You have probably become familiar with the trend of companies that have incorporated the direct-to-customer strategy in recent years. Especially since 2020, this business model has become more popular due to the very fast-growing demand as well as a survival mechanism for small businesses that had no other option but to establish their presence online.

What is the exact definition of DTC? It is a concept more related to the sales channel, rather than the company itself. It can be defined as a company selling the goods under its own name rather than a retailer or a third-party platform.

Do you have your own idea for a Direct Customer platform Yet you are still unsure whether this business model is for you? Of course, there are thousands of D2C platforms out there and not all of them have succeeded equally. What is the strategic sweet spot for the ones who did, and what can you learn from them?

In this article, we are going to show you a couple of successful direct-to-consumer brands which have established themselves in recent years.

Daily Harvest



Daily Harvest is a great example of a successful online meal delivery service that offers a variety of frozen meals such as soups, smoothies, and bowls which are shipped directly to the customer's door.

Launched in 2015, it is a health-conscious plant-based brand, which focuses on transparency of ingredients and providing access to healthy eating during a busy life. Five years since it launched in 2015, Daily Harvest has grown into a $125 million sales business.

What are some lessons that we can learn from this brand?

One of the tactics they used to become extremely successful in building trust among new customers through selective partnerships. Their collaborations with lifestyle celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Serena Williams gave them a lot of creditabilities.

An extremely important aspect of the brand becoming successful was creating a simple-to-navigate website, as well as telling an engaging story in order to generate backlinks to their content. SimilarWeb estimates that the traffic equates to around 270,000 visits per month for the brand, which is 30% of the total traffic.

If you're starting a d2c platform, having a very accessible and easy-to-use website with tons of targeted content is definitely the number one factor that will determine your success and provide you with direct traffic.

Dollar Shave Club



This company launched in 2011, and it was the first monthly subscription service for men's razors. The company went viral through its successful social media campaign on YouTube, where the CEO of the company talked about the benefits of the product in a very approachable and personal way. The video reached 4.7 million views and generated 12000 orders within 48 hours.

What are some lessons that we can learn from this brand?

The use of videos in a company's marketing mix. According to a report by the Aberdeen Group, companies that use videos as part of their marketing strategy increase their revenue 49% faster year-over-year than the companies that do not use video at all.

Building trust and transparency is another aspect that has contributed to the success of the Dollar Shave Club. The content of the video has provided value through its simplicity. The pitch was very personal and directly targeted the needs of the customer, which is an affordable and convenient solution to an everyday need of shaving.

Instead of trying to compete with the big players such as Gillette, the company went about it by providing something that other companies have not done, which is a very affordable, consistent, subscription-based delivery. Their excellent usability, ease of subscription, and speedy, seamless check-out process, are one of the reasons that encouraged so many to take advantage of this service.


Conclusion

The D2C market is definitely still on the rise, and the trend is not predicted to change in the following years. If you want to build a successful D2C platform, Here are some of the most important lessons based on our success story examples:

● Providing value through websites and application usability as well as meaningful targeted content on your website.
● Choosing the right software to make sure that your website is comparable to the large through third-party retailers and provides value through its design and exceptional customer service.
● Building trust by telling your story and being transparent about your products.
● Use of videos as part of the marketing strategy
● Choosing the right Partnerships.
● Having the right pricing strategy in place, for example, the subscription model.

If you have an amazing idea for a D2C platform, but need help with regard to technology, a company such as Ordering, can help you to set up your business in less than a week and give you advice on the features that will help you excel and drive traffic to your website in no time.