In Common Beauty partnered with Refersion and Absolute Web to prioritize inclusivity from salons to mobile devices, resulting in a seamless affiliate marketing experience and a 345% average monthly increase in revenue.
In Common Beauty, an inclusive luxury hair care treatment brand, worked with Refersion and Absolute Web to build a custom website for their Pro Commission program — making it easy for salons and individual hair stylists to earn commissions from new and existing customers. In their first quarter after launching the program, they saw a 360% average monthly increase in salon-driven orders and a 345% average monthly increase in salon-driven revenue.
“When a salon owner or hair stylist lands on the In Common Pro website, we want the whole experience to be seamless. Refersion lets us give the professionals in our affiliate community everything they need to drive and keep track of their sales in one place.”
Brianna Zukoski, Digital Marketing Manager at In Common Beauty
Putting The Affiliate Marketing Experience First
Providing salon owners and hair stylists with an exemplary online experience is top priority for Brianna Zukoski, Digital Marketing Manager at In Common Beauty. “A lot of other beauty brands partner with distributors across the country to help bring products into salons, but we have a different approach,” she explained. “We’re 100% digital.”
In Common’s Pro site is separate from their direct-to-consumer site and requires new members to register — providing their cosmetology license, salon information, and other key details — before being approved to join the affiliate marketing community.
The team at In Common wanted to provide their affiliates with a seamless registration process directly on their website, so they turned to Refersion’s technology. In Common uses the Refersion Affiliate Marketing platform to manage, track, and help grow their affiliate program with first-party tracking, unlimited offers, and a custom commission structure.
“We’re a digitally focused brand, so user experience is everything,” Brianna said. “When a salon owner or hair stylist visits the In Common Pro website, we want the whole experience to be seamless. Refersion lets us give the professionals in our affiliate community everything they need to drive and keep track of their sales in one place.”
It was also critical to Brianna that the experience be mobile-friendly. So she worked with Absolute Web, a full-service ecommerce agency, to ensure the integration between Refersion and their Pro website was as seamless on mobile as it is on desktop. “Hair stylists are generally on their phones a lot because they’re working in the salon,” she explained. “So we wanted to make it super easy for them to find out about new promotions on their mobile devices.”
A Lifeline During A Crisis
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck the US in early 2020, hair salons were hit hard. But the Pro Commission program provided a crucial lifeline for both In Common and the hair stylists who work with them.
“With so many hair salons shut down, Refersion’s affiliate referral links were one of our main sources of revenue from our Pros because, of course, they weren’t buying products to retail in person at that time,” Brianna said. “Clients would text salons saying, ‘I’m stuck in quarantine. I ran out of shampoo, what do I do?’” Refersion made it easy for those professionals to share a referral link to the In Common website and get credit for each sale, so clients stuck at home indefinitely were still able to purchase their favorite hair care products while supporting their favorite hair stylists.
“A lot of hair salons and stylists went out of business during that period because everyone was shut down for so long,” she stated. “Because we were already using Refersion, our Pro Commission program was able to help a lot of hair stylists bring in money when they weren’t able to generate other income.”
Giving Credit Every Time Credit Is Due
In Common also uses auto email conversion triggers through Refersion. This feature enables affiliates to receive commission on any purchases associated with a customer’s email address, once the customer has made an initial purchase through a referral link.
“If a client goes into a salon to get their hair done, and then uses the link from the stylist to make a purchase, in the future they might just come directly to our website rather than use that same referral link every time,” Brianna explained.
After an initial purchase comes through a salon’s referral link, that client’s email address becomes automatically associated with the salon — and future purchases from the same client will be automatically tracked and attributed to the salon for lifetime commission.
“We wanted to make sure the stylists know we’re here to support them,” Brianna said. “That’s why we set up email conversion triggers — to make sure our Pros get the credit, whether the purchase comes through their link or not.”
The Results Speak for Themselves
In their first quarter after launching the Pro Commission program with Refersion (Pre-COVID-19), In Common experienced a 360% average month-over-month increase in affiliate-driven conversions and a 345% average month-over-month increase in affiliate-driven revenue.
In their first full year using the platform (January 2020 – December 2020), they saw 940 salons sign up for the program, experienced a 115% average month-over-month increase in conversions, and took in a 105% average month-over-month increase in affiliate-driven revenue.
After partnering with Refersion and Absolute Web, In Common Beauty saw:
- 4.6X initial growth in affiliate driven orders
- 105% increase in affiliate driven revenue
- 900+ new affiliate registrations