What is Direct To Consumer Marketing?
Direct to Consumer refers to brands setting up their site and selling directly to their consumers. Of course, Online selling has been around for years and is not a novel concept, but the ‘Direct to Consumer’ model is about how big businesses can use online selling to promote their brand experience.
Till now, tech-centric software companies or large online retailers such as Amazon.com have dominated the world of online selling. However, more large businesses are beginning to see the value of having their website and selling directly to their customers instead of going through 3rd party online consolidators.
Why Direct to Consumer?
Online sales are constantly expanding while physical foot traffic in stores has decreased, and the pandemic further exacerbated this trend. Also, large retailers like Amazon and Walmart are building their brand presence online, making themselves a one-stop retailer for online consumers. That means that a customer buying a pack of razors is less likely to go to Gilette’s website or even think of their brand and is more likely to search for razors on Amazon.
While they are on the consolidator’s website, like Amazon, consumers will see all other completing brands along with the brand they were searching for, and it is quite likely that they may pick a product belonging to the competitor’s brand. In this scenario, the business not only loses a customer to the competitor; they also lose the chance to promote their brand and upsell the customer on new and related products.
Control over brand web design
Direct to Consumer allows brands to control every aspect of the online selling process. From owning brand messaging to managing product packages, brands can create value for the customers without third-party interference. Here are some advantages of the ‘Direct to Consumer’ approach-
Brand Promotion
Use creative web designers to build a memorable web experience for your customers, using multimedia and unique designs. That is a sure-fire way to get your customers to come back to your site. We at Opel Solutions build high-quality sites that promote the company’s brand. Please take a look at our services here.
Content is King
Use your website to create and publish your brand story and other content. Of course, doing this on a third-party retailer site with limited content space is not feasible. Your website gives you an easy platform to publish and manage the content. Click here to read an article on creating content to attract more customers.
Flexible Product Offerings
Your eCommerce platform means having the ability to offer customized product/service bundles. It also allows you to promote new offerings and upsell products and services. This ability is severely limited on third-party retail sites.
Impulse Purchases
App notifications and emails make it easy to visit your site with one click. Why not take advantage of that?
Higher Margins
All 3rd part sites charge a fee/commission to sell your product. So, by selling directly to consumers, you can realize higher margins from sales.
Repeat Customers
You are more likely to have a higher share of repeat customers and a loyal following if your customers are buying directly from your site. You can also collect important data about your customers’ buying preferences and use that to promote sales directly to your customers.
Thus, for companies looking to invest in growing their brand, Direct to Consumer is a good approach to follow. We at Opel, have helped many brands implement the DTC approach and have acquired expertise in this area. To learn more about DTC download our Whitepaper here.