Defining Your Target Customer & Advertising Strategy in Cosmetics (Part 6)

Defining Your Target Customer & Advertising Strategy in Cosmetics (Part 6)

By Soojung Lee, CEO at LUK Corp. • Updated

Cosmetics marketing strategy: defining customer segments and ad targeting
Identify your customer, find where they gather, and advertise effectively.

A strong product still fails without the right customers and advertising strategy. This guide explains how to identify your audience, locate where they spend time, and run targeted campaigns that convert—while managing advertising costs on platforms that profit from ad spend.

1) Define your customer clearly

The first step in advertising is knowing who your customer is. Are they teenagers looking for affordable acne care, professionals seeking anti-aging, or eco-conscious buyers preferring organic formulations? Define:

  • Demographics: age, gender, location
  • Psychographics: values, pain points, aspirations
  • Behavioral signals: purchase frequency, price sensitivity

2) Find where they gather

Customers don’t appear randomly—they congregate in platforms, communities, or physical spaces. Examples:

  • Online: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, beauty forums, niche subreddits
  • Offline: beauty salons, pharmacies, specialty shops, events

Advertising is effective only if delivered where your customers are actually present.

3) Use targeting tools wisely

Digital platforms allow precise targeting based on age, gender, interest, and geography. For example:

  • Meta Ads Manager → segment by age/gender/interest
  • TikTok Ads → trend-driven creative for Gen Z/Millennials
  • Google Ads → intent capture through search keywords

Start narrow, test creative variations, then scale budgets to the best-performing segments.

4) Understand advertising economics

Platforms make more from advertising fees than from sales commissions. In practice:

  • Marketplaces (Amazon, Coupang, Shopee) earn via ads in addition to seller fees.
  • Social platforms (Meta, TikTok) rely primarily on ad spend for revenue.

Build advertising cost into your P&L from the start—it’s not optional, it’s the entry fee to visibility.

5) Strategy checklist

  • Define target customer persona(s)
  • Identify online/offline spaces where they gather
  • Set test budget and KPIs (CTR, CAC, ROAS)
  • Run small creative tests; scale winners
  • Review platform ad spend vs. sales contribution regularly

Need a smarter ad strategy?

LUK Corp. helps founders define audiences, craft creative, and optimize campaigns across platforms.

Get in touch at www.lukcos.com

Quick FAQ

Why is defining a customer so important?

Without a clear audience, advertising budgets are wasted. Precision targeting starts with a persona.

Which platform should I prioritize?

Go where your target spends the most time. For Gen Z, TikTok; for professionals, Instagram/LinkedIn.

How much should I spend on ads?

Begin with a test budget (5–10% of projected revenue), measure CAC/ROAS, then scale effective campaigns.