Brands like Casper, Warby Parker, and Glossier, have found success using content that builds emotional connections and creates FOMO for their customers. B2B Marketers should keep these three things in mind from DTC brands as you pivot your marketing strategy in a post COVID world, Sarah Baird, general manager, North America, Outbrain, explains.
As many countries adopt a new sense of normalcy in a post-COVID world, the question on many marketer’s minds is, “How can we ensure we’re still top of minds for consumers?†In a time when most companies are cutting costs, reevaluating B2B marketing strategies is crucial. The tried-and-true methods of email marketing and social media promotions are being put on hold, as marketers figure out how to truly connect with their target audience. This comes at the same time that your sales team is adapting to a world of not being in front of your clients – at tradeshows, conferences, and pitch meetings.
Meanwhile, Direct to Consumer (DTC) companies have it figured out. Brands like Casper, Warby Parker, and Glossier, have found success using content that builds emotional connections and creates FOMO for their customers. So how can B2B Marketers replicate that for their strategies? Let’s talk about three things you can learn from DTC brands as you pivot your marketing strategy in a post COVID world.
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Relationships Matter More Than Ever
DTC brands are experiencing continued success because they are marketing-led and are highly responsive to consumer needs. In a time where consumers are spending more time alone and on their phones, understanding how to reach your target audience is key. Consider every touchpoint and interaction, and create a narrative that puts the story ahead of your product.
A key theme for today’s consumers is the relationship between brand and shopper. The best DTC brands create not only compelling content but also a community amongst their most loyal customers. They do this by speaking the language of their customers and selling an aspirational identity. Everlane is a great example of a DTC brand that knows how to truly connect with a customer. The brand manufactures its products in ethical factories and strives to provide transparency to customers about how much it costs to make each item. The reason is twofold: it educates shoppers on the reasons behind a product cost and creates an open conversation around fair pricing, authenticity, and consumer participation. Thus, an Everlane customer will feel connected to the brand and each purchase, as they are in-the-know.
In B2B marketing, we focus less on what the touchpoints are and more about how to convert leads. But what we’re learning pre- and post-COVID is that strong relationships begin at the very first touchpoint and continue to pave the path to brand loyalty. In order to build trust, brands must put time into building and connecting it.
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Know Your Data and Remove the Middle Man
The best-known point of differentiation about DTC brands is they remove the middle man. Whether it’s the resellers, procurement teams, etc., DTC brands go straight to the consumer. This is something that B2Bs and DTC marketers have in common. However, we see that DTC companies are more flexible and use their e-commerce data to move quickly. They are more likely to run A/B tests on pricing, promotions, and creative. They constantly challenge their own assumptions about their customers through data and again, this ties back to trust and building a customer relationship. Having a direct, one-to-one relationship with consumers allows you to easily personalize your marketing efforts for deeper engagements and higher ROI.
Think Big Not Small
One mistake that we see B2B marketers make time and time again is trying to pinpoint their exact decision-maker. There are plenty of companies that will claim that you can reach a highly targeted segment at a price. But if you really peel back that onion, there are a lot of false positives. What D2C brands do very well is trust in the relationships they’ve built with their customers and leverage their own first-party data to make decisions. They tend to apply fewer targeting rules when trying to reach new customers and later narrow their approach by leveraging “lookalike†features available on many platforms. As a B2B marketer, this may be a big shift in your acquisition strategy – it’s worth testing especially when you consider the savings you may find from not using a highly targeted segment.
What’s Next
The world fundamentally shifted under our feet in the last three months, and it’s going to continue to evolve. We don’t know what the “new normal†will look like, post-COVID. But as marketers, it’s our job to figure out how to make it work. And that means adapting and shifting with the times. DTC brands successfully use these strategies to be agile and flexible. B2B marketers must do the same.