You will often find that in DTC brands aren’t as in your face when it comes to sales and discounts. With DTC brands quality products at great prices are offered during all times of the year. Although this may be the truth, it doesn’t mean that DTC brands can’t jump on the holiday marketing campaign bandwagon. If you want you to want to stand out against big retailers and their holiday campaigns, here are three major insights to ensure you have the best DTC holiday marketing campaigns of all time.

Introduce Limited-Edition Holiday Products

Although sales are enticing they aren’t everything. During the holiday season, limited-edition products are available for sale for a few weeks and then they are gone for good. Glossier, a DTC cosmetics brand, releases limited-edition makeup sets every holiday season and customers are quick to pick them up. Throughout the season there will be a variety of sales, but limited-edition holiday products give customers an excuse to buy before they sell out.

Tis the Season for Giving

It can be easy to lose sight of what the season is about when you are bombarded with holiday marketing campaigns. This year, make the focus of your holiday campaign less about selling and more about giving. In the past, there have been a few DTC brands that have embraced the giving aspect. A year or two back, with every mattress sold over the weekend of Black Friday, notable mattress brand Casper, donated a set of sheets to the American Red Cross.

Embrace Your Brand’s Message

DTC companies are popular with the masses because they are more than just the products they sell. A lot of DTC brands aim for a bigger picture, whether that means committing to sustainable products, selling high-quality goods at an affordable price point, or giving back to the community. Regardless of how you decide to run your holiday marketing campaign, don’t lose sight of your brand’s message.

Looking at the DTC shoe brand, Allbirds, their promise is simple — to create footwear that is comfortable, stylish, and environmentally friendly. During the holidays, the brand’s promotion, Scrap the Wrap, stayed true to the brand’s message. Instead of using wrapping paper, Allbirds encouraged their customer base to be more thoughtful with their gift presentations. The company created a hashtag and customers shared their ideas to social media. Allbirds turned their commitment to being environmentally conscious into a full-fledged marketing campaign. No matter what holiday campaign you decide to pursue, be sure that your message is able to shine through loud and clear.

This article was originally published on http://mattnemer.net/three-insights-into-dtc-holiday-marketing-campaigns/

When one hears the phrase “direct to consumer brands” they often picture a glamorous start-up success story. Although many DTC brands have become successful, equally as many, if not more, have failed. Creating a DTC brand is not as easy as it may sound. Although they have great potential to save costs by controlling manufacturing and interactions without a middleman, creating a DTC also comes with high risks.

Rising Costs

One of the reasons DTC brands have become so successful is by saving costs on advertising. In the past they have relied on social media, word-of-mouth, and creative yet inexpensive advertisements. Due to the success of DTC brands, the costs of more non-traditional advertising sources such as ads on subway cars is rising. To fight theses costs, brands will have to continue to develop new, creative methods of reaching customers. For DTCs without enough funding, this could be a death sentence.

Failure to Stand Out

Creating a successful DTC brand is more difficult than it was just a few years ago. Competition is much higher, so brands have to work harder in order to stand out from the crowd. Every detail is important. They even have to create unique, branded packaging that is different from their competitors’.

DTC brands rely on being recognizable. With the recent influx of new brands, it is getting progressively more difficult for them to stand out. Brand awareness is one of their core trademarks. Without it, their brand will quickly fail.

Difficulty Convincing Clients to Get on Board

One of the other biggest challenges of DTC brands is disrupting their sector and convincing customers to switch from the product that they are already using. DTCs already have an especially difficult time when it comes to low consideration purchases . Oftentimes, it is easier to consumers to simply purchase these from a store or order them from Amazon. After all, Amazon can get it to them in only two days if they have a Prime membership!

The market is still difficult to break into when it comes to things customers need on a regular basis. The primary reason behind subscription services is that customers will never run out of a product because it will consistently be restocked. However, running out of a product is rarely a major concern. After all, people can often just visit the nearest store.

Launching a profitable DTC brand is a difficult process. The three largest barriers to success include rising costs, a saturated market, and the difficulty of convincing clients to make the switch to the DTC brand.

Originally published at http://mattnemer.net.

More and more digitally native vertical brands are moving from the web into traditional physical locations. This may seem strange, given that one of the most definitive characteristics of DNVBs is that they exist primarily online. Moving into physical locations, however, makes a lot of sense. Brick-and-mortar stores allow for significant long term growth, are relatively inexpensive to rent, and present a variety of new opportunities not available online.

Long Term Growth

Brick-and-mortar locations allow for a new level of long term growth. Digitally native vertical brands are realizing that they can leverage their online clientele and stand out from the crowd of other online competitors. As a trend, physical stores and pop-ups operated by DNVBs perform well. The opportunities that physical locations provide allow for significant levels of long term growth that an solely online presence just doesn’t provide.

Inexpensive Physical Locations

Physical retail locations have also become cheaper in recent years. This is because traditional retailers have been forced to adapt to the rise of online retail or have died out. As a result, millions of square feet of prime space is available across the country at record prices. Digitally native vertical brand owners have realized that moving into this space makes more financial sense than continuing to rely on expensive Facebook or Google advertisements.

New Opportunities

Retail landlords have jumped on this opportunity. Some have created recruiting teams that are geared towards attracting digitally native vertical brands. They’ve also launched special deals for these groups such as short, flexible leases. These allow DNVBs to create pop-ups to test out a physical location. Some landlords are open to helping pay for any necessary remodeling or may opt to receive a percentage of the sales instead of monthly rent . Inexpensive prices and flexible rent have proved difficult to pass up, and more and more digitally native vertical brands are moving into brick-and-mortar locations.

Perks Not Possible Online

Brick-and-mortar stores also allow for some advantages that are impossible to capture when operating completely online. Physical locations allow for instant gratification. Even with next day shipping, customers still have to wait for a product to be delivered. Physical locations, especially those with dressing rooms, lower the amount of products that customers return and save the company on costs. Physical locations also allow clients to interact with employees in-person. Even the best online customer service doesn’t perfectly replicate talking face-to-face.

Digitally native vertical brands are proving to be adaptive, and we’re seeing many of them take advantage of moving into a traditional brick-and-mortar location.

Originally published at http://mattnemer.com.

Digitally Native Vertical Brands, or DNVBs, have transformed the landscape of retail in recent years. The term digitally native vertical brand was coined by Andy Dunn, who founded the online clothing brand Bonobos in 2007. He later sold his company to to Walmart in 2017 for $265m. DNVBs have a variety of key elements that set them apart from other traditional retailers.

Internet

Digitally Native Vertical Brands were born on the web, and focuses on millennials and digital natives. Everything is performed online: advertising, story-telling, and transactions. According to Andy Dunn, “it [a DNVB] doesn’t have to adapt to the future, it is the future.” DNVBs are most appealing to those who have never known a time without the internet and are very comfortable using the web.

Vertical Structure

DNVBs are unique because they cut out the middleman. They communicate directly with consumers, and sell their own products on their own websites. DNVBs control the entire customer experience with their brand. The website shares the same brand name that appears on the product itself. There are no third parties.

Focus on the Brand

What makes DNVBs unique is their emphasis on their brand and brand loyalty. They are fighting to replace e-commerce companies, which are channels rather than brands. Although they can’t grow as quickly as e-commerce groups, in the long run their brand matters more than extreme rapid growth.

Customer Experience

Digitally Native Vertical Brands are extremely focused on their customers’ experience. Their level of customer service is unprecedented. The control the entire experience online, from when a potential customer first sees an advertisement online, to placing and paying for an order, to settling any issues after the purchase and delivery.

Ability to Extend Offline

Although DNVBs are born on the web, they by no means will end up digital-only. These brands have the ability to expand offline through means such as unique partnerships, physical retail locations, or pop up shops. Offline, DNVBs focus less on warehouse retail and more on how they market their distinct brand and continue to improve customer service.

Digitally Native Vertical Brands set themselves apart from other traditional retailers through their structure, presence on the web, customer experience, and focus on their brand. These unique brands are the future of retail, and they will likely continue to increase in popularity.

Originally published at mattnemer.net on February 20, 2019.

Digitally Native Vertical Brands, or DNVBs, are the future of retail. They have several unique traits that set them apart from traditional brands in “brick-and-mortar” locations. DNVBs offer a variety of options, rapid growth, and personalized service. As a result, they are rapidly transforming the landscape of retail.

More Options

DNVBs provide consumers with seemingly endless options. Traditional retailers only operate in a few select locations, and only offer a limited number of products and variations. If an individual is looking to make a purchase through the traditional route, they are limited to their physical location or driving distance. Online, however, customers can select anything so long as the product is in stock.

Word of Mouth

Unlike traditional brands, DNVBs rely on word of mouth advertising and social media influencers. DNVBs utilize social media influencers to build their brand. Customers buy their product because it is recommended by real people through authentic posts on social media platforms such as Instagram. Podcasts are another popular form of advertisement. When a speaks about a product, listeners feel as if a friend is making a personal recommendation.

X Factor

DNVBs are often unique products that you can’t find elsewhere. They have the “x-factor,” or something that makes them stand out in the flood of products and services. The remarkable ideas behind the products are what make them memorable. If a customer is happy with a service, than they are more likely to share it with their friends and family.

Rapid Growth

Thanks to social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, DMVBs grow extremely rapidly. Through their uniqueness and word of mouth advertising, they create an organic base of followers, which also adds to their exponential growth. DMVBs use technology to connect directly with their customers.

Personalized Service

Another reason customers are drawn to DNVBs is because of the personalized service that they provide. The websites generate personalized algorithms to create a better experience for clients. The sites also gather data about individuals, and analyze the data to continually improve experiences that are distinctly tailored to their individual customers. The future is digital. Clients will come to expect personalized experiences and interactions with their retailers. Because of this, DNVBs are more well-positioned to succeed than their physical “brick-and -mortar” counterparts.

Digitally Native Vertical Brands have taken the retail industry by storm. Unlike traditional retailers, they offer endless options, personalized service, and their presence continues to increase.

Originally published at mattnemer.com on February 20, 2019.