Over the last year, consumer behaviour has changed dramatically. We’re all spending more time shopping for items online as a result of convenience and ease of use. This shift in consumer behaviour has prompted many firms to modify their models, suggesting an increase in “direct to consumer” marketing.
Growth in ecommerce has been incredible in the last decade, with ten years worth of development occurring in only three months! Since the pandemic spread across the world, volumes for logistics businesses have risen dramatically. In recent years alone, over 80 million shipments were made to consumers directly from manufacturers. Bulldog Digital Media have worked on a report of the current state of the D2C market, here is a guide to how D2C could shape the future.
What is a direct to consumer (D2C) business?
A D2C business, in the end, sells its items directly to consumers. This eliminates the need for third-party retailers, wholesalers, or a “middleman.”
There are several ways that firms have implemented the D2C model, from a hybrid variant (using a D2C arm to supplement their existing B2C business) to going straight from manufacturer to pure D2C.
How D2Cs can adjust
Many firms have struggled with how to appeal to a new audience throughout the last year. In just the first few weeks after lockdown announcements, businesses all over the world had calamities of every sort!
A car rental business in China, for example, had a completely void client base. In just one month, the firm’s income plummeted by 95%.
The firm, however, rallied quickly to establish three agile multi-disciplinary teams and utilize social listening technologies to discover new micro-customer segments in response. Using their study resulted in the development of a new campaign targeting large technology firms that had advised staff not to use public transportation.
Another team was established to reach out to former customers who had cancelled orders as a result of the Coronavirus panic. The firm was able to recover 90% of its sales each year by focusing on the solutions they provide to allay client worries and combining that with updated and targeted campaigns in just 7 weeks.
What can businesses learn from D2C?
Learn from the data to optimise the messaging you control
When considering the value of big data for any company, it’s reasonable to assume that this is information the manufacturer may have missed out on when buying from third-party retailers or wholesalers.
Understanding the reasons for conversion in a shorter feedback loop will be crucial for businesses to continue to change in order to meet (and, perhaps, exceed) consumer expectations.
Personalisation can help you stand out, improving conversions and retention
Taking advantage of data gathering is yet another chance to provide a more personalized experience for your customers. This may make all the difference in retaining clients and turning them into brand-loyal and social media advocates.
Many of the major platforms, such as Shopify or WooCommerce, provide extensions or plugins that allow you to encourage reordering and use your data to vastly improve your Calls To Action, chatbots, email strategy, and other elements aligned to consumer trends.
Embrace the change and fail fast in order to scale growth
Many firms taking advantage of this increase to online shopping are agile enough to change/transform or daring enough to take the plunge. Of course, there is a lot to consider when it comes to marketing, distribution, and so on, but with any business, there will always be more things.
When it comes to experimenting with a new marketing channel, product offering, or promotional technique, efficiency is critical. However, the businesses that pull their socks up and get going have seen the most return on investment in today’s changing consumer behavior online.
