5 Must-Haves for a Winning D2C eCommerce Approach

The Benefits of Going D2C

It’s clear that today’s consumers are demanding better customer experiences and companies, of all shapes and sizes, are fighting to
deliver direct, one-to-one, experiences that exceed expectations.

Beyond the desire to drive more direct sales, what’s in it for manufacturers and B2B businesses?

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) eCommerce is a way for manufacturers and B2B businesses to take matters into their own hands. Not only is it a way of opening up new sales avenues to grow profits, build customer insight and consequently gain a competitive edge.

In a nutshell, D2C eCommerce gives home appliance manufacturers:

• The ability to build a better understanding of their end user through direct customer relationships
• Control over the end-to-end experience from product design, data gathering, brand marketing and the post-purchase service
• Potential to reach larger audiences and expand their market share
• Advantage of not having their products on sale alongside their competitors
• A platform to provide up-to-date and accurate information to consumers
• The ability to provide a better brand experience.
• Consumers inherently trust OEM manufacturer’s websites and product information over and above a retailers’ site.
• An opportunity to deter customers from buying counterfeit products
• As a minimum, opening a D2C channel will increase your brand presence and pay for itself in the process.

In a recent survey from Episerver, we see a rising trend for consumers spending directly with manufacturers, “59% of respondents prefer to do research directly on brand sites” and “55% want to buy from brands directly.” As brands and manufacturers become more comfortable with selling direct, this trend will only grow.

Direct-to-Consumer eCommerce means owning the entire customer relationship. It gives manufacturers the ability to leverage additional consumer insights that come with it. To create unique, personalized online engagement, better fulfillment and returns experiences.

Not only does a D2C channel help to drive more direct sales, but it provides an opportunity to create recurring revenue streams – be it through subscriptions, new product launches or annual repair services for example. These brand-led tactics provide much better brand loyalty and lifelong customers than otherwise possible through a traditional, retail model.

2 Key Challenges

Potential Conflict with Partners

One of the biggest barriers we find when working with manufacturers
/ B2B brands is the fear that this D2C transition will jeopardise their partner
relationships. Will their partners see this shift as a threat and consider them new competition – dropping them from the shelves altogether?

We’ve found that offering an exclusive range or bundles to your retail partners, whilst selling the ‘basic’ product on your own D2C channel (or vice versa) may be the best way to achieve the best of both worlds.

There are plenty of approaches you can take depending on how risk-adverse or aggressive you’d like to be. If you’re considering shifting to a D2C model but aren’t sure where to start. Then get in touch for a free D2C strategy session with our team.

Operational Baggage

One of the major issues is that many pure-play start-ups have the benefit of agility on their side. Not shackled by the baggage of legacy systems, processes and operations, or by leadership teams who insist on tradition or “our way of doing things”, these newer businesses can change strategic direction on a whim, and capitalise on new opportunities well before the competition.

The D2C concept is nothing new, and is an area most consumer goods manufacturers, B2B businesses and wholesalers have been experimenting with for some time, but many are recognising the need to step up, or fall behind. The truth is your future survival may well depend on it. We’re already seeing established manufacturers being challenged and usurped by D2C start-ups able to offer a more engaging customer experience.

5 Must-haves for a Winning D2C Approach

1. Streamline Your Product Range

Setting up an eCommerce platform becomes more complicated the broader your product range is.

Selling D2C or B2C differs from B2B in that consumers don’t always have a specific model number or goal in mind when researching online.

Consumers, no-matter how tech savvy, can find it overwhelming when viewing a large volume of appliance models and features on offer. Offering too much choice can be overwhelming and can adversely affect your conversion rate.

Tip #1 – Simplify the number of products and SKU’s you have available online, at least initially. Instead, focus your efforts on making your product portfolio as easy to navigate and filter as possible.

2. Manage B2B, D2C and everything in between

If you’re a manufacturer that has historically sold thousands of coffee machines in bulk to retailers, selling thousands of small applianes to individuals will need a completely different set of systems and processes to cope with the complexity of B2B, B2B2C and B2C. Not only do you need to consider a new business model but the logistics to fulfil these orders.

Tip #2 – Aim to have a clear and consistent strategy around who your consumer is and the “consumer journey” that you are looking to create. It’s vital that you implement an end-to-end eCommerce solution that can support every segment of your business. One solution that covers eCommerce, order management and systems integration to connect your CRM, payment processing and logistics.

The organisations that we see winning in the D2C market are truly obsessive around consumer-centricity. Make sure this runs through every single consumer touch point from the online website through to the delivery, installation services and the removal of large appliances. Every consumer touch point is key and quite often it’s the last mile delivery and installation process that the customer remembers!