MAC COSMETICS COMMUNICATION DASHBOARD

M.A.C
M.A.C COSMETICS COMMUNICATION DASHBOARD
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NWAMAKA IDIGO
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for
CMN 6910: Communication Dashboard Project
Northeastern University
College of Professional Studies
December 2015
“ Al l A ge s, A l l R a c e s, A l l S e x e s”
w w w . m a c c o s m e t i c s . c o m
M.A.C COSMETICS COMMUNICATION
DASHBOARD

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BACKGROUND OF THE ORGANIZATION
The creative urge to bridge the gap between Makeup artistry and fashion
photography was what led to Make-Up Art Cosmetics, ("Our History", 2015). Top
Fashion Photographer, Frank Toskan, and Frank Angelo, who owned a chain of
salons, launched this dream in March 1984, in Toronto, and according to Sporkin,
1991, “with the assistance of chemist Vic Casale.”
The first U.S M.A.C store was opened in 1991, in New York. “In 1995, Estée Lauder
Companies purchased 51% of the company” (Chesters, 2011) and in March 1998,
after the death of Frank Angelo at the age of 49, “Estée Lauder acquired the
remaining shares of the company, while John Demsey was named president of
M.A.C” ("Our History", 2015)
With a brand that exuded class and glamor and products endorsed by celebrities
worldwide, for “All ages, all races, all sexes” ("Our Story; Who we are", 2015), little
wonder why Mac cosmetics became a success. Presently, Mac cosmetics are one of
the most famous and are sold in over 1500 locations in 105 countries worldwide.
("Our History", 2015)

OVERVIEW OF THE WEBSITE; www.maccosmetics.com
Since M.A.C “is one of the few companies which has used innovative PR and
unconventional marketing to create a niche for itself without spending millions of
pounds on advertising” (AC, 2007) its primary communication vehicle is its website.
There you’ll find the company information and products/retail information.
Mac’s current website was released in June 2015 and designed by VSA Partners.
Their aim was to revamp their brand’s web and social media presence beginning
with their business’s website. This makeover included refurbishing the appearance
and ambiance of the site, from the homepage to the products page and the shopping
bag with new features such as bigger and better pictures showcasing their beautiful
visuals and creativity.

M.A.C’s HOMEPAGE STRUCTURE
Once the homepage appears, a beautiful and well-organized page, consisting of tabs,
images, and links is displayed. The website’s homepage represents every section of
the website; this can be seen while scrolling up and down or by clicking the top
toolbar.
SECTION 1
•  DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMUNICATION VEHICLE

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As shown in figure 1.1, the home
page is divided into 12 sections:

1. Here M.A.C lets the
customer know about its
limited edition new
product and gives you the
opportunity to sign up to
be one of the first people
know once it and other
products or promotions
arrive.
2. This is at the very
top of the home page; it is
the function tab where
you can navigate to
different categories i.e.
the bestsellers, products,
the sign in/sign up page,
the shopping cart, etc.
3. This is the link to
the latest collections.
4. This link will
direct customers to where
they can book makeup
sessions/lessons at
M.A.C’s first ever Makeup
Studio in NYC.
5. & 11. This link
leads customers to
M.A.C’s “Culture” blog
where we are drawn to
become a member of
M.A.C’s “cult”. It is “the
world of M.A.C. Cosmetics,
a place where all
personalities—the stars
and the freaks, the icons,
and the outcasts—are not
[Fig. 1.1] Source: maccosmetics.com

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only welcome, they are revered.” (PERGAMENT, 2014) We learn about them,
their style and are sometimes given tips on how to achieve their looks.
6. M.A.C encourages its customers to upload pictures with their lipsticks while
using specific hashtags. Each day the pictures are uploaded to the site as the
#LipOfTheDay.
7. M.A.C recommends a product for each customer. This recommendation is either
a previous order or a product that they believe you might appreciate.
8. This link directs customers to their new lipglosses.
9. This connects customers to M.A.C’s no one charity, the M.A.C Aids Fund. Here
M.A.C uses celebrities to promote the Limited edition VIVA line, i.e. Nicki Minaj,
Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, etc. and all the proceeds are donated to their Aids Fund.
10.This is the “Who are we” section. Here Mac talks about its history, mission, vision
and future goals.
[Fig. 1.2] Source: maccosmetics.com
12.

In this section, customers are given the ease of locating a nearby M.A.C store,
communicating with customer service, finding out more about M.A.C, exploring their
accounts, selecting gift cards and connecting with M.A.C on social Media.

It is also important to note that M.A.C makes it easy to communicate with a
customer service agent, whether they need makeup tips or help with an order or
returns. They are available from M-F from 10 am to 10pm.

[Fig 1.3] Source: maccosmetics.com


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While shopping the website makes it easy for customers’ to save products by
clicking on the heart icon in the favorites list or send products to their shopping cart
by clicking on the bag icon.

This is a special holiday feature. Mac has created limited edition collection for a
customers that reflect the season and spirit of the Christmas holiday.


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[Fig 1.8] Source: web.archive.org

The new website does a better job of showcasing the products as opposed to the old
website. The images are larger and clearer especially while contrast with the white
background.

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The Artistry Section:
Here we are introduced to the
world of M.A.C’s artists; what
inspires them to create the work
they do and tips on how to
achieve specific looks perfected
by them. There are instructional
videos and step-by-step pictures
so as to make practice easier.
There are also tweets being
posted by the artists either
updating the customers or
encouraging them to purchase
certain products by
recommending them.


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M.A.C’s COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES
i. Promote online and personal Sales
M.A.C’s new and attractive website is aimed at attracting customers and making it
easy/convenient for them to make shopping decisions. The website also has the
option to change languages. M.A.C has a favorable return/exchange policy, “At M·A·C
Cosmetics Online, your satisfaction is our guarantee. If for any reason you are not
completely satisfied with the products purchased from M·A·C Cosmetics Online, you
may return the unused portion for exchange or refund (no questions asked! we’ll
even pay the return shipping fee).” ("Returns", 2015)This proves that M.A.C stands
behind the quality of their product. They also have a back to M.A.C program where
they encourage customers to recycle by returning six empty product containers, and
they get a free lipstick, which is worth $17.
“Personal selling is one of the oldest forms of promotion. M.A.C Cosmetics follows
this strategy and stands out as the world's largest makeup company. They inform,
engage, and persuade their target market as well as remind customers of new and
existing products by word of mouth” (Quaatey, 2012) By communicating with
customers through, makeup tutorials or advice, M.A.C is building and maintaining a
relationship. “We did something different by encouraging employees to sell their
talent rather than selling makeup. I always said it is not about selling the product; it
is about selling yourself and your ability to make choices for that customer.” (SHEA,
2014)

ii. Increase brand awareness, loyalty and customer engagement.
M.A.C website is not just an online store; the Artistry feature gives repeat and
potential customers the opportunity to learn new makeup techniques and skills.
When customers purchase a product, to say thank you, “MAC Cosmetics has created
a postcard with a friendly note and a scannable QR code. When a mobile user scans
the code, they have the option of viewing a series of tutorial videos related to some
of MAC Cosmetics’ most popular products. Customers can quickly access tips and
tricks from professional makeup artists on how to make the most of their recent
purchases.” (Instantly, 2014)

iii. Fight AIDS with lipsticks.
Due to their passion for combating AIDS, Angelo and Tuscan created the VIVA GLAM
line. All proceeds of the products are being donated to their M.A.C AIDS fund.
According to SCHIRO (1997), “The fund finances AIDS education and prevention,
meal delivery, emergency financial assistance and home-care services.” M.A.C
advertises these products by getting them endorsed by celebrities. Each line is

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tailored to a celebrities’ personality or favorite shade, that way customers feel like
they are using a product that would have otherwise been used by the star. Presently,
the current line is the Viva Glam Miley Cyrus, and M.A.C has already begun
advertisement for the next Viva Glam, Ariana Grande.

[Fig 1.10] Source: google.com

As stated in ("How it works"), 1 glam lipstick = 1 Monthly medication planner to
help a person manage their treatment regime/1 counseling session for an HIV+
woman/18 Personalized birthday cakes to be hand delivered to a PLWHA on
his/her birthday/14 blood glucose monitoring drips/1 pair of school shoes for a
child orphaned by AIDS/2 Safer sex kits/1 rapid oral HIV test/8 individually tailored
nutritious home cooked meals/37 deliveries of dietetically sound meals/1 vegetable
seed started pack for a community garden/23 female condoms or 233 male
condoms/1 private therapeutic recreational session for 1 patient/1 month of public
transport for a woman to travel to and from the doctor’s office/15 copies of tips to
eating well/1 month of groceries supplies/1 party pack for a child to celebrate
Christmas, Easter or a birthday etc.
[Fig 1.11] Source: macaidsfund.com

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MARKET PLACE AND MARKETING STRATEGY
MAC is marketed to both individuals and organizations. When MAC was created, it
was aimed at providing Makeup that will stand the test of time for professional
Makeup artists to apply during photo-shoots, fashion shows, and movies/music
videos. Now M.A.C is marketed to women and men of all ages and races.
“MAC Cosmetics was revealed as the runaway leader, dominating the color
cosmetics sector due to the seamless integration between its social channels and
brand website” (Healy, 2014) This is due to the fact that it aims at fulfilling the
needs of its customers and interacts on social media platforms, i.e. YouTube,
Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.
M.A.C aims at developing and maintaining engagement; it tracks its results and is
very creative/innovative with its activity on Social Media.
For instance, M.A.C encourages its customers to create bold lip designs and paste
them on their Instagram with specific hashtags e.g. #MacArtOfTheLip and
#LipOfTheDay


M.A.C under Estee Lauder provides gross value through a personalized consumer
experience. They focus on expanding their online presence into a multi-pronged
SECTION 2
•  DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL
ENVIRONMENT AND TARGET AUDIENCES

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digital strategy that combines e-commerce, m-commerce, and digital and social
media, with the aim of improving the brand’s policies all across online activities as
well as increasing direct contact with consumers.
“M.A.C.’s market segmenting is the process in which the intended actual markets are
defined, analyzed and evaluated just before the final decision is made. M.A.C. targets
its market, with their strategic approach to creating a marketing mix for a particular
market segment and potential buyers.”(Quaatey, 2012) Hence, M.A.C’s continued
success.

TARGET AUDIENCE
Mac’s primary target audience is “All ages, all races, all sexes” ("Our Story; Who we
are", 2015). What makes M.A.C different and better than it competitors is that it
caters to all races. However, the majority of its customers are women. Because
women have become financially independent, this is seen as an advantage since
most of M.A.C’s sales come from women.
M.A.C cosmetics secondary target audience is “mostly Generation X and Y; where
Generation X includes people with their careers launched and families started, and
Generation Y ranging from college students to kids in their teens.” (Rattus, 2012)
The primary benefit of targeting Generation Y is that they are technologically and
social media savvy. The Internet, social media, and mobile applications are M.A.C’s
key marketing tools.
The behavioral profile of their target audience is people that do not mind spending
money on beauty, fashion, socializing and entertainment.
“M.A.C. Cosmetics uses demographic information as the basis to target their market
within the ages of 18-49 because it helps them meet the needs of their consumers of
age, gender, income, ethnic background and family cycle” (Quaatey, 2012) M.A.C
satisfies its target audience by offering products at affordable prices for everyone.
M.A.C has created a niche for itself where it is perceived as classy and Avant-garde
without being seen as extravagant.

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AUDIENCE PROFILE

[Fig 2.2] Source: alexa.com


[Fig 2.4 & 2.5] Source: alexa.com

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According to metrics found on similarweb.com and alexa.com, 65.41% means that
this website gets lots of visitors. Its primary traffic is from the US, it is ranked #3841
in the US and its bounce rate is 27.40%, which is a good sign.



As seen in the diagram above, M.A.C’s major visitors are women. This is very normal
because women are highly attracted to makeup, and some of them consider it
essential. In fact, most women do not see makeup as a luxury but rather as a
necessity. Although, in some very few societies, women are not allowed to apply
makeup apart from those places, the majority of women and even men do.

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Non-college or high school students are under-represented while Graduate school
students and college students are seen as M.A.C’s major audience, with college
students going way past average.
As stated earlier, M.A.C’s major patrons are women between the ages of 25 – 44 are
they are more tech savvy and more concerned with being in vogue.
It is funny but not weird to see that People browsing from work are very well
represented at M.A.C’s website, almost as much as people browsing from home.
Some people consider M.A.C as a luxury brand, due the fact that a tube of lipstick
goes for $17, and a drug store lipstick costs half of that. Therefore, not many people
can afford to buy makeup from M.A.C especially since they can afford to get it
somewhere for a cheaper price. This may be considered as the reason for the small
percentage from those in No College and the high percentage of those with an
income of $60k to $100k+.
The high percentage of African Americans and Caucasians is not surprising, being
that this is the website for the US, however Asians are under-represented although
there is a relatively high number of Asians in the US.
Finally, the high percentage of those without kids may be because, mothers hardly
have time for makeup due to higher and more time-consuming priorities.

[Fig 2.7] Source: similarweb.com

According to similarweb.com people that are interested in M.A.C are also interested
in the above. This is not strange seeing as M.A.C is also categorized under them.

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COMPETITOR AUDIENCE PROFILE COMPARISON


The most traffic in all three websites is from the US, being that they originate form
there, which is why it is our focal point. Sephora has the most traffic leading by more
than 50% while Clinique has the least traffic. However in the estimate of unique
visitors, M.A.C has almost half as many visitors as Sephora. I believe the reason
Sephora has this much visitors is because they sell much more than makeup. They
sell other brands of makeup as well as fragrances, hair products/tools and skin care
as opposed to M.A.C just selling makeup. However, it is still considered as M.A.C’s
biggest competitor. This shows that M.A.C may need to extend its product line,
although it is already branching out to skin care.

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Fig 2.9 shows us the websites’ source of traffic. Social Media constitutes of not more
than 3% on all websites. Considering the fact that this is M.A.C’s main source of
advertising, it is advisable that they look into how to increase the percentage.
Probably they can make available on every post, links that direct customers to the
webpage of the product being advertised.


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The reputation metrics shows how popular the websites are on these sites. Although
M.A.C focuses more on YouTube and Instagram, that is no excuse for the extremely
low popularity on Facebook and Google+. I recommend that they work hard on
creating a reputation on these social media outlets. They might also be able to reach
out to the 45 – 65+ demographic.

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“A benchmark study is preliminary research done to learn about audiences or an
environment or to set goals for future projects. A benchmark to compare against, is
a standard against which you measure progress towards your goals.” (Paine, 2011,
p. 34)

INTERNAL BENCHMARKS
According to Paine (2011), “A key point to remember is that measurement is a
comparative tool; to decide if you are successful you compare your results to
something else. The most successful comparisons are to your competitions” (p. 37)
As a company, to understand how far you have gone or how well you have fared you
will have to compare it to where you are coming from and how were doing
previously. “The most effective benchmark is to compare your company to its past
performance.”
The Makeup company is growing, and this means more competition for M.A.C.
Although M.A.C has carved a niche for itself, people are coming up with bigger and
better ideas, they are putting a lot more into advertising than M.A.C is and they are
more affordable.
To Measure M.A.C’s internal benchmarks, I will have to compare cases that are
similar over different timelines. I will look out for how effective the current case is
compared to the previous one.

For Instance, since M.A.C updated its website in June,
• By how much percentage has their monthly income increased or decreased?
• How much did it cost to improve this site as opposed to how much it cost to
develop the previous one?
• How often do customers visit the website?
• How long does it take customers to stay on this site?
• How often do visitors connect with M.A.C through social media outlets?
• What is the percentage of return visitors?
• What are customers most purchased item? (Products not mentioned on the
bestsellers page of the website)
• How many visitors choose to sign up and how many visitors elect to check out as
guests?
SECTION 3
•  DESCRIPTION OF BENCHMARKS

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• What percentage of used/unused products is returned every month? How
effective is the back to M.A.C program?
• What percentage of customers use their mobile phones to shop?
• How fast does it take a limited edition product to sell out?
• What percentage of clients chooses to chat live with customer service
representatives and what percentage prefers to call instead?
• What pages do new/return guests frequently visit?
• What page or product receives the most or least clicks?
• What is the percentage of clicks they get from their newsletters?
These questions will enable M.A.C to understand how much revenue they have
generated or how engaged/aware their customers are. They will also be able to
figure out how efficient their new site as opposed to the old one and how effective
their mode of advertisement is. It will also help them understand how effective their
methods of communication are.

EXTERNAL BENCHMARKS
As stated by Paine (2011), when measuring external benchmarks, “Ideally you
would benchmark against two or three competitors: A stretch goal, a peer company
and an underdog who’s just beginning to nip at your heels” (p. 37)
I have chosen to benchmark M.A.C against two competitors, Sephora (The stretch
goal) and Clinique (The underdog dog)

“Sephora was founded in 1970, in Paris by Dominique Mandonnaud. Featuring more
than 200 brands, along with its private label, Sephora offers beauty products
including makeup, skincare, body, fragrance, color, and hair care. Louis Vuitton and
Moet Hennessy LVMH own Sephora as of 1997.” ("About us", 2012)

“Clinique is an American manufacturer of skincare, cosmetics, toiletries and
fragrances, usually sold in high-end department stores owned and operated by the
Estée Lauder Corporation. It was founded in 1968 by Estee Lauder companies and
Carol Philips” ("Our History", 2014)

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M.A.C
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COMPETITORS

The graph below represents the global historical traffic for M.A.C, Sephora and
Clinique websites in the last one year. Sephora shows the highest amount of traffic
while Clinique shows the least.
Sephora’s traffic has reduced compared to where it was in January while M.A.C
seems to be the same. Although there was a minor decline from March to June, there
is an increase now. This might be as a result of the website’s renovation in June.
Clinique, on the other hand, seems to be unsteady; there was an increase in January,
but that has dropped and, unfortunately, it has not caught up to where it was at the
beginning of the year.


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BEST PRACTICES

Navigation and Ease use:
“The design of a website’s navigation has a bigger impact on success or failure than
almost any other factor. It affects traffic and search engine rankings. It affects
conversions and user-friendliness. Everything important about your website is
connected to the navigation, from content to the URLs.” (Crestodina, 2013)
When customers enter stores, they can find their way about, and if they cannot find
a product they can easily request for help from an attendant, however, when they
are going to a website, it is a different ball game. Therefore, it is important for
retailers that are interested in making a profit through their websites, to make their
experience as easy and stress-free as it can be.

Search
Some people believe that the search button is only needed if the website is
unorganized or complicated. However, an easy search is an essential function of a
website. It helps to filter options and reduce confusion. “From a usability point of
view, irritated users use the search function as the last option when looking for
specific information on a website. If a website’s content is not organized properly,
an efficient search engine is not only helpful but crucial, even for basic website
navigation.” (Fekete, 2008)

Links to Social Media
“With the rise in popularity of social media, it is easier to reach consumers and make
your presence felt on search engines. This development now makes a strong social
presence for your business or website a necessity.” (IMA, 2012) With an
improvement in technology and an increase in the usability of mobile devices,
enormous demands for mobile devices, customers love to share their experiences
with their mobile devices. This can be a positive and a cost-free way of advertising
for companies, or it can be negative and expensive. Either way, it is important for
businesses to incorporate links to their websites and encourage their customers to
share experiences. They can also instruct them to use specific terms that will make it
easier for you to locate and reward them for their services. This will also give you
the opportunity to monitor your products and stay ahead of trends.

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FUNCTIONALITY COMPARISONS

M.A.C

Sephora

Clinique
Global Rank 11,275 1,016 17,144
US Rank % Of Visitors 3,242 63.5% 204 76.5% 3,556 70.6%
Bounce Rate 27.40% 22.30% 28.6%
The daily page view per visitor 5.39 9.24 4.80
Time spent on website 6:02 9:17 5:42

Website Functions

Clear navigation and easy to use ü ü ü
Information can be searched
effectively
(Search function)
ü ü ü
FAQ ü ü û
The visual appearance of products
is clear
ü ü ü
The text is easy to skim and read ü ü ü

The website effectively leverages
social media tools
Instagram,
Twitter,
YouTube,
Facebook,
Twitter,
Pinterest
Facebook, Twitter,
Pinterest,
YouTube,
Instagram,
Google+, Tumblr,
Wanelo
Facebook, Twitter,
Pinterest,
Instagram
Return policy ü ü ü
Mobile version û ü û
Shopping cart ü ü ü
Shipping info ü ü ü
Easy to register ü ü ü
Store location and map ü ü ü
Beauty Style Insider ü ü û
Contact Us ü ü ü

While comparing M.A.C to these external benchmarks, I realized that Sephora has
the highest global rank and Clinique has the least. However, there is not much of a
difference between M.A.C’s and Clinique’s US rank. In fact, Clinique has 7% more
percentage of visitors than M.A.C does. Clinique has the highest percentage of
bounce rate but is only 1.2% higher than M.AC; Sephora, on the other hand, is more
than 5% greater than both. Sephora has the highest daily page views per visitor and

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the largest time spent on the website. Although Clinique has the lowest, once again
there is not much of a difference between it and M.A.C, at least, compared to
Sephora.
In the past three years, the three websites have recently gone through renovations
and commendably they have effective and efficient functions. However, there are
still some differences and some places for improvement. I believe M.A.C has a more
attractive design and structure. The design and structure for Sephora have the
homepage looking a bit crowded. There seems to be so much going on while
Clinique’s seems a bit too dry and very appealing. However, the text fonts are clear
and eligible.
The three websites encourage participation in Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and
Instagram. However, Clinique does not seem interested in utilizing YouTube.
Sephora also Wanelo, although not popular, seems like a good source of click
through traffic. I would encourage M.A.C and Clinique to invest in it.
Also, M.A.C and Clinique do not have mobile apps; I recommend that they invest in
this, as it would help to drive more sales and revenue.

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RATIONEL BEHIND KPI
I selected the KPIS above because “Once you’ve agreed upon your objectives,
defined your audience, and established who or what you will benchmark against,
you are ready to establish the specific criteria for success or key performance
indicators, that you will measure” (Paine, 2011, p. 37) “Because you become what
you measure, it is critical to carefully choose the metrics by which you track your
success… Which metrics you choose should be driven by the goals you established.”
(Paine, 2011, p. 87) therefore, each KPI is based on M.A.C’s communication
objectives.
These KPIs will also be used to measure customer engagement in each of the
communication objectives. According to Paine (2011), “engagement now means
everything from the number of times a visitor returns to a site to the number of
comments on a corporate blog, to the number of retweets of a twitter stream” (p.
79) There are five stages of engagement, from level one to five they are, “lurking,
casual, active, committed and loyalist.”(p. 80) Therefore, the KPIs will measure each
stage of engagement. They will measure site visits (lurking), repeat and new visitors
(casual), the amount of content shared on social media (active), the number of
people that sign up for newsletters and email updates (committed), and the number
of lipsticks bought from the VIVA collection (loyalist).
It is worthy to note that the KPI table reveals an interrelationship between the KPIs.
The outputs KPIs are tools used to achieve the attitudinal KPIs, which then causes
the behavioral KPIs to occur.

SECTION 4
•  KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

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Communication
Objectives

Output KPIS

Attitudinal KPIS

Behavioral KPIS
Promote Online Sales

§ Frequency of release
of new makeup
collections.
(Heuristic
assessment)
§ Quality and size of
product Images.
(Heuristic
assessment)
§ Quality of website
design and Ease of
use. (Heuristic
assessment &
Usability Testing)
§ Cost of maintaining
site.
§ Website’s Practical
functions i.e.
shopping cart, chat
live (Heuristic
assessment)
§ Absence of broken
links and speed of
website. (Usability
Testing)
§ Value of discount
codes being
distributed.
§ Perception of ease
of website’s
practical functions.
(Survey/Focus
Group)
§ Motivation to
purchase makeup.
(Survey)
§ Degree of interest
in different
collections and the
celebrities that
market them.
(Survey/Focus
Group)
§ Motivation to click
on products to
learn more about it.
(Survey/Focus
Group)
§ Degree of intent to
“chat live” with
customer sales
representatives.
(Survey)
§ Motivation to
purchase products
due to discount
codes. (Survey)
§ Amount of revenue
made by online
sales. (Metrics)
§ % Of return
customers.
(Metrics)
§ Conversion from
visitors to
customers.
(Metrics)
§ % Of feedback
gotten from survey
on experiences
with customer
representatives.
(Metrics)
§ % Of sales being
made with discount
codes. (Metrics)

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Increase Brand
Awareness, Loyalty
and Customer
Engagement.
§ Quality and Richness
of the artistry and
culture section.
(Heuristic
assessment)
§ Quality and
Frequency of release
of videos and blog
posts on the artistry
section. (Heuristic
assessment)
§ Strength of cult
identity. (Heuristic
assessment)
§ Ease of joining M.A.C
pro. (Usability
testing)

§ Degree to which
experience on site
strengthens
identity as a
member of “the
cult”
§ Motivation to sign
up for and read the
newsletter
(Survey/Focus
Group)
§ Degree of
motivation to
upload pictures
and videos on
social media.
(Survey/Focus
Group)
§ Degree of
motivation to
continue using
M.A.C products.
(Survey/Focus
Group)
§ Level of interest in
watching the
tutorials and
reading the blog
posts.
(Survey/Focus
Group)
§ Motivation to sign
up as a member of
M.A.C pro.
(Survey/Focus
Group)
§ # Of new visitors.
(Metrics)
§ # Of return visitors.
(Metrics)
§ # Of click through
from the
newsletter.
(Metrics)
§ % Of click through
from social media.
(Metrics)
§ % Increase of
referred guests.
(Metrics)
§ % Increase of page
views. (Metrics)
§ # Of followers on
social media.
(Metrics)
§ # Of views on
videos. (Metrics)
§ #Of M.A.C pro
members. (Metrics)
Fight AIDS with
Lipsticks
§ Quality of the VIVA
lipstick brand.
the shade of
§ # Of hours it takes
for the product to

M.A.C
29
(Heuristic
assessment)
§ Variety of lipstick
options as opposed
to other collections.
§ Cost of maintaining
both websites. I.e.
maccosmetics.com
and
macaidsfund.org.
§ Difference in price of
the VIVA lipstick and
the other collections.

lipstick.
(Survey/Focus
Group)
paying more for a
lipstick.
(Survey/Focus
Group)
§ Degree of
motivation to
purchase a product
for charity.
(Survey/Focus
Group)
§ Degree of
motivation to
encourage others
to purchase for a
cause.
(Survey/Focus
Group)
sell out. (Metrics)
§ % Of new and
return clicks on the
M.A.C AIDS funds
page. (Metrics)
§ % Of customers
requesting a VIVA
lipstick that has
sold out. (Metrics)
§ % Of lipsticks being
sold.

M.A.C
30

As (Paine, 2011, p. 40) clearly states, “any tool is useless unless it collects the sort of
data that will help you evaluate your progress towards your goals… not only do your
tolls need to collect the right data, they must be affordable and provide the data
when you need it” Therefore, I will be using two measurement tools, the heuristic
assessment tool and survey. They will be designed and utilized to evaluate the
strengths and weaknesses of M.A.C cosmetics’ website.

HEURISTIC ASSESSMENT TOOL

This measurement tool was intended to help in evaluating the Output KPI of
Maccosmetics.com. This is an excellent tool because it “can provide some quick and
relatively inexpensive feedback to designers. You can obtain feedback early in the
design process and assigning the correct heuristic can help suggest the best
corrective measures to designers.” (Thilakasiri, 2014)
This assessment tool will analyze M.A.C’s website while comparing it to that of
Sephora and Clinique.
It will be assessed on a scale of 1 to 5, with the scoring as 1-very poor, 2-poor, 3-
good, 4-very good, 5-excellent. Since there will be ten questions, the total score will
be 50.
The detailed results of the Heuristic assessment table can be found in Appendix 1.

SECTION 5
•  MEASUREMENT TOOLS AND KEY DATA
38
40
42
44
46
48
50
M.A.C SEPHORA CLINIQUE
WEBSITES 48.5 45 43
HEURISTIC ASSESSMENT RESULTS

M.A.C
31
[Fig 5.1]
Fig 5.1 depicts the total score of M.A.C’s websites and its benchmarks, Sephora and
Clinique. From the graph it is clear to see that M.A.C scored the highest score (48.5)
while Sephora and Clinique scored 45 and 43 respectively.

[Fig 5.2]

Fig 5.2 above helps to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of maccosmetics.com,
Sephora.com, and Clinique.com. While glancing through the graph, a couple of
scores stand out. For instance, M.A.C has a higher score for shipping and return
policy when standing beside Clinique and Sephora. This is because M.A.C apparently
offers free two-day shipping, no matter the total price of products and free returns
whenever the customer feels like with no questions asked. “If for any reason you are
not completely satisfied with the products purchased from M·A·C Cosmetics Online,
you may return the unused portion for exchange or refund (we’ll even pay the
return shipping fee).” (M.A.C, 2015, Returns, para 1).
Although they all have links to their social media accounts on their websites, M.A.C
is the only website that showcases images from their social media accounts or their
customers’ accounts on their websites.
Clinique has a considerably low score when it comes to blogging posts and tutorials,
because, unlike M.A.C and Sephora, there are no videos, images or blog posts
teaching customers how to apply their products.

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Navigation
Visual Appearance
Homepage Content
Feadback and Contact
Sign up process
Social Media
Newsletter Bene{its
Updating Products
Tutorials and Blogposts
Shipping and return policy
Detailed Results of Heuristic Assessment
CLINIQUE
SEPHORA
M.A.C

M.A.C
32
SURVEY
“If your objective is to increase product or service awareness or preference,
or your goal is to educate an audience, you need a tool that measures opinion-
essentially the outcome of what you’ve done.” (Paine, 2011, p. 53) Since this was my
aim, the survey was chosen as the second measurement tool. Because according to
Paine (2011), this is “the tool used to measure reputation and relationships.” (p. 89)
Survey is a very convenient tool because it, “ is relatively easy to administer, can be
developed in less time (compared to other data-collection methods), is cost-effective
and can be administered remotely via online, mobile devices, mail, email, kiosk, or
telephone. It can also be conducted remotely and is capable of collecting data from a
large number of respondents.” (Wyse, 2012)
The Survey for this website was created online with a website called Survey
Monkey. The purpose of using the survey as a tool was to gain insights into the
attitudinal perception of maccosmetics.com. The survey was sent to a group of
young professionals, both male, and female, that were seemingly familiar with the
M.A.C website. The age group of these people was from 18 – 26. They were from all
parts of the world, i.e. Nigeria, Uk, and the USA.
The Survey included ten questions; they were sent to ten persons, and I received
eight replies. The survey was divided into three categories; website assessment,
brand evaluation, and measurement of customer engagement. However they can be
separated into three to represent the three different objectives; increase sales,
increase brand awareness and engagement and purchase products for charity.
Ø Increase sales

[Fig 5.3] Source: Surveymonkey.com

M.A.C
33
According to Fig 3.3 the quality and content of the website has 62.50% chance of
increasing sales. This is because 5 out of 8 people said they were likely to purchase
products after reviewing the website. Increasing online sales is an important
objective for a sales website and Maccosmetics.com is not an exception. Therefore
this is a good thing.

Ø Increase Brand Awareness


The survey shows that a good number of visitors are familiar with the M.A.C Cult;
however, some visitors are not as familiar. According to the survey, about 62% of
visitors are familiar while about 37.50% are slightly familiar. This is somewhat
unexpected due to that fact that all the respondents had visited the M.A.C website
ate least twice.

M.A.C
34
Ø Purchase products for Charity


Unfortunately, 50% were on the fence about buying products in order to donate to
charity. This may be due to the fact that the VIVA products are not as attractive as
the ordinary M.A.C products or maybe because they cost more.

M.A.C
35

According to (Paine, 2011, p. 40)“For any measurement system to work, you need to
assess the results, make changes, see If those changes had an impact, make more
changes, and so on.” Therefore I would be analyzing the following assessments and
giving my recommendations.

ANALYSIS OF RESULTS
Ø Heuristic Assessment
As seen in the previous section, the aim of the heuristic assessment was to measure
the output KPIs i.e. Quality and design of website, Strength of brand awareness and
Quality of Content.

[Fig 6.1]

As indicated by the graph, Maccosmetics.com is accomplishing the objectives they
have set out for themselves. The website is performing well mainly in its quality and
the quality of its content. It is very easy to use and navigate through, and there is
the convenience of the search tab for visitors that are aware of what they want and
do not have time to scan through each product. There is also the favorite button to
enable customers mark products that they are interested in, that way they can
always come back to it whenever they are ready to purchase the goods.
SECTION 6
•  ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATION
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Heuristic Assessment Results
M.A.C SEPHORA CLINIQUE

M.A.C
36
The visual appearance of the website has improved greatly. The images are very
clear and true to the color that is vital for a makeup website as customers need to
ensure that whatever shade or color they pay for is what they are getting.
However, they would have to put more effort into the benefits for newsletters and
updating sold out products. Most customers do not want to receive newsletter
because some people consider it spam, however if they felt like they could benefit a
lot from reading the newsletters, I am positive their opinions would change. M.A.C is
known for hardly giving discounts except the free shipping policy and the Back to
M.A.C policy. However, If customers are being treated to discount codes once in a
while, not only will that increase sales but that will also increase customer
engagement.

Ø Survey
The survey was designed by applying the attitudinal KPIs. Participating in this
survey were customers that we were sure had purchased products from M.A.C at
least twice.

[Fig 6.2] Source: surveymonkey.com

Although a majority of the participants considered the website easy to use, we
would have to find out why 12.60% only found it slightly easy. Some websites when
being opened for the first time give quick instructions on how to use it and
customers are also given the option of skipping the instructions. M.A.C can look into

M.A.C
37
that to teach some customers that may not be familiar with online shopping or their
website.


In Fig 6.3 About 62.5% of customers said they would not want to sign up for M.A.C’s
newsletter. M.A.C should look into reducing that percentage.


Fig 6.4 shows that a high percentage of customers are interested in
Maccosmetics.com and would be interested in returning.

M.A.C
38
I believe the results of these assessments are logical since they are coming from
different income earners. Although the heuristic assessment shows us different
information concerning maccosmetics.com, the survey helps us understand what
the customers are feeling. This goes to show that no matter how good a website
might seem most especially after the heuristic assessment, without a survey one
cannot tell how the customers are genuinely affected by it.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPOROVEMENT

M.A.C is an excellent example of a successful makeup company with a brand known
worldwide. Due to this, there is not much improvement needed most especially after
their website’s renovations. However, I do have a few recommendations on their
communication objectives.

Increase online Sales
I would recommend that they include swatches of their makeup on different skin
tones. Sometimes customers do not purchase colors because they are not sure about
how they would appear in their skin tones, most notably customers with very dark
skin colors. Although some clients look for videos/tutorials, carefully watching out
for the makeup on the models to see if it would look good on them, some other
customers do not have that time. I am also aware of the fact that M.A.C provides free
trials whenever customers walk into the store, but as I stated earlier, some
customers do not have that time.
For instance, in Fig 6.5 meltcosmetics.com has the option of viewing different
customers with different skin tones modeling each lip color.

[Fig 6.5] Source: melcosmetics.com

M.A.C
39

Therefore, I would recommend that they get different models with different skin
tones and create swatches most especially for the lip colors. They can the integrate
these swatches to their website, that way when customers are confused about if the
product would look good on them, they can easily refer to a model with a similar
skin tone. I believe this would help increase sales.

Increase Brand Awareness, Customer loyalty and Engagement
I do not believe M.A.C does enough to increase its brand awareness. I have been an
avid customer of M.A.C for many years but before this paper, I had no idea there was
a community called the M.A.C Cult. I believe that is something M.A.C customers
would love to be a part of if given the opportunity. Therefore, I would advise that
they put more effort into publicizing it, most especially on social media. They can
incorporate a hashtag into their campaigns, for instance, they can ask customers to
use the #MACCULT hashtag whenever images are posted on Instagram, Twitter or
Facebook and maybe create a special Instagram account where they can repost
pictures of members of the M.A.C Cult. As humans we always want to be part of a
movement/community and this will not be an exception.

Fight AIDS with Lipsticks
I have found that the shades being offered by the VIVA brand are not as adventurous
or colorful as the general collections. This is a huge problem because in as much as
customers want to help a charity, they do not wish to purchase a product that will
be useless to them.
Therefore, I would recommend that they make the VIVA collection more creative.
For instance, M.A.C has created some collections that sold out in minutes due to the
vivacity of the shades; customers are still requesting these shades but since they
were limited editions they have not been restocked. M.A.C can look into reinstating
these shades in the VIVA collection and then increase the price. Since they are
sought after, I have no doubt that they will sell out as well.

M.A.C
40

DASHBOARD VISUAL #1

[Fig 7.1] Source: piktochart.com

Rationale
This dashboard represents the relationship between the three KPIs and the goal.
There is an output KPI, attitudinal and behavioral KPI. Its purpose is to demonstrate
the relationship between the level of ease and quality of the site and how it affects
visitors’ motivation to purchase products because, as the majority of visitors
purchase products, there is an increase in profit.
Before June 2015, M.A.C was having a hard time meeting up to their goal to increase
sales before renovations. In fact, by April 2015 things got so bad that they had to
reduce their goal by 3% but all to no avail. However, In June 2015, M.A.C renovated
their website and changed many things i.e. the quality and size of the images, the
website’s practical functions, the website design, customers ability to contact
SECTION 7
•  DASHBOARD VISUALS

M.A.C
41
customer service and their social media presence. Due to these improvements, there
is a considerably noticeable increase in motivation to purchase products and
increase in revenue. This then led them to exceed their goal in June.
From this graph, we can see the relationship between a website’s quality and design
and how it affects profit. It goes to show that if customers have an excellent
experience shopping from your site, there will be a considerable increase in profit.

DASHBOARD VISUAL #2

[Fig 7.2] Source: piktochart.com

Rationale
This dashboard represents the relationship between the video tutorials on social
media and the website and how it affects customer engagement. There is one
output, one attitudinal and two behavioral KPIs. The purple line represents Sephora,
and the yellow stars indicate the level they have attained on the graph. For instance,
in quarter 1, M.A.C, which is represented by the bars, scored a total of 25%, 44%,
38% and 35% in Quality of Videos, Interest in watching videos, No of views on
videos and No of return visitors respectively. The purple dashed lines and the stars

M.A.C
42
then indicate Sephora’s percentage on the KPIs. For instance, in quarter 1, Sephora
scored a total of 40%, 44%, 45% and 48% in Quality of Videos, Interest in watching
videos, No of views on videos and No of return visitors respectively.
The idea is that the more people watch their videos, the more enlightened they
become about the products, its usefulness and how they are applied. For M.A.C,
some times celebrities often give tips, as the majority of their collections are
designed with the celebrity’s style in mind and are even named after them. Although
the people teaching in the videos are professionals, the steps are done in the easiest
way possible. Due to this, customers become more engaged and are encouraged to
return to maccosmetics.com to purchase more products or just learn more about the
products they already have.
From this graph we can see that as the quality of the videos increase so does the
interest in watching the videos and the number of return visitors.

M.A.C
43
APPENDIX 1 – HEURISTIC ASSESSMENT TOOL

Score on a scale of 1 - 5 (with 5 as excellent & 1 as poor)

Measures

M.A.C

Sephora

Clinique

Navigation throughout the website is easy and
convenient. The words are clear and consistent.

5

4.5

5

The site’s visual appearance supports its brand
identity. It is of high quality and the visual appearance
is attractive. The product images are clear and true to
color. The background color makes it easier to view
the products. The products are well labeled with
consistent descriptions, giving you a good idea of the
product i.e. color, texture, size.

5

5

5

The website’s homepage provides a summary of the
website. There are several levels of content for each
main topic area.

5

4.5

4.5

The Website provides various ways to receive
feedback and be contacted. There is an email, phone
number, address and opportunity to chat with
customer service.

5

4.5

5

The sign up process is easy and clear. It is also easy to
locate.

5

4

5

The Website promotes interaction on social media.
Their social media accounts are frequently updated

5

4

4

The company provides good benefits for members
that sign up for their newsletters, i.e. discount codes,
tutorials, first scoops on new collections.

4.5

5

5

The products are frequently updated and sold out

•  APPENDICIES

M.A.C
44
items are constantly restocked. 4 5 5

There are tutorials and blog posts on how to apply
their products.

5

5

1

There is detailed information on the shipping and
return policy. The website makes it easy and
convenient to ship and return products.

5

3.5

3.5
Total/50 48.5 45 43

APPENDIX 2 – SURVEY DESIGN

M.A.C
45

M.A.C
46

M.A.C
47

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0104
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