How does a company like Massachusetts-based Poethique compete in the crowded field of luxury skincare products while still pursuing its core philosophies of natural beauty and organic treatments? How does a small startup just introducing its first product to the market compete with a more established company like Poethique? In the skincare business, effective marketing is everything. How a company tells its story determines how well it will reach its target audience.

One company may have a great anti-aging facial oil that, in terms of ingredients, is comparable to a competing luxury product with greater name recognition. Both products do the same job equally well, but the one with name recognition sells more easily. The company with the less popular brand has to overcome a lack of name recognition in order to succeed in the luxury market.

In the end, that is what marketing is all about. It is about …