Amazon may be the most widely recognized 800-pound gorilla in the e-commerce space, but when it comes to building strong customer relationships, I believe that digitally native brands (i.e., brands that got their start online) have the upper hand.
Many large retailers such as PopSockets and Birkenstock, and even giants such as Nike, have started to pull away from Amazon and venture out on their own. By freeing themselves from the behemoth’s seller requirements, they’re opting to connect directly with their consumers—ultimately gaining more control over their brand and shopping experience.
There are signs that indicate this wave is in line with marketplace trends. In fact, a newly released study from IBM and the National Retail Federation showed brand purpose (i.e., corporate values and mission) ranked higher than cost and convenience for today’s shoppers. This further showcases that the market is ready for more retailers to start implementing strategies that focus on building direct relationships and highlighting their core values with customers.
If you’re a direct-to-consumer (DTC) retailer looking to prepare yourself (and your business) for life without Amazon, there’s a lot you can learn from digitally native brands such as Glossier, Casper and Away. Here are a few strategies from their playbooks that can help you build better relationships with your customers in 2020.
Think beyond social for marketing and customer engagement.
It’s no secret that some of the most well-known DTC brands, such as Warby Parker and Away, built their brands on social media. But in the years since, social media marketing has evolved from using platforms to build followers and brand loyalty into a direct shopping tool for potential customers.
However, with customer acquisition costs for platforms like Instagram and Facebook on the rise, brands may want to consider other tactics like referral marketing or direct mail. Brands such as Glossier are even working on building their own platforms for communication with customers to avoid frustrations with algorithms on social media.
Target Gen Z.
Gen Z (anyone born between the late 1990s and 2010s) is regarded as the first generation of true digital natives, so it makes sense to go after this influential population with social campaigns; however, it’s a misconception that they’re only shopping online, while older generations shop in store.
Gen Z, in particular, seeks out immersive retail experiences. Though digitally native brands by definition focus first on the e-commerce experience, many have opened brick-and-mortar locations to further strengthen their brand identity and customer relationships.
Brands doing this successfully are taking a curated approach to building stores that combat a generic in-store shopping experience and encourage customers to linger. For example, Casper, which recently launched The Dreamery, offers stores with rotating installations that help shoppers learn more about its products, including hosting events focused on sleep and wellness. Shoppers who visit Indochino’s brick-and-mortar locations get their own personal stylists, who help them design and personalize suits and shirts to their exact specifications.
The point being: Where Amazon’s main value proposition is competing on convenience and cost, these nondigital approaches show that creating engaging experiential shopping experiences can help build a customer relationship that goes far beyond the point of sale.
Build the right e-commerce stack.
Once you’ve found a winning combination of customer acquisition and engagement levers to pull, it’s important to think about working with the right partners to help you keep those shoppers loyal and scale your brand. A number of companies have cropped up in recent years to help brands focus on providing the best experience for every stage of the customer journey, but the reality is, each brand will have its own unique set of needs when it comes to its e-commerce stack.
For example, payments companies such as Stripe and Affirm (an outside investor in Returnly) are well known for integrating seamless transactions and letting your customers pay over time. Brands that want to offer customers the ability to earmark future purchases (or drop hints to family and friends) may want to look into Wishlist, while others may turn to Lumi for custom packaging that wows. And companies such as Kustomer and Gorgias may be great options for e-tailers searching for easy and scalable customer service solutions.
When it comes to competing with Amazon for shipping, finding the right partner is critical—and it’s important to remember that your partnership options extend far beyond UPS or USPS. Shippo, for example, makes it easy to integrate with multiple carriers through a simple API, while ShipBob lets retailers compete against the wildly popular two-day Prime shipping. For retailers selling overseas, Passport takes the hassle out of shipping internationally.
Think through the post-purchase experience.
Amazon has conditioned consumers to expect not only instantaneous shipping, but also returns that are just as easy. The company is far from having a monopoly on a seamless post-purchase experience. There are many things you can do to create a return process that is equivalent to, or even goes beyond, what they offer.
To do this, think about what Amazon does well and consider outsourcing to a company that makes it easy for customers to print labels, package and drop off their returns locally, even in their own mailbox. Want to do even more to delight customers and earn even more brand loyalty? Think about things that will surprise your customer at the point of return. For example, my company offers store credit for a customer to make a new purchase before they’ve returned the original item.
Smart digitally native brands already see the value in diversifying channels and building community directly with customers. This is a trend that I predict will continue for all retailers, e-commerce or otherwise, in 2020.
