their skin health.
Stay well and thanks again to all our amazing customers and those who took part in this research.
