Summer 2013/14 n Working Women® 9

As a brand and innovation specialist TriSTAn FAHeY has been helping corporate brands unlock growth for more than 24 years. in 2012 she embarked on a new venture, launching her own premium natural skincare brand, rubifresh. She believes that one of the greatest lessons she has learnt in small business is to think like a corporate.

Estée Lauder to be featured in a ‘Super Serums’ article in The Australian Women’s Weekly.

Corporate brands are single minded about their brand. They know what they stand for, what they don’t, and why they are better, and they focus their activity on building this story. If you cannot articulate that, there is nothing for people to engage with. Consumers respond to clarity in knowing what you are promising or solving for them.

Tristan explains why she avoided the temptation to include ‘almost natural’ ingredients which she states are easier to come by, and less expensive. “The Rubifresh proposition is all natural . . . and to include such ingredients is to weaken this proposition and stand for nothing.”

All of Rubifresh products are manufactured with 100 per cent natural ingredients and backed by scientific evidence. We just had to keep searching for natural ingredients and our clients love the difference on their skin. Beyond this, we connect with clients who have similar values to ours. Values connect at a deep level with consumers and can generate word of mouth, advocacy and real loyalty.

In the first year of business we tried several different marketing approaches, measuring everything. Corporates understand the importance of ‘Return on Investment’ and focus their efforts on activities that deliver. According to Tristan, small business owners must become better at focusing on the core, and learn to say no to activities that distract them from the job at hand.

Marketing metrics and ROI are strong drivers in the corporate world, but corporates know how to invest in the longer-term success of brands. At Rubifresh we are in the early investment stage. I understand what activity we need to focus on for a return in the longer term, as we have tested and measured everything. We know what drives awareness, trial and conversion better than we did a year ago. This longer-term approach to profitability is an essential component of success, as it helps drive the business forward in a strategic manner.

Finally, innovation is critical to the growth of any brand, and some say if you are not innovating you are dying. Innovation is about products that better deliver to consumers’ needs, about better processes that better serve the marketplace, and about a culture of creativity.

At Rubifresh we are constantly looking for ways to overcome the barriers to growth, and how we can shake up the industry. We originally set out to change the rules and that continues to drive us day by day. n

end of townCompeting with the big

WW upFronT

1. Behave like a big brand

2. Position and prioritise

3. Measure return on investment

4. Invest to grow

5. Be innovative

6. Change the rules of play

tristan’s tips for brand success

ContaCt Tristan FaheyBusIness Rubifresh SkincarePhone +61 (2) 9997 3125www.rubifresh.com.au

Tristan initially launched Rubifresh as a sideline to her successful brand consulting business. It soon became obvious that 24 years of working with senior management teams on some of their critical brand challenges had equipped her with a different set of rules. By thinking like a corporate and embracing the nimbleness of a small business, she discovered she had a unique approach that could set her brand apart.

In an intensely competitive industry looking for the next anti-aging miracle, Rubifresh has positioned itself as an all natural brand. Tristan knew she had to find a way to compete with the anti-aging promises of brands which contain chemical ingredients. “I didn’t want Rubifresh to be another musty old brand in the back of a health food store. I wanted to compete on a much bigger playing field, and to develop products that really delivered . . . products I would want to use.” The result is a luxurious

range of products marrying high performance anti-aging ingredients from nature which are backed by scientific research, with a ‘100 per cent natural’ proposition.

“I think the default position for small businesses is to believe they are competing against small businesses,” Tristan says. But small thinking yields small results. Imagine what could be achieved if your benchmark of success was not other small businesses but one of the leading brands in your industry. “This is one of the cornerstones of Rubifresh’s success to date. We set out to be confident in the quality and efficacy of our products – to be seen as a real contender against the big brands.”

What this means is that despite a lot of well-meaning advice from friends, market stalls are off strategy for Rubifresh. It is important to stay true to what your brand is about and how you want to be perceived in the marketplace and to not jump at any opportunity that comes along. Instead, Rubifresh places emphasis on the methods big brands use – beauty editors and bloggers – which sets them up as part of a bigger playing field.

In April 2013, less than 12 months after launching, Rubifresh was one of only eight brands including L’Occitane, Lancôme and

Corporate brands are single minded about their brand. They know what they stand for, what they don’t, and why they are better, and they focus their activity on building this story.

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