Direct to consumer (DTC) has changed into a massive section of how people buy and businesses sell. So what is it?
To put it simply, DTC businesses are online, and they do not use third parties, i.e., wholesalers, retailers. There are many examples of big DTC brands, including Warby Parker and Outdoor Voices. Most digital marketing strategies work well with eCommerce-only stores. However, if you want to hone in on direct to consumer marketing initiatives, you’ll want to include:
email marketing
influencer marketing
being social
Before you get your marketing underway, you’ll need a strong brand identity.
Brand Identity
Your first action is to create a brand identity that resonates along with your intended audience.
Although it pays to keep in mind many websites DTC brands, your focus is to work through how your brand can stand out from the competition and stay in the public consciousness. Developing a unique brand identity informs your audience who you are, everything you mean, and why your customers buy from you.
A brand identity ought to be robust, consistent, and memorable, seamlessly transitioning across platforms and ways a possible consumer can come across your brand. Once you’ve nailed your brand identity and you’ve got your logo and design collateral, you can forge ahead with one of these three proven DTC marketing strategies.
Be Social
Being social is a sure-fire method to market gain brand exposure. You can produce social media profiles, speak with followers, and market your products and services via social media. Social media is focused on ‘community, and every brand needs its community. Why? Well, this is how your customers will mostly speak with you. Social media is an important customer service tool too.
Consumers can offer feedback, share their posts, and request information via your company’s social networking profiles, pages, and groups.
Showcasing good customer service will improve your brand’s reputation. At once, social media, in general, is a great way to communicate brand values and humanize your brand only a little more.
Partner With People
Just because you’re selling directly to the buyer doesn’t mean you need to be communicating directly with them at the time. You can tap into the expertise and reputations of others through the likes of ambassadors and influencers.
Many brands use influencer endorsements via social networking nowadays to spread the phrase about your product. It could be an extremely effective way to improve brand awareness and sales if you leverage the right influencers.
Think about your audience and then who they would feed off. For example, if you’re a sportswear brand, there’s little point in seeking a recommendation from a YouTube cookery show. In contrast, a health food brand is unlikely to get anywhere by partnering with a player, for example.
Consider who’d best represent your brand and touch base to see if they will become an ambassador for you. Alternatively, it may be in the same way effective to partner with real, everyday customers and hear their stories. It can be an excellent way to put honest feedback out there and isn’t as costly as sponsored posts or ambassador fees.
Email Marketing
Email marketing has been with us for several years, and it’s still a dependable communications channel with consumers. Virtually every business uses email to talk about business updates, news, promote and engage.
The kick-off point is capturing double opt-in customer data and then utilizing it to personalized emails, so they’re unique. You need to use social media marketing and PPC, and other strategies to get customers onto your email marketing database. CTA (call to action) in your blog posts and your eCommerce shop may also grow your email list. Remember to incentivize the customer to opt-in. A giveaway or discount of the next purchase works.
Email marketing is affordable and easy to do with a top ROI, so it’s hard to see it ever being released as an advertising strategy.
Use email to communicate, sell, engage, inform, and offers incentives for remaining on your email list. For instance, supply a discount on first orders and giveaway gifts with repeat sales.
