Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog

1) Cofounder and vice president of marketing, Ruth Gal, created it based on a personal need. As a working mom she found herself with limited time to wade through the countless makeup and lipstick shades introduced each season. 2) Not only does it offer most consumers a better customer experience than previously available, but it also potentially benefits the retailers and cosmetics manufacturers that offer it, because customers are more likely to make a purchase with confidence (fewer returns), as well as cross-sell themselves because of the ease of finding complementary items.

"Virtual Mirror came from a basic need. It was hard for me to keep up with the latest makeup trends. How can you decide with so many new colors?" Gal said. "I felt something was missing. If I had my own image to work with, I could decide which colors are best for me. And if I needed that, I assumed that other women would need it too."

So, what is this Virtual Mirror? Simply put, it's a way to test how makeup will look on your own face without actually having to try it on. Online a customer uploads a photo and selects products; in the store she takes a photo at the Virtual Mirror kiosk and scans a product barcode. And then, voila!, the makeup is applied to her face on-screen.

Why is this a good thing? In drug stores most packages are sealed and there are no samples or testers; when there are, they're often dirty, so if someone does try out a color they usually do so on their hand, which is not an exact match to the skin tone of their face. In department stores customers often need to apply test makeup, in some cases from samples that sit out collecting dust, using Q-tips or cotton balls.

Additionally, Virtual Mirror has the data from the cosmetics companies on what shades match best with certain hair color/eye color/skin tone combinations and will make recommendations based on that information. If a customer selects an unflattering color, Virtual Mirror will recommend a better match. Once the customer settles on a favorite, the system will recommend complementary products, which customers can add to their on-screen image if they choose to.

After a customer has given herself an on-screen makeover, she may want a second opinion. Keeping pace with today's social networking strategies, Virtual Mirror allows users to email her photo to a friend.

Virtual Mirror was piloted online. EZface recently partnered with IBM to create a kiosk-based solution, which is currently in use in select drug stores in Israel. EZface is launching a pilot with a major U.S. retailer later this year.

"It's bringing a completely new shopping experience to customers and retailers," Gal said.

What product have you come across recently that you think was created to solve a specific customer need, and was crafted with the customer in mind (e.g. the iPod versus the previous generation of MP3 players)?