Addressing the Situation - Rare Beauty

Addressing the Situation

 

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Angelina Robles

College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Grand Canyon University

COM 456

Professor Rockley

January 29th, 2023

 

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Part I

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Organizations are a collection of individuals that work together to achieve a particular goal. It can vary in scale, reach, and purpose. Rare Beauty is a for-profit organization founded by actress, singer, and philanthropist Selena Gomez. The brand has various departments and people in charge of evaluating employees and the company's overall success. The beauty brand is acknowledged as a legal business with all proper qualifications, features, and qualities, indicating that it operates as an organization, providing it with a specific identity and organization a clear objective.  The purpose of the makeup brand was to encourage women worldwide, help them embrace their beauty, and promote mental health awareness. The brand's website offers several resources that guide mental health-related topics and self-acceptance (Lippert, 2022). Rare Beauty is unlike other organizations because they communicate within this the purpose of the brand being at the forefront. The makeup brand was branched off from a nonprofit organization called Rare Impact Fund which assists in increasing the availability of mental health resources and educational opportunities for youth globally (Rare Impact Fund, 2022). 1% of all Rare Beauty makeup brand sales are donated to the Rare Impact Fund organization (Rare Impact Fund, 2022). Rather than promoting false and unpractical beauty standards like other brands, Rare Beauty embraces realistic gorgeousness reflected by self-confidence, love, and acceptance.

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Part II

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Due to the increased cost of ingredients and the heightened popularity of Rare Beauty, the organization has raised the prices of its makeup products. The brand has faced severe backlash from consumers outraged by the sudden price increase, accusing the company of prioritizing profits over customer satisfaction. It is indisputable that a strong reputation guarantees a prosperous future for an organization (Argenti, 2016). Therefore, clear and transparent communication is essential to ensure that all stakeholders are fully informed and understand the reasons behind this occurrence.

Firstly, the Rare Beauty organization must communicate with the people behind the brand before informing the public about this price increase. This includes suppliers, investors, and employees. The statement regarding the price increase should be comprehensive and detailed, addressing all potential concerns and inquiries about its rationale. Inviting any questions and stating complete transparency about the situation ensures that all parties are on the same page.

This can be communicated to stakeholders through multiple forms of communication like email and virtual meetings. The most effective and transparent way to share this information would be to meet with critical suppliers, investors, and employees and inform them to disseminate it to their teams. After the meeting, the company should email all involved parties to summarize the key points and ensure everyone is on the same page. This approach allows for open communication and ensures everyone is informed and aligned with the company's updated objectives.

Secondly, consumers must be informed about the reason behind the price increases. They need to clarify that the organization is making this decision based on the best interest of the customers, the brand, and the product and using multiple communication channels, including social media platforms, news outlets, email newsletters, and the Rare Beauty website, to announce the price increase and provide an in-depth rationale. Customers do not want to feel like they are being overcharged and taken advantage of, so it is essential to be completely honest and straightforward.

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Example of statement to the public regarding this situation:

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Rare Beauty is dedicated to providing all of our customers with the best quality product while also advocating for mental health. The decision to increase our prices is rooted in our unwavering commitment to quality, which necessitates using the best ingredients and supporting our loyal customer base. We understand that this can be upsetting, but after thought, we have decided to double our current donation of all sales to the Rare Impact Fund from 1% to 2%. Whenever you purchase a Rare Beauty product, you support and advocate for global mental health resources and educational opportunities for youth. We thank you for your kindness and understanding. Rare Beauty is so excited for all of you to see what is coming next!

Sincerely,

Rare Beauty

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New-age media has completely transformed the way companies and individuals communicate. A business presence on a vast media platform like Tikok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter can exponentially expand the reach of content and news (IMLS, n.d.). Social media allows audiences to interact with the content posted by liking it, voicing their opinions, and sharing it for others to see. This is unlike other media sources because of the participatory quality (IMLS, n.d.). In addition to the caption of a post addressing the situation at hand, including pictures or videos also improves interaction engagement and appearance (IMLS, n.d.). The use of social media in business is a great tool to amplify the organization's message. By creating content, other media outlets, such as bloggers, content creators, and news sources, can share the message to spread it quickly and effectively to a broader audience (Argenti, 2016).

 

 

Conclusion

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Rare Beauty's corporate responsibility is to take ownership of the company's actions' impact on customers, employees, shareholders, communities, etc. (Argenti, 2016). The organization has to consider the broader social implications of business activities and not just look at the financial benefits (Argenti, 2016). Companies must go beyond involving more regulatory requirements and encompass proactive measures to improve the lives of employees and consumers and show they care (Argenti, 2016). Although Rare Beauty is increasing their prices, they are doing it to maintain the best quality of its products and donating a more significant portion of its profit growth to support a good cause that benefits the customers, the brand's condition, and the public interest. The company successfully offsets any potential negative publicity through its genuine, transparent, and honest response to this situation (Argenti, 2016).

 

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References​​

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Argenti, Paul (2016). Corporate Communication (7th ed.). McGraw Hill. ISBN-13: 9781259295942.

IMLS. (n.d.). Tips for sharing your news with the public. Institute of Museum and Library Services. From https://www.imls.gov/grants/grant-recipients/grantee-communications-kit/tips-sharing-your-news-public

Lippert, Z. (2022, February 21). Selena Gomez: Mental health in the Beauty Industry. USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. From https://annenberg.usc.edu/research/center-public-relations/usc-annenberg-relevance-report/selena-gomez-mental-health-beauty

Rare Impact Fund. (2022, October 11). Rare impact fund. Rare Impact Fund. From https://rareimpactfund.org/