Establish Pull-factor To Build Your Brand: Aman Gupta, boAt

D2C (direct-to-customer) brands have been implementing omnichannel strategies in order to reach customers at multiple touchpoints while maintaining the traditional 'brick and mortar' approach.

Furthermore, it helps brands create an entire ecosystem of the manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor and retailer before finally taking a product to the consumer. It enables a brand to optimise and cut costs across a wide range of verticals. 

While discussing the prominent determining trends of D2C sector, Aman Gupta, Co-founder of boAt, says, "In today’s market, D2C is an important channel for businesses. Offline brands are going online, and online brands are venturing into the online space. There is a transition happening, brands are going omnichannel. Brands must do proper marketing and focus on raising awareness."

There is a certain point at which every brand needs to look for other channels and not limit itself to a single one. Ecommerce giants help startups at an early stage, but to build a direct connection with customers, they need to go offline. 

"To grow beyond a point, you cannot depend on a single channel. The competition between ecommerce behemoths Flipkart and Amazon helped homegrown D2C brands leverage and reach millions of consumers through a single point," Gupta adds. 

One of the most difficult metrics to overcome has always been the cash burn while going offline.

There is a trend in the D2C market where brands retain customers through online marketplaces and try to make them join their loyal customer base. 

Sharing his experience, boAt's Gupta says, "A few years back, we were doing offline business, but we were not serious about it. When you have a brand name, you have the power. If your brand is powerful, go for every channel."

After the pandemic, brands opted for online marketplaces. However, most brands intend to go offline after gaining a certain market share through online channels and tapping the rest of the offline market through their offline presence. 

With offline comes a higher customer acquisition cost, which makes businesses more cautious of every penny they spend. Despite all the odds, D2C has been evolving from doorstep delivery to yet another concept— connect-to-consumer; therefore, going offline is the need of the hour.