{"id":12034,"date":"2020-08-11T12:02:53","date_gmt":"2020-08-11T16:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/?p=12034"},"modified":"2020-08-11T12:03:50","modified_gmt":"2020-08-11T16:03:50","slug":"how-d2c-brands-are-defining-the-future-of-retail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/how-d2c-brands-are-defining-the-future-of-retail","title":{"rendered":"How D2C Brands Are Defining The Future of Retail"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The <strong>How D2C Brands Are Defining The Future of Retail,<\/strong> the latest in <a href=\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/events\/online\">BrainStation\u2019s Digital Leadership Event Series<\/a>, took place on August 6th, and thousands tuned in to learn more about how some of the world\u2019s leading D2C brands are defining the future of retail with new marketing, design, and data strategies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can watch the full panel discussion here:<\/p>\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/446613160\" width=\"640\" height=\"361\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p>Direct-to-consumer (D2C) companies have exploded over the past decade, setting new standards for user experience with innovative retail and marketing strategies. In the process, they\u2019ve disrupted entire industries and forced traditional retailers to play catch-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s take a closer look at how some leading D2C brands started and how their approach to marketing is helping them grow.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Focusing on Personalization and Personal Connections\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Beekeeper\u2019s Naturals is an innovative wellness company that develops nutraceutical products from plant-based ingredients. The company grew out of the personal experiences of Founder and CEO Carly Stein, and that has helped it differentiate itself from others natural and organic products in the health and wellness category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI started this company because I have chronic tonsillitis, coupled with an allergic reaction to basically every over-the-counter medication. I can\u2019t take antibiotics \u2026 I was chronically ill, and I couldn&#8217;t find solutions in the natural aisle. I found there was a real disconnect between natural ingredients and efficacy plant-based formulas, and that\u2019s what Beekeeper\u2019s Naturals is all about,\u201d said Stein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The company\u2019s initial marketing strategy involved seeking out others facing the same challenges and connecting with those struggling with similar medical obstacles. Stein and her team would attend conferences on Celiac\u2019s Disease, find those with allergies and compromised immune systems, and engage with people in chat rooms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHow that\u2019s evolved over time is that we basically found these very early evangelists, found the demographic that needed the product that we had, connected with them and have found different ways to work with them,\u201d she said, adding that many \u201cearly evangelists\u201d now work with the company on Instagram and as affiliates.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CEO Rami Helali of Kotn, a fast-growing Canadian clothing retailer that sells ethically made products, followed a similar approach when first starting out. While Beekeeper\u2019s Naturals targeted specific conferences, Kotn took to the press with a highly personalized approach.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne of the insights that I had early on was we needed others to tell our story, others with legitimacy&#8230;and for us, that was people in the press,\u201d he said explaining that the company contacted a list of over two thousand editors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI wrote a personalized email to every single one of these editors&#8230;and, you know, I sent thousands of these and got probably like six responses. And out of those six responses, probably got two articles.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s very much putting yourself in that uncomfortable position to get that first push, because often one of the hardest things to do is go from not-existing to existing&#8230;it requires doing things that don&#8217;t scale,\u201d Helali said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Embracing Omnichannel Marketing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Many leading D2C brands started digital first, but digital-first doesn\u2019t mean digital-only &#8212; D2C&nbsp; brands often find value interacting with their customers in real life to create a cohesive omnichannel experience crucial. Helali emphasized the importance of understanding each of your channels and prioritizing what works for your brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou may be doing 10 things, but find one or two things that really resonate with the customer,&#8221; he says, adding that it\u2019s important to understand what each channel is supposed to do for your marketing stack and sticking to channels that work for your brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think there&#8217;s a danger in just saying, oh, new channel, new channel, new channel, and not mastering one single channel at a time and understanding your unit economics and how that works for your business,\u201d he said, explaining that building a consistent and transparent brand story comes down to three essential pillars: \u201cunderstanding your customer, understanding the channel, and understanding what message resonates with what channel is really important to get that cohesive feel across all those channels.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Siobahn Sweeney, a Sales Leader at Shopify Retail, believes that embracing an omnichannel approach can help create a seamless shopping experience, which can make a lasting brand impression.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen I think about delivering a really seamless shopping experience, I think about wanting to provide something that\u2019s unique depending on where that customer is interacting with my band, and yet consistent. So, I think it\u2019s really important for brands to embrace this whole idea of omnichannel. It\u2019s about creating a single customer experience across your brand in all those channels and touch points along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Taking Advantage of the Data&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A data-centric approach to retailing and marketing is one of the fundamental shifts over the last few years \u2013&nbsp;and in particular the last few months \u2013 and D2C brands have been on the forefront of this movement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe measure everything from how a specific customer group acts over time to how products do in-store vs. online,\u201d said Helali. \u201cAll decisions stem from data and then putting the processes in place so that you\u2019re interpreting that data correctly and taking the actions that are required.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This granular use of data is how many D2C brands have managed to reach and understand their audience on a deeper level than brands before \u2013 and there are many resources available to newly founded brands. Shopify, for example, empowers merchants to use data with their own set of analytics tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen it comes to our merchants that work with us, we have quite a robust amount of data that we are able to share with them from a reporting perspective,\u201d said Sweeney, adding that Shopify uses data in-house as well.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe use data to inform our marketing strategy the exact same way that we do our product team,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stein added that those leading a D2C brand will benefit from thinking adopting a data-driven approach early on, as major retailers look for these numbers when stocking their stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen you are moving into the retail environment as a D2C brand, more and more retail stores care about this data, they are very aware of your metrics on every social platform, and it feeds into your pitch in a big way. So capturing that data and having that structure early on allows you to move into different directions in a really seamless way.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/events\/online\"><em>Register now for the next BrainStation Digital Leadership Event.<\/em><\/a><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watch the recap of &#8220;How D2C Brands Are Defining The Future of Retail,&#8221; the latest in BrainStation\u2019s Digital Leadership Event Series.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":12038,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[783,169,1276],"tags":[1287,332,134,631],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How D2C Brands Are Defining The Future of Retail | BrainStation\u00ae Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Watch the recap of &quot;How D2C Brands Are Defining The Future of Retail,&quot; the latest in BrainStation\u2019s Digital Leadership Event Series.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/how-d2c-brands-are-defining-the-future-of-retail\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How D2C Brands Are Defining The Future of Retail | BrainStation\u00ae Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Watch the recap of &quot;How D2C Brands Are Defining The Future of Retail,&quot; the latest in BrainStation\u2019s Digital Leadership Event Series.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/how-d2c-brands-are-defining-the-future-of-retail\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BrainStation\u00ae Blog\" \/>\n<meta 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