As the world continues to battle COVID-19, consumer goods companies have faced unprecedented challenges. To fight these challenges, many consumer goods businesses may need to adapt and develop their direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategies.
The consumer goods industry is facing massive disruption, as businesses deal with challenges such as keeping their employees safe during the pandemic, adapting to working from home, managing supply chains, and delivering an increased amount of goods. By going direct-to-consumer, many businesses are discovering new routes to market.
Although lockdown restrictions are beginning to ease and some retail locations are beginning to re-open, only 14% of shoppers in the UK claim that they will immediately return to stores. This is due both to anxieties about the pandemic and because consumers have grown accustomed to ordering goods online. If Salesforce has learnt anything from analysing holiday shopping trends, the surge in online sales we’ve seen in our Salesforce Q1 Shopping Index will continue post-pandemic.
In this blog, we explore how companies can transition to and mature in a D2C strategy with these 7 tips:
1. Let customers interact with your brand directly
There is no denying it, consumers want an interactive relationship with your brand. A D2C report found that 52% of website visitors already visit a brand’s website with the intent to purchase. D2C gives you complete control over your consumer's journey, so you can create a user experience through your online platforms that ensure nothing deters a consumer with an intent to purchase from completing their journey on your website.
2. Define your vision and success metrics
Identify your ultimate goal (or goals) for going D2C. You may start with a content-only site that builds overall brand awareness or dive in with transactional elements to drive growth and online revenue. You may also want to expand to new markets, launch a consumer-facing brand, or gather better shopper insights for a more personalised experience.
3. Create a winning D2C experience
When creating an effective D2C experience, it is essential to plan the journey of your consumer. For example, you must focus your SEO efforts to ensure relevant customers can find you easily. You should then ensure they are greeted with an aesthetic website and relevant products/services to them (an AI merchandising technique will help you achieve this). Finally, you must ensure the purchase and delivery of your goods are seamless and secure.
4. Take a brand-first approach
Content and experiences bring consumers closer to your products, company, and brand. In fact, 54% of consumers expect comprehensive product information on a brand’s site. Go deeper with enhanced content types like detailed product descriptions, how-to videos, and trending social photos, all differentiated from your marketing and promotions with distributors. Ensure everything you post on your online platforms offers something of value to your audience, for example, a blog series about how to use your products.
5. Complement retail partnerships
D2C drives awareness that benefits and boosts other channels. Focus on mobile eCommerce to deliver just-in-time product information and content as consumers stand in the aisles of retail stores making purchasing decisions on their phones. You should also ensure to have reduced loading speeds and wait times on your website where possible, to make sure your audience can access your digital platforms anywhere easily.
6. Personalise product assortments and promotions
Your D2C channel will provide direct access to first-party data to better understand your consumers and their shopping behaviours. This means you can respond accordingly to combat price competition, create targeted promotions, adjust product assortments, or add more personalised site elements and products.
7. Remember that speed is of the essence
Many consumer good companies are struggling to be as reactive as possible, due to restrictions placed upon them during the pandemic lockdown. As companies try to adapt to the 'new normal', quickly building an online D2C presence is more important than ever. Whether you are taking your first steps in digital selling or targeting a new location and demographic, the out-of-the-box Quick Start package for Direct-to-Consumer Commerce can help.
Discover how our D2C solutions can get you live and running in just 2 weeks with a fully managed service!
As consumers behaviours rapidly change, what engagement patterns are we likely to see going forwards? How can brands adapt to get closer to their consumers? These are the key questions that we want to provide answers for in our Leading Through Change on-demand webinar.
