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Everybody agrees that the D2C strategy sky-rockets in the retail industry, and is, potentially, the next big thing for the manufacturers. It is seldom mentioned that it’s actually great for various eCommerce entities. Choosing the right model is key.

 

What D2C business is

 

For example, Andy Dune, founder of Bonobo, observed that Zappos’s growth had little to do with the product itself, but much to their excellent service. In response, Bonobo developed a culture of ultra-responsive customer support and saw their direct traffic rate increase by 53.3 percent. It was all about a great customer experience.  

 

Direct-To-Consumer is an e-Commerce strategy that allows companies, like manufacturers or CPG brands, to bypass the traditional chain of supply – wholesaler, distributor, retailer – and go straight to the consumer. No middlemen. Cost efficiency is the most obvious reason to go D2C. But there are more.

 

Reasons to move to D2C

 

According to the Direct-to-consumer Purchase Intent Index, 69% of Americans who are familiar with D2C brands made at least one purchase from such a brand last year.

 

Besides delivering what consumers want, there are other advantages:

 

Reducing dependencies

 

You don’t have to rely on distributors or retail partners. The less you are dependent on other businesses, the better – this harsh lesson, taught by the 2020 pandemic, sank really deep.

 

Know your customer data

 

Selling via a third party does not give you access to the customer data. You don’t see customers’ reactions to certain products, so you don’t have the basic information on how to improve customer experience. 

 

D2C allows you to be at least one step closer to your customers. SALESmanago will help you not only gather a tremendous amount of data about your customers. It will also enable you to use this data effectively to your advantage.

 

Control your brand

 

The way the customers think about you is partially shaped by the customer experience provided by the third party. It may be good or bad, but you don’t have direct control over it. 

 

With D2C you gain back this control because you communicate directly with your customers.

 

 Expand your territory

 

Distributors and retail partners have their reach and you cannot do much about this. No matter how excellent your product or service is, your partner’s networks and centers have their limits. 

 

D2C enables you to transcend these constraints and reach even for the globe.

 

Reduce costs

 

One might argue, that the current post-2020 reality, with record unemployment rates, forces the companies to tighten their budgets, reduce the costs to meet the requirements etc. The truth however is, that the cost-efficient solutions always replaced traditional ways of achieving the same result. 

 

D2C done right will enable you to strengthen the bonds with the customer while reducing the cost of the process via automation, self-service, and D2C shipping.

 

5 strategies within D2C model (and their pros and cons):

 

Not everyone is a manufacturer. Choosing the right strategy for your company involves careful evaluation of the business to ensure the goals, resources, and investments align with its values. Furthermore, you also have to have technological capabilities to support moving to D2C. 

 

The most common D2C strategies present on today’s market are:

 

Touch point commerce

 

This D2C strategy enables you to embed commerce in non-commerce digital touchpoints, like social media, games, and IoT. Involves the consumers stronger, enables to gather feedback, and braces the company to employ new methods of connecting with the customer in the future.

 

It gives great:

 

Insights. Embedding commerce in other kinds of activities will provide you with a unique view of customers’ behavior, customs, preferences. 

Customer Experience. Additional activity during the shopping process turns it into something special and, by definition, fun. 

Convenience. Taking part in an activity that is exciting and natural creates no burden for the users in the process.

Flexibility. Many possible formats and a variety of products and services possible to sell in such a way give the brand great business flexibility.

Affinity. Going that extra mile for the consumers and providing them with something less mundane than ordinary shopping bonds them with the brand stronger.

 

Weak as a source of:

 

New offerings. It will not make way for the new offerings to the market any easier.  

Product development. Additional action and fun help to sell the product, but it is not designed for product development, however great insight into customer preferences will surely be of help.

Digital Revenue. Another side of gamification is slowing down the purchase process. A little smaller group of dedicated customers will eventually generate a decent amount of revenue.

 

Any e-commerce brand will be able to employ this strategy.

 

Succes example: Mymuesli 

 

 Personalized D2C

 

Establishing one-to-one relationships with the customer via personalized programs, involving backend technology and e-commerce capability. Through personalized contact via forms or quizzes, detailed information about customers’ needs is gathered. Then the product is carefully selected from the offer to perfectly suit these needs. Increases engagement through customized experience and provides insights. 

 

It gives great:

 

Insights. A one-to-one relationship with the consumers will provide you with perfect insight into their needs and customs.

Product Development. This strategy is designed for those who plan to develop their product as the bond between the customer and the brand tightens and information is gathered.  

Affinity. Delivering a tailored product along with knowledge sharing, guidelines, etc. will create an exceptional level of brand affinity, leaving the consumer almost with no alternatives after a while.

Convenience. In an extremely consumer-oriented strategy, they will feel that the brand takes many decisions out of their hands, answers all the questions, and provides them with all the necessary expertise. 

New offerings. New offerings emerge naturally as the brand gets to know the clients better.  

Customer Experience. This strategy is centered on providing the best customer experience possible.

 

Weak as a source of:

 

Digital Revenue. Loyal customers will pay gladly for tailored products and expertise, but the customer service process is both time and effort-consuming. 

 

Manufacturers have the most tools for this strategy.

 

Succes example:Just Right Pet Food

 

Subscription

 

This strategy provides the company with a direct source of revenue through recurring shipments of an item tailored to consumer needs. 

 

It gives great:

 

Affinity. Going that extra mile and delivering a product when it is needed creates a strong bond between consumers and a brand. 

Flexibility. Any FMCG product can be subject to a subscription strategy. 

Digital Revenue. The best strategy for a stable income for the brand. Moreover, the time of purchase is an option predefined by the brand and accepted by the consumer.

Convenience. Having a product at their doorstep when needed takes one thing from the consumer’s head. 

New offerings. As the existing subscriptions work well for the consumers without their attention, there is plenty of room to present them with new products to fit into a subscription strategy.

Customer Experience. A very convenient form of purchase in pair with excellent customer service makes the consumer feel treated individually.

Insights. A choice of products for subscription says very much about the needs and preferences of the consumers.

 

Weak as a source of:

 

Product Development. This strategy is centered around recuring delivery of the product as it is. In this sense, it is about certain habits. And although there is always room for change, we are talking more about minor improvements than development.

 

This strategy does not assume product development. Any e-commerce brand can employ it. 

 

Succes example: Dollar Shave Club

 

Digital store

 

Fully functioning e-commerce website aimed at the sale of company’s products, and generate immersive customer experience through content. 

 

It gives great:

 

Affinity. Customers tend to trust and prefer the retailers they know. The same is true about digital stores. If the customer service is without flaws, the customers are unlikely to turn their back on the brand they can trust.

Flexibility. Any type of goods can be sold with this strategy.

New offerings. The structure of the digital store is ideal to highlight new and special offers. Moreover, this is what the consumers are used to and what they expect.

Insights. Most digital stores offer a large variety of products. On-site behavior patterns provide the brand with very valuable data. 

 

Weak as a source of:

 

Product Development. This strategy does not assume the product development, however, the feedback may help introduce improvements, especially in the case of the manufacturers.

Digital Revenue. A fully functioning e-commerce website is built around the transaction. A broad spectrum of clients, making decisions faster than in the case of other models, will generate decent revenue. Discarded cart however is also a norm, and lack of personalization will make the clients choose by the price. 

Convenience. Of all the presented strategies this is one of the least convenient. Depending on the UX execution, it may be even confusing. The consumer does not have to visit the retailer, but all the choices are still to be made and the consumer is usually left with them with only minor guidance. The personalization is usually also minor. 

Customer Experience. Depending on the execution, industry, the price range of the products, etc. the experience may even be delightful. But it is still simple shopping, with no extra mile in it.

 

Great for most e-commerce brands.

 

Succes example:Nespresso

 

Knowledge hub

 

This strategy engages consumers through content. Builds unique engagement centered on the brand – informs, educates, inspires. 

 

It gives great:

 

Customer Experience. Education and inspiration done right will always be a delightful experience.

Affinity. Sharing knowledge and expertise creates a strong bond and a sense of gratitude on the consumer’s side.

 

Weak as a source of:

 

Insights. This strategy is not centered around gathering consumer data, though the way consumers interact with content, shifts in their interests, and purchase intent, will surely provide the brand with some insight.

Product Development. By interaction and feedback, some information may prove useful in product development, but this model is not the best choice in this field.

Flexibility. Knowledge or know-how the brand shares are not flexible in themselves, because they are not a matter of preference or opinion.  

Digital Revenue. The nature of knowledge sharing and lack of e-commerce infrastructure is not designed to generate revenue. For this, consumers should be redirected to another source, i.eg. digital store.

Convenience. It is not the simplest way to buy a product, more a way to create brand affinity. 

New Offerings. Since the activities are not backed by e-commerce infrastructure, there is no room for this strategy to offer new transactions. The strategy is centered on the value of the product, not its price.

 

Any consumer brand will do fine with this strategy. It is, however, very specialized.

 

Succes example:Patron’s Cocktail Lab

 

The future of the D2C business model

 

Even after stratospheric growth during the pandemic, the D2C retail model does not slow down:

 

source

 

The e-Commerce industry has seen ten years of growth compressed to three months! And it is projected to maintain 19,2% growth in 2021. The message, especially to all the consumer brands, is clear – D2C is not just a passing trend, rather a natural evolution of commerce. For a consumer brand, ignoring the evolution will likely mean to fade into the past.

Hello everyone, I am a owner of an e-commerce tool collection site. It mainly provides eCom tools for users based on specific categories, for example, “Product Research Tools”, “Advertising Tools”, “SEO Tools”. I started building my website from the middle of July this year. Up to now, the website has gradually gained some loyal users. I am very grateful to all the users who have given me hundreds of suggestions during this period. Thanks to them, I found a lot of shortcomings in the site and have been optimizing the site according to their suggestions. Some of them suggested that some additional value should be added to the site. I responded to this suggestion by adding a blog page to the site. I divided the blog articles into several categories: “Industry Dynamics”, “Amazon Related”, “eCom Shop Related”, “Other eCom Platforms”, “Tutorials”, ” SNS Marketing”, “Niche”. Especially, in the “Tutorials” section, I’ve been looking for some learning materials related to Amazon. Next, I’ll start to add some tutorials about how to run an eCom shop and other stuff. I hope these learning materials can help some newbies in e-commerce industry. To be honest, I am not a native English speaker, so I may not be able to write, collect or organize my language well in many places. But I’ve tried my best to add more value to the website by providing learning materials. I sincerely invite you guys to give me some precious advice towards the blog sections of my website(categories and content), for helping people who are in need of it. More importantly, if you guys feel that these articles are not suitable for English native speakers at all, I may stop collecting these study materials, or collect them and give them to some agents who’re native English speakers for translation and revision.Link
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My social media feeds are made up of 90% memes.
They’re usually posted by people I follow but every once in a while, a brand will post a meme and add their own spin on it. When it’s done right, those are the brands whose content I engage with the most.

What was once considered a trend reserved for Millennials and Gen Z has now evolved into an effective way for brands to engage with their audience. 
Let’s talk about what meme marketing is, how you can leverage it, and see examples of brands getting it right.   
A quick background on memes – they’re concepts, behaviors, or ideas that spread on the internet. A meme can be any type of media format, including a GIF, video, text-post, or basic image.

The truly successful memes spread like wildfire. That’s exactly why marketers want to leverage these already viral pieces of creative for their own marketing.
Another benefit to meme marketing is that it’s low effort. Most of the work has already been done: It’s being shared all over social media and it has a clear concept. All you have to do is fit the meme to your brand and hit “post.”
Furthermore, memes help bring communities together. Not only are users tempted to like and comment on them, but they also want to share them.
Now that we know the benefits of using meme marketing, let’s get to a few examples of brand memes in the wild.
Meme Marketing Examples
1. Kai Collective

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Black wojak memes started spreading on the interwebs in the fall of 2020. It wasn’t until December of the same year that it went viral, with users creating their own version of the hilarious meme.
Kai Collective was one of them.
The concept behind this particular meme– I say particular because there are multiple variations of this meme – is simple: One Black girl meets another Black girl, they bond over something and become friends.
Kai Collective made its own version of this meme to highlight its product, a print top. Instead of simply adding the text, they took it one step further by adding their clothing and making it a truly custom meme.
2. The Living Potion

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When rapper Drake released the cover for his “Certified Lover Boy” album, it instantly went viral.
The artist had accomplished his goal of creating a meme-able cover and the public took no time to create their own versions.
This perfume brand not only included its product in the meme but also labeled each one for even better recall.
It’s a great example of how to use a meme that is fun but also ties back to your brand.
3. Netflix’s Strong Black Lead

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One thing Netflix’s social media team is great at? Creating their own memes.
The brand will often take the concept behind a popular meme and recreate it with their own image.
Netflix leverages its extensive media library to (re)create relevant, funny memes like the one above.
4. Ruka Hair

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A meme list wouldn’t be complete without Oprah Winfrey.
This one came from from the highly viewed special “Oprah with Meghan and Harry.”
In addition to the iconic line – and quite possibly best follow-up interview question of all time – “Were you silent or were you silenced?” this image quickly made its rounds on social media.
It shows Winfrey raising her hands up in disapproval and looking away.
Haircare brand Ruka Hair created its own version of the meme to point out a major pain point for gel users.
Memes are so popular because they’re relatable. If your brand is brainstorming meme ideas, think of your user persona. What are some challenges they deal with? How are they approaching those challenges?
You’ll probably find a humorous, meme-worthy answer.
5. Diamond Express Travels

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The rapper Drake has been the face of quite a few memes. That’s likely what inspired his latest album cover, as referenced above.
The original meme shows him avoiding or disliking something he’s presented, then agreeing with the new option he’s presented.
In actuality, this was taken from a music video the artist shot as he was dancing. But we’ll save the meme origin stories for another time.
Travel agency Diamond Express Travels uses the meme to highlight a pain point many travelers may have: The burden of planning and booking your own vacation.
Another thing to note is their logo addition.
Because of how shareable memes are, brands are encouraged to add their logo or name on a meme to ensure they remain top of mind when their post spreads.
6. Hydrop.io

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I’ve seen this meme die down and come back to life many times over the past few years.
One look at the picture and you understand exactly what’s going on: The man featured in the middle is distracted by someone who walks past him while he is with someone else.
Hydrop.io, a water company based in India, created this meme to depict how its target audience views various types of water. And, they dive further into this idea in the caption by highlighting the benefits of alkaline water.
Sometimes, the meme speaks for itself. In this case, you can use it to supplement a message you want to share to your audience.
7. Black Rooster Taqueria

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Sometimes, one Oprah meme isn’t enough.
Here’s another example of how the interview that attracted 17.1 million viewers resulted in multiple memes for our enjoyment.
In this case, Mexican restaurant Black Rooster Taqueria took a simple approach to share its value proposition: Why deal with bland, cold flour tortillas when you could get fresh, authentic corn tortillas?
If you’re just discovering this brand, this meme tells us a little bit about them while garnering a quick laugh.
8. Mypsomagen

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The Met Gala is the unofficial meme generator.
Every year, you can expect to see dozens of memes created from celebrity looks at this star-studded event.
This one features sisters Kendall Jenner and Kim Kardashian and works in multiple contexts, before-and-afters, light and darkness, positives and negatives.
Biotech company Mypsomagen cleverly promoted its product kit Gutbiome+ with this meme.
When done right, a meme should get your audience laughing and interested in engaging with your brand.
9. Clean Skin Club

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Another popular figure in memes is none other than politician Bernie Sanders.
When he’s not floating around the internet for seeming completely unenthused at the 2020 presidential inauguration,
I’m not quite sure what caused this meme to go viral, but once it did, everyone was changing the end of this sentence to match their own demands.
For brands, it works as a fun way to speak directly to your audience and ask them to take a particular action.
10. Purity Coffee

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Memes can emerge from just about any image, no matter how old or high-quality it is. If one social media user creates something funny from it, it has the potential to spread and be used worldwide.
This meme came from the 2002 Star Wars film, “Episode II – Attack of the Clones.”
It shows a conversation between two people as one says something that brings happiness and excitement to the other. That is until they realize it may not be so great after all.
Coffee brand Purity Coffee not only educates its audience on an issue they may not be aware of but also boosts its own value in the process.
As shown in this example, memes offer a great opportunity to highlight issues that your brand helps resolve or address.
11. Yappy

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This meme is an oldie but a goodie.
From solving cliffhangers from TV dramas to developing conspiracy theories, this meme works in many different contexts.
In this example, pet store brand Yappy pokes fun at its core audience, likely animal lovers who have a constant desire to adopt pets.
When you know and understand your user persona, you can create memes that really resonate with your audience, leading to higher engagement rates.
12. Telfar

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If you can’t find a meme that fits your brand, make one. That’s exactly what luxury purse brand Telfar did.
They took two still frames from the 2004 movie, “White Chicks,” and replaced part of the original line with its own.
It fits perfectly in this case and is a great example of how to leverage existing media for your own use.
13. Anima Iris

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The phrase, “How It Started…How It’s Going” took over Twitter for the better part of 2020.
The great thing about it is that it ages pretty well, unlike most memes which have a short shelf life. It’s a trend that brands can take part in to share their origin story.
Luxury purse brand Anima Iris shared pictures of its CEO in the early stages of the brand to where it is today.
This type of trend allows your brand to connect with your audience and invite users to learn more about you.
Meme marketing is a surefire way to build community and potentially grow your brand awareness. With this in mind, you want to make sure you’re doing it right.
1. Stay on brand.
As with any marketing strategy, you want to make sure your meme feels authentic to your brand. The thing with trends is that everyone wants to jump on and make sure they don’t miss the train.
The thing is, not every viral meme will be a good fit for your brand. Be selective about which memes you create and which ones you let go of.
2. Don’t be offensive.
On that same note, make sure your meme isn’t offensive.
Brands can get themselves in hot water when they join in on the meme fun without thinking through the implications. Here are a few questions to ask before you join in. Does the meme:

Make fun of a particular group or community?
Include insults, slurs, or charged words?
Rely on the use of suggestive imagery or language?

If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you may want to reconsider its use.
3. Follow the unofficial meme rules.
There’s nothing worse than a meme done wrong.
It’s like when parents use teenage slang in the wrong context, it’s cringy and makes you stand out like a sore thumb.
Here are the guidelines to keep in mind:

Keep it short and sweet.
Use easy-to-read, large text.
Make sure your meme is still recognizable after customizing it.
Don’t try to change the meaning of the meme, that may confuse users.
Avoid including CTAs in your meme.

4. Strike while the iron is hot.
Ideally, you want to share your meme as it peaks, not when it’s already made its rounds.
Because once interest has died down, you may not get the traction you want from your audience.
Whenever it makes sense for your brand, use meme marketing. It’s a simple but creative way to share your brand narrative while engaging your audience.