If you are involved, in any way, in ecommerce, then you will most likely have heard of B2C (business to consumer) and B2B (business to business) ecommerce. The first refers to ecommerce businesses selling to individual consumers. This is the most common form of ecommerce, and you will have been the “C” in that B2C if you’ve ever bought something on Amazon, eBay, or another ecommerce site. The second refers to businesses selling to other businesses. This is much the same thing except that the different nature of customers means that the products sold are different and the marketing involved follows different strategies too – aimed at gaining business clients rather than a customer base. There is, however, a third ecommerce model that we hear about much less often. This is D2C (direct to consumer), but what actually is it?
Most basically, D2C ecommerce is exactly what it says – selling products directly to consumers. This method therefore involves cutting out some sort of middleman. Whenever a company sells their produce directly to consumers, then they are a D2C enterprise. Olympic Eyewear, a sunglasses wholesaling company, say that this is becoming a much more popular model among ecommerce ventures of all sizes, but embarking on D2C is far from easy and it takes careful planning and preparation.
What Does a DC2 Business Do?
So, what does the process of D2C selling actually look like? Well, companies are still supplying goods to consumers, meaning that effective social marketing, building brand awareness, and cornering a customer base are still things that need to be done. In fact, when it comes to the actual process of building a customer base and selling to it, D2C ecommerce is no different to any B2C business.
The difference lies in the responsibilities a D2C enterprise has, and the specific benefits which are reaped from that. In short, a D2C enterprise handles everything in house, meaning everything from manufacturing the goods to arranging sales, packaging, and shipping those goods to customers. Accordingly, it’s quite a big undertaking, but there are serious savings to be made. If you are thinking about embarking on a D2C enterprise though, then it is important to note that you need to have a customer base already secured, a good cash flow, and a solid amount of monthly customers. Smaller ecommerce ventures can do D2C, but it certainly requires an amount of success to have already been achieved.
What Does D2C Mean for Brands?
DC2 means both unique opportunities and unique challenges for brands. D2C can streamline the sales process and cut all sorts of external costs. We often here about the benefit of “cutting out the middleman” in all sorts of contexts. This is one in which that certainly applies – if it is done well.
Nevertheless, D2C also demands that businesses consider a whole new level of marketing and customer service. This is simply because much more is your responsibility. In fact, nearly everything is your responsibility. If a product is defective and is returned, there’s no manufacturer to defer to in order to fix the problem. Similarly, you’re going to need to ensure fast shipping and an effective buying platform if you are going to see any sort of success. Consequently, you might have to spend a bit of extra money in these areas, but there is the opportunity for even greater profits.
Last Word
Ultimately, DC2 commerce could represent the next step up in your ecommerce growth. It takes a certain amount of resources, but there are even greater profits waiting if the whole process can be effectively streamlined into one efficient operation. That, at the end of the day, is the goal.