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“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
—John F. Kennedy
Looking back over Gold Canyon’s experience and decision to diversify, this quote resonated with me. It’s a true statement to live by, even when your company is successful.
Success can become a trap—it’s easy to get comfortable with the status quo and miss opportunities to grow and achieve more. In 2005 and 2006 Gold Canyon was experiencing triple-digit growth with a business focused mostly on scented candles. But it was precisely during this time that our executive team looked ahead and determined that to sustain our growth for the long term, we had to move beyond candles. We knew we had to stay competitive and that by diversifying our product line we could provide our demonstrators with opportunities to grow for years to come.
In the fall of 2007 Gold Canyon introduced EMERGE™ Total Response Therapy, a line of botanical-based body care products with holistic benefits. In May of 2008 we introduced Homeology™ Plant-Based Home Cleaning. Both line extensions have been very successful, largely because we took much care in adding them to our business.
Adding a new product is much easier—in terms of your relationship with your salesforce—than eliminating one, which meant we had to be certain. First we had to be sure that any new line offered our demonstrators an opportunity to succeed. Then we had to make sure the new line met our quality standards. Finally, we had to help our demonstrators understand how to sell the new line. Each of those steps was difficult, and each one had to be executed well.
We began by understanding that we could irreparably damage our relationship with our people if we got them on board with our new products and then pulled out if the products failed.
We really took that to heart, it wasn’t only our bottom line and reputation at risk, but our demonstrators’ as well. They count on us to make good leadership decisions.
I believe that by focusing on our demonstrators’ success and making them successful we can sell more products. From a business perspective, it’s the smart thing to do. Equally important, we owe our success to our demonstrators. They are the ones who put their personal credibility on the line every day. Our products, no matter how good, cannot sell themselves.
Because of that commitment, we took our time exploring our strengths and competencies. The process took several months, and we uncovered that Gold Canyon at its core is a fragrance company. Our diversification strategy had to build on our strength with fragrance.
Any new products had to be easy to sell, home-party friendly and on par in quality to our candles. The line extension had to meet or exceed the value proposition we offered with our candles. We examined the demographics of our customers and demonstrators to determine the best kind of products for them. We knew they already liked candles and we wanted to find out what else they liked. Our research showed that 85 percent of candle buyers also buy personal care products. The findings pointed us in the right direction.
We began experimenting with a few “fragrance-forward” products such as scented sachets for drawers and closets, auto fresheners and a preliminary body care line we called Mineral Gold. In anticipation of our upcoming product introductions, we renamed our company, changing our name from “Gold Canyon Candles” to simply “Gold Canyon” with a new tag line:
• Candles • Body • Home.
At our annual convention in 2006, we challenged each demonstrator to stop thinking of herself as “the candle lady” and start thinking of herself as “the Gold Canyon lady.” Doing so would open up opportunities for them in the future, alluding to the possibility of new and different products to come to build out our “Body” and “Home” offerings.
After priming our salesforce for change, in 2007 Gold Canyon introduced EMERGE™ Total Response Therapy as a stand-alone brand and flagship “Body” offering. Our goal was to allow EMERGE parties as an alternative to candle parties, giving demonstrators and party hosts an opportunity to mix things up and reach out to customers with a varied offering.
While most of our salesforce embraced EMERGE with open arms, a few resisted at first, asking if our entrance into body care meant a reduced commitment to candles. My answer to each of those concerns was a resolute “no.” We continued to fully support our candle business as always. EMERGE was backed with incremental R&D resources and budget.
To help accelerate acceptance for EMERGE through the field, we augmented the launch with an extensive training program in more than 20 cities in the United States and Canada, plus enticing incentives to draw attention to the new body care line. Product samples were distributed freely at our convention and for a whole month every shipment to demonstrators included information about EMERGE, upcoming training, incentives and sample packets.
With our “Body” category well-defined with EMERGE, it was time to build up our “Home” offering. At the time, our “Home” category was primarily composed of scented sachets, pod warmers and the like, but we started looking at what else might fit within “Home.”
The eco-friendly movement that was taking place in other consumer markets excited us because we knew our customers would appreciate Earth-friendly products. We were able to give ours a further purpose by tying our customers’ concerns for the environment with their concerns for the safety of their children. The result was the May 2008 launch of a chemical-free home cleaning line, Homeology™ Plant-Based Home Cleaning.
We knew our base would love the products, but we were not prepared for just how well Homeology would be received. We made a promise to our customers that Homeology would be “The World’s Finest”® green cleaning products, and we made sure we could deliver on that promise. We were committed to making sure Homeology worked at least as well, if not better than, the chemical products our customers were already using.
One of the keys to Homeology’s tremendous success is simple: Cleaning isn’t always an enjoyable chore, so we tried an approach with a fragrance that created a spa-like feeling. We chose clean, uplifting essential oils to infuse into Homeology—the same scents that spas use to calm and relax their clients. Essential oils do double duty, because in addition to providing a fragrant experience, they also boast cleansing properties as anti-viral and anti-fungal agents.
Both EMERGE and Homeology have been incredibly well received, surpassing all our sales projections. Customers and demonstrators alike have told us they not only love the fragrances found in these two lines, but more important, they like how they feel when they use the products on a daily basis.
Our demonstrators are catching on to our diversification approach. With EMERGE, a few calls and questions surfaced about our commitment to candles. With the launch of Homeology, no questions were asked. Demonstrators saw the value, understood it provided them with incremental business, and fully embraced it.
In the end though, the key to diversification is to add value to your demonstrators and build on your success.
Today all of our lines are doing very well without any erosion to our candle business; Gold Canyon candle sales remain strong. have been incremental, and we continue to receive nothing but praise and great compliments on the two lines.
The new opportunities created by EMERGE and Homeology are meaningful to our demonstrators—there are more products to offer their customers. But first the demonstrators have to recognize the potential for added income and maximize it to their advantage in their sponsoring efforts. The potential is amazing. In fact, one of our demonstrators is selling $1,500 a month just in Homeology products—and that’s incremental to her candle sales.
As it turns out, the one regret I have about diversifying is that we should have done it sooner. The hurdle we created for ourselves by being known for one product, candles, created initial resistance.
It would be easy to get carried away with our EMERGE and Homeology successes and keep adding similar product lines, but we must be careful to not overextend. As with any business investment, we have an ROI target and we are staying focused on achieving it. Gold Canyon’s product introductions worked because we funded and resourced line extensions properly, without siphoning resources from our core business.
We spent a lot of time and energy planning our diversification; we made certain that the new products wouldn’t take away from our candle business; we made sure that quality was consistent and we continuously strive to make it easy for our demonstrators to understand and sell the new product lines.
Moving beyond candles wasn’t easy—the temptation to stick with what had worked in the past was very strong—but by growing and expanding we have created fabulous new opportunities for success, and we’re excited for our demonstrators and for continued growth in all three product lines: candles, body and home.
Curt Waisath is President and CEO of Gold Canyon.
