With decades of experience working with retailers and consumer packaged (CPG) brands, I’m all too familiar with the ever-changing consumer — their unmet needs, emotional connections and behaviors. The onset of direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands, those that typically market directly to a consumer via a digital channel versus a traditional retail channel, are the latest disruptors. It’s no secret that DTC brands like Casper are making inroads in the traditional consumer brands landscape. But why are they so successful?
Traditional CPG brands and fashion brands, also known as legacy brands, leverage sales data and research to market their products to consumers and tend to sell primarily through retail channels. But I believe that most of them only scratch the surface of using sales and consumer data, whereas digitally native brands leverage data to create unique customer experiences with higher levels of precision. For the digitally native brand, data is king. DTC brands typically are nimbler and understand how critical choice, ever-changing consumer expectations and shifting habits are in the consumer landscape. I think that consumer demand and consumers’ trust in DTC brands are driving their proliferation. In my experience, if a brand knows a customer more intimately and more authentically, a customer is more inclined to trust that brand — and that’s part of the secret sauce for DTCs.
People’s lives are busier than ever. A typical morning for a middle-class family might look like this: Mom wakes the kids, gets them moving and exercises at home while Dad makes breakfast and school lunches and gets the kids in the cars. Both parents take kids to different schools, and on the way to work, they stop at Starbucks or McDonald’s. A similar frenzied pace continues after work. Somewhere in the day-to-day chaos, those parents have to buy clothing, pet food, eyeglasses, furniture, etc. These micro-moments, or times when a person turns to a device to act on a need, are what I believe all brands must be prepared for. Time is a precious commodity, so many consumers are constantly seeking simplicity, efficiency and personalization in every aspect of their lives — and they turn to brands that can deliver on their needs.
DTC brands have zeroed in on this and put the consumer in charge by giving them what they want: higher levels of personalization and choice of points of sale. This provides consumers with purchase control — the ability to shop when and where they want and at their convenience — which is a very dynamic model. Successful DTC brands are there for consumers; they provide the answers consumers seek via a seamless, device-agnostic experience, all while measuring the collective consumer impact. By virtue of the digital platforms they use, they are able to collect valuable, granular data to further personalize the experience.
DTC brands also know how critical it is to relate to a consumer with authenticity and transparency to build trust. They solve problems and create solutions with a story that resonates and then wrap every essence of communication around that story — creating interest and trust. DTC brands can create trust in a number of ways, such as providing content that is helpful to the consumer (saving them time, money, etc.) versus content that is self-serving. The toothbrush brand Quip, for example, crafts a steady stream of oral care content for its customers that helps them learn and better understand the importance of things like proper brushing technique — which no doubt helps cement their trust in the brand.
Other ways DTC brands inspire trust include linking their brand to a cause. The DTC eyewear brand Warby Parker helps those in developing countries get eye exams as well as affordable glasses through its “Buy a Pair, Give a Pair” program. This linkage shows consumers that their purchase helps others in need and that the brand is committed to making a difference.
DTC brands that position their content as customer-centric rather than brand-centric, and communicate with transparency and honesty, can win with consumers. In my experience, customer-centric content creates engagement, helps build a community and fosters trust. Social media is a robust platform for DTCs to create an open dialogue with consumers and boost sales. Social shopping via Facebook and Instagram is on the rise, and successful DTCs are leveraging the platform to be transparent about their products. Everlane, a DTC clothing company, helped position itself as a “radically transparent” brand by sharing “the real cost of” making a designer T-shirt on Tumblr in 2012. This transparency resulted in 20,000 new fans and the company’s first product selling out — and likely increased trust in the brand as well.
I believe that consumers will continue to have a desire to be in the driver’s seat and that their motivations toward “more” and “better” will not wane. Brands that build consumer trust through personalized and consistent experiences that make consumers’ lives easier, that focus on delivering with transparency and that authentically tell their stories will likely continue to win with consumers.
