Direct to Consumer: it’s a bold move for those manufacturers or brands that decide to open up that sales channel and sell directly to their Consumers.
Why? Because there’s no buffer zone anymore. In this arena, there are no distributors or resellers to test the market and promote the product. And no one else to deal with the Customer.
Shopify defines DTC as a retail model where brands sell directly to new customers. It skips the wholesale middlemen and eliminates the need to join forces with big retail brands and brick-and-mortar stores.
In the DTC model, it’s down to YOU to establish a personal and meaningful connection with your Customer.
And you’re ready for it! Right?
Your business model is all set. Your website and sales processes are in place. You’re a well-oiled machine and you’re off and running.
The old proverb says ‘Build it and they will come’, and guess what, most of the time, they do!
But even when your products are hot, your sales are pumping, your customers are buying. Is that all it takes to be a DTC brand?
There is a massive step that most brands are missing and you shouldn’t. They’re missing the invaluable information that only their Customers can provide. When Customers have a query or need some pre or post-sale information they want answers. And even more importantly, when they have a problem with a delivery or need technical support, or to make a warranty claim, they want to make contact quickly and easily and get the help they need.
Fashion DTC take note!
And nowhere is this more critical than in the emerging DTC fashion industry. Of course, being able to get help, make a return or engage with a brand is important in any industry, but when it comes to clothing, footwear, and eyewear, the consumer’s interaction with the product is highly personal. The level of customer frustration and disappointment is exponential in fashion DTC, so the stakes are especially high here for nailing your Customer Care.
Get it right and this whole feedback loop – communicating with customers directly – when handled well, is a truly bonding experience!
Customers want to feel connected and this is where the DTC gold mine lies…..a Store or Brand that can guide their Customers through the most difficult experience and find a solution to their worst problem, is now firmly and positively embedded in their minds.
This is your gold to mine DTCers! You have the ability to directly influence your Customers’ shopping experience – from start to finish and everywhere in between! Handle this with care, attention and genuine willingness to engage and you’ve got gold in the box!
So, the question is how do you hear from your customers and how do you process their concerns? And most importantly how do you reach out to them in a way that is truly relevant to them?
Here are the key ingredients:
- You need a feedback and response mechanism that is just as direct as your sales process
- All your communication needs to be direct
- Your marketing needs to be personalised
- Your messaging is not about selling
- Find ways to get to know your consumers better
- Let the needs, wants and desires of your consumer drive your communication
After that, it’s all about the methods you use to reach out which need to be point-to-point, not via email or mass media. So, DTC-ers you’re on notice – this is the end of blanket, scatter-gun campaigns!
The all-important Customer Feedback and Product Usage data loop.
We’ve already established that you’re selling into a void if you don’t know who your customer is or how they respond to your product.
Without that middle traditional layer of distributor/reseller to test the market, promote your product, and, in turn, receive real-world Consumer data, where do DTCers turn?
Most rely on servicing agents to handle queries and concerns on their behalf, but where this arms-length handling might help the DTC, it is often despised by the Customer.
So now it’s time to truly buck the trend and ditch the third parties, in a way that doesn’t consume your valuable time and resources.
It’s time for some disruption!
As Lou Schillaci, CEO of Brand-Consumer engagement platform Delloop offers: “No matter what business you’re in, whether you know it or not …. you’re throwing a party for your customers, inviting them to feel at home in your world. So as hosts, it’s your job to keep them happy whilst they are there and when they leave, you want them to tell their friends what they missed out on!”