Thanks to the direct-to-consumer (D2C) business model, more manufacturers are uncovering the benefits of ditching the middleman and choosing to sell directly to their customers.
Why?
Because D2C manufacturing lets them take control over their:
— Product visibility;
— Brand image; and
— Profits.
Traditionally, manufacturers were at the mercy of wholesalers and retailers when it came to selling their products. But now, with the explosion of eCommerce, D2C manufacturers can forge their own paths by selling online. A path that has led many to find success with their business.
That’s why we’ve put together this article to help you get started on your journey to D2C manufacturing, with these 6 direct-to-consumer brands’ keys to success.
1. Choosing the Right Sales Channel
You’re not limited to one website when setting up the infrastructure for online selling. Nowadays, you can take a multi-channel approach and sell via:
— eCommerce platforms;
— Online marketplaces; and
— Social media pages.
The more channels you sell across, the more leverage you’ll have when selling your products online.
However, some channels might be more beneficial than others. For example, Etsy is an online marketplace for artisan makers, while Shopify is an eCommerce platform that lets you quickly and easily build an online store.
One is perfect for those who make handmade products but don’t have time to build an audience, while the other is great for having more control over your sales and marketing.
Whether you choose one or both of them, each online sales channel is going to have its own advantages and disadvantages that you’ll need to research.
Just make sure that when you get set-up with a sales channel, that you can integrate it with your tools. For example, Smart Manufacturing Software can bridge the feature gap between sales and production, giving you Shopify manufacturing tools.
2. Optimizing Sites for Mobile
Statistics reveal that 79% of smartphone users have purchased something online using their phones over the past 6 months, and 40% said that they will go to a competitor after having a bad mobile experience.
As technology improves, and mobile commerce (mCommerce) becomes more convenient, having a site that is optimized for mobile users is going to become increasingly important.
This isn’t just about making sure your website looks presentable on a mobile screen,
it means considering the different mobile payment systems too including:
— Apple Pay;
— Google Wallet;
— Venmo;
— Square;
— Intuit GoPayment; and
— Paypal.
Deciding how to approach pay-by-mobile services is going to make shopping with you easier for customers and possibly help you reduce some costs by using a mobile point of sale (POS) system.
3. Marketing
You might have an awesome product and website, but without traffic from your marketing efforts, it's all going to go unnoticed.
Going D2C means you’re going to need to develop a marketing plan to drive customers to your website or store, and you can do this via:
— Paid advertisements;
— Social media;
— Creating landing pages; and
— Emails.
The biggest benefit of being a D2C manufacturer is that you get to collect data on customers, which is going to be invaluable for later improving your product, website, and your marketing efforts in the future.
That’s why it's important to find marketing tools that can help you record this information, then break it down so you can immediately understand what works and what doesn’t work, and make adjustments to your marketing campaign in real-time.
4. Customized Packaging
First impressions are everything, and that’s why packaging is more important than ever before, especially when the package you ship your products in could be:
— Representative of your brand's image;
—100% recyclable; or
— Repurposed by the customer for something else.
Maybe you think you can skip focusing on the design of your packaging, but one thing people love is unboxing something they have recently purchased. Don’t believe us? Head over to YouTube and type in “Unboxing” and see yourself.
The YouTube channel, Mommy and Gracie - which rebranded in 2018, had “587,000 subscribers and 295 million views (and about 17 million per month).” Nothing is stopping you from designing a cool package and sending it (for free) to an influencer for free marketing.
If you need a hand, Arka offers customizable and personalized packages for businesses looking to up their packages appearance, meaning you can focus on scaling your business, while the experts create your packages for you. You can check Arka's premium sustainable custom mailer boxes and custom shipper boxes that help level up brand awareness.
5. Customer Service
According to research from NewVoiceMedia, poor customer service in the U.S. leads to an estimated $62 billion lost by U.S. businesses each year following bad customer Experiences.
And 51% will stop shopping with a business if they’ve received a bad customer experience.
With so much at stake and the chance to lose half of your clients, you can’t afford to cut corners.
You should always be aiming to be providing superior service when comparing yourself to your competitors.
You can start optimizing your customer service efficiency by:
— Investing more in staff training;
— Reworking your return policy; or
— Improving your response times with customers.
6. Embracing Automation
Automation doesn’t mean bringing an expensive state of the art robotics into your production.
Automation is all about using tools to help you complete the day-to-day repetitive tasks quickly and in real-time, so you can stay focused on growing your business.
But, choosing the right tools is essential.
And there’s one combination that’s become the winning formula for D2C manufacturers:
ECommerce Platform + Smart Manufacturing Software + Accounting Tools = Success!
Katana Smart Manufacturing Software integrates your other tools, so you can create a smooth and seamless workflow between your:
— Sales;
— Manufacturing; and
— Accounting.
However, you don’t have to stop there. You should look into areas of your business that are underperforming, and look into software that can help you optimize these areas, such as:
— Marketing automation;
— Business process automation; and
— Chatbots.
We hope that you found this article useful for finding success as a D2C manufacturing brand. Follow the points laid out above, and get ahead of your competition.
Need packaging?