Creative Promotion Strategy
While her company was still small. Estee Lauder embarked on an innovative promotion strategy. Her advertising budget of $50,000 was too small to hire a leading ad agency. So Estee Lauder Estee pioneered the free sample as a marketing ploy. She invested all the money in samples to be offered through direct mail, charity giveaways and as gifts with purchases. (This “free gift with purchase” technique would become a company trademark and later, a standard industry practice.) The result was thousands of new customers.

Creative Marketing Tactics
When Estee Lauder wanted something, she used highly creative tactics to get it. She resorted to one such tactic to break the prestigious Galleries Lafayette account in Paris. When the manager refused to stock her products, Lauder “accidentally” spilled her first women's fragrance Youth Dew on the floor during a demonstration in the middle of a crowd. As the appealing scent wafted through the air, it quickly aroused the interest of customers, who began asking where they could purchase the product. Seeing this, the manager capitulated and gave Lauder her initial order.

The Power of Touch
Mrs. Lauder's important legacy was her belief that in order to make a sale, you must touch the customer. She spent a great deal of time advising customers and teaching Beauty Advisors.  >>>

Signature Packaging
"Create your own style," Estee Lauder said. Apart from making and selling cosmetics she was also deeply involved with the package design of her products. Among her many contributions was the choice of Estée Lauder's signature blue, which she believed would coordinate with the décor of most bathrooms and bedrooms.