Effective marketing for a D2C business includes masterful storytelling and branding, careful selection of sales channels, and strategic acquisition. "D2C as a market is really growing very fast, and there are a lot of brands that are emerging primarily because we have direct connection with the customers," said Rishi Vasudev, Co-founder, G.O.A.T Brand Labs.

While speaking in BW Businessworld's D2C Summit on Monday, he said that D2C is coming up very fast and it is believed that the way businesses are moving online, by 2030 the market will be multifold in comparison to the present scenario.

Vasudev talked about product creation and said that nowadays, most D2C brands wanting to create a strong retention strategy typically opt for one of the following: better customer service, email campaigns, special discounts, loyalty programs, easy shipping and returns, SMS marketing campaigns and personalised experiences. "New age D2C brands are launching multiple products in a week, and therefore looking at consumer data to decide which ones to retain and which ones to let go," he added.

While going omnichannel, brands have access to data using which, they can leverage customers tracking their buying patterns and behaviours. The Co-founder said that the brand should be authentic when it comes to effective marketing. Brands have to optimise their cash burn while going offline. "Once you start building a few brands in the portfolio, you stop spraying and praying. You can then build a sourcing supply chain and bring in deeper capabilities,” he added.

In the present ear, data is the key to success for businesses. It helps brands leverage the insights while incorporating it in relevant channels. Hence, going offline does not necessarily mean adopting the traditional model of business. Businesses should also focus on reducing the customer acquisition cost, empowering themselves enough to be able to cut down the role of middlemen and aim on bagging higher margins.