Tennis or D2C - You Gotta Serve Well

Starting mid-Jan, Melbourne is hosting the Australian Open to start the tennis season for 2023. The Aussie Open has evolved from being the distant cousin of the other three Grand Slam tournaments to a showcase of originality and ambition, unrestricted by tradition.

We are continually re-discovering connections between the two things we are very enthusiastic about — sports & business — as ardent sports enthusiasts and a developing brand. Naturally, it happened when we saw Twitter buzzing with theories:

Notably, the D2C market has grown 15 times since 2015, which can be attributed primarily to the incredible penetration of technology and a rise in d2c funding. The country’s most prestigious brands have increased by more than 80% in 2022.

Thinking about where the sport of tennis intersects with direct-to-consumer business, turns out the best practices to win are not that different. Here is our take on how your D2C business can become the next Nadal or Djokovic of D2C:

1. ACE your game

Building products that solve pertinent problems of the consumer is central to creating a disrupting D2C brand. This can be achieved through innovation at multiple stages of the consumer journey like the chance to customise the product while buying, offering personalised recommendations through data, meeting or even crossing industry standards for quality & pricing, etc. are some ways your brand can become clutter breaking in the age of D2C brands flooding the market on Instagram and Facebook.

Brands like Neeman’s, DaMENSCH, Atomberg, Noise, etc. are getting recognised for their best-in-class products. Customisation has been a huge selling point for many D2C brands like Bare Anatomy (customising ingredients of their hair care products) and The Pant Project (bespoke tailoring by getting measurements from users on their website).

2. SERVE well

Brand loyalty holds the secret to a customer’s heart in a market when product quality is levelling out. Brands might naturally be concerned about their reputation and perceived value given that retailers, not brands, control the customer experience both in-store and online. So the branded experience can be a game changer and some ways to serve well in the D2C game would be:

• Easy checkouts on your website through deep integration of payment gateways
• Promoting your bestsellers and upselling other products with it to drive AOV
• Organic content for 360 degree user engagement
• Seamless website/app experience for both pre & post delivery queries

3. SET a high standard

In order to generate repeat business, a number of post-purchase factors, including the ease of monitoring purchases, on-time delivery, and the availability of customer service, are crucial in fostering consumer loyalty.

Demand for systems that offer end-to-end logistics and pan-India fulfilment centres is increasing as the D2C industry expands amidst growing consumer demands and rising D2C funding in India. Brands are using third-party tech-driven fulfilment centres with a pan-India presence to reach their customers more quickly. D2C businesses can manage their inventory, place it on the proper shelf, select and fulfil orders on time with the help of intelligent warehouse management. Businesses may easily integrate real-time inventory data into their current ERP system to receive it.

Direct-to-consumer businesses cannot avoid reverse logistics, which has high operating expenses. D2C businesses must thus collaborate with effective logistics partners to assist them in reducing the proportion of orders that are sent back to the place of origin (RTO). Without VAS, which is tech-driven and capable of performing predictive customer analysis on each order to identify their risk percentage, this would not be feasible.

4. SMASH when it’s time

According to Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Director and Co-Founder of Wakefit, a D2C home furnishings brand, "The 2022 holiday season is shaping up to be a much-anticipated one for online and new-age brands, as this is the first year since the pandemic that consumer buying sentiment has been extremely upbeat."

The phenomenon of revenge spending is anticipated to increase demand throughout the holiday season due to pent-up demand and the opening up of travel and leisure. Some stats from the 2022 festive season:

5. After a good warm-up, you RALLY well

The growth trajectory for e-commerce enterprises has been steadily rising since consumers continue to appreciate the security, comfort, and convenience that online shopping platforms offer.

From being a niche and nice-to-have approach, direct-to-consumer marketing has grown into a powerful force driving the country's retail revolution. Thanks to its tenacity, quick popularity, and increasing emphasis on delivering customer pleasure, the direct-to-consumer sector has emerged as a certain victor in upending the status quo of the retail and e-commerce landscape.

Direct-to-customer (D2C) trade brands have embraced technical advancements on this front in order to obtain a competitive edge.

The Game Ahead for D2C Companies

With funding winter looming large and d2c venture capital drying up, raising capital has increasingly become challenging for D2C brands. Funding activity has declined by 36% making growth difficult.

Amidst this newer, faster, and more founder-friendly ways to raise ecommerce funding are changing the game for the sector. Revenue Based Financing is enabling D2C brands with a recurring revenue stream to raise capital seamlessly for inventory, marketing, operational expenses, and growth!

Apply for Revenue Based Financing today!