"Closer to stylists, closer to hair" is the tag line on Goldwell's new Web site, goldwell-northamerica.com, and after a few clicks, the company's dedication to salon professionals becomes obvious. Goldwell's site has all the tools—educational and physical—that stylists could ask for. "We aim to provide salon professionals with whatever they need to be the best they can be," says Mary Delgado Waby, marketing program manager for Goldwell.
The site's simple, interactive features are designed to help stylists achieve the looks their clients desire. For example, the Goldwell Color Cycle, a comprehensive color-care program, guides stylists through the five-step process from color consultation to color maintenance. The site also provides information on Goldwell Academy courses and special learning events, as well as Goldwell color, texture, styling and haircare products and where to find them.
 The goldwell.com home page is sleek and functional |
Visitors to Goldwell's site are able to explore hair trends from different parts of the globe without ever having to leave their computers. The Trend Zoom '08 page features cutting-edge styles like Newstalgia and Rockmantic, which were created by Goldwell's International Team of creative hairstylists and colorists, who hail from the United States, Austria, Netherlands and Canada. Stylists can download a step-by-step guide that shows the techniques the team used to create the looks.
 The Color Cycle guide. |
Goldwell's Web site also scores points with stylists for its design, which is sleek and futuristic yet still functional. Models are pictured in front of metallic neutrals, which makes the haircolor of these sexy "femme-bots" sparkle and pop. "We patterned the Web site based on the look of the Goldwell image—clean, sophisticated lines with a high-tech approach to providing information," Waby says. Overwhelming text and videos that fail to load—annoyances found on other Web sites—are absent from the Goldwell site. There are a few, simple tabs to take visitors to the pages they want to access. "Visitors to the site are able to find the information they want in a logical fashion, and are provided with cross-reference boxes that are constant, just in case they want a quick shortcut back to the areas we feel most strongly about—education, the salon locator, and the latest product and event news," Waby says.
In the future, Goldwell plans to reach as many salon professionals as it can worldwide by providing an online community for them where they can interact and grow. According to Waby, using the Web is a great way to reach stylists, because once they leave the salon, they're likely to log on to their home computers. That is why Goldwell plans on making its Web site a "living site," meaning that it will continue to grow into the ultimate interactive environment it aims to be. "By constantly updating the site to let stylists know what education opportunities are available—not only for hair but also for business—what new products or techniques we're featuring, and industry trends that could assist them in working with their clients, we hope to make the site 'alive' and focused on the stylist's life," Waby says. "It's just the beginning for us." —A.P.