I meet a lot of D2C brands, especially in the FMCG space. I love chatting to them and trying to understand their marketing channels, technology stack, unique proposition etc.
But I always come back to a core issue that a lot of the D2C brand’s havent thought about – consumption. Most retail brands think about this a lot, to get a brand listed in a retailer is incredibly hard, but what is even harder is getting regular purchase.
Regular purchase is really simply down to consumption, the product you bought in the retailer, needs to be consumed and replaced.
If it isn’t consumed, then you have a problem (you will get kicked out of the retailer) or online you will die! Your CAC:LTV won’t support your growth aspirations and you will literally die as a brand!
So I love to focus on this in any conversation. It is so obvious that most D2C brands don’t think about it, generally, they are so focused on getting the first sale, consumption or repeat purchase is an afterthought.
It shouldn’t be. Delve deeply into the consumers thought process and try to work out where you are going to go once you have a trial from a customer. Why will they consume more, and how often do they use your product.
This is why certain categories of D2C brands are really attractive. The obvious one is shaving (Dollar Shave Club ad break 26m views!) – most men do it every day, so you have regular consumption of razors, causing higher LTV. It wasn’t the quirky ad alone that made the brand successful.
Pet Nutrition is another area of extreme consumption, that’s why we love this sector and Bella and Duke.
So you run a D2C brand – think obsessively about consumption – it will take you far!
