Direct-To-Consumer or D2C brands are budding at a competitive rate owing to the fact that this approach of sales eliminates intermediary losses and keeps the customer in direct contact with the owner. Launching your own e-commerce store has become easier than it must have been a decade ago. However, you still have got your work cut out for you.
Inventory management, preparing your catalogs, tapping marketing opportunities correctly, etc., constitute only the tip of the iceberg. While half of your order fulfillment burden might be taken off your shoulders by e-commerce fulfillment services in India, there still remains plenty of checkboxes you need to tick.
However, worry not! You’re here to make the best out of this age of globalization, and we’re here to ensure you get to that. This article focuses on the five most crucial steps you need to take before the festive season or the launch of your D2C brand in India or elsewhere.
5 Steps A D2C Brand Should Focus On Before Launch/Festive Season
- Analyzing Market Trends
If your service/product is seasonal, analyzing the market trends is meat and potatoes for you, ordinary yet fundamental. Only when you know how the demand for your product will fluctuate can you provide the right order fulfillment service to your customers.
Market analysis also encompasses knowing your target audience as well as your competitors. If what you’re planning to do will be revolutionary and entirely out-of-the-box, you need to build awareness first of all. However, if other brands are already practicing your idea, brace yourself for some cut-throat competition.
Accordingly, you can proceed further to choose 3PL logistics, warehouse management system, etc.
- Product Listing
Once you have the statistics and market data on your plate, product listing is the next step towards a successful launch of your D2C brand in India.
Remember those product description pages you see when you search for an item on Amazon? This page wherein you can find almost every crucial piece of information related to your searched product: image, title, features, ratings, and reviews is actually a product listing.
Cataloging helps increase the presence of your product so that it’s seen, and most importantly, understood by your customer. Moreover, product listing is not a one-time task. Therefore, you should keep optimizing such information to improve your web sessions.
QuickShift fulfillment provides the complete facility of order fulfillment post your digital property has been established successfully. Right from taking orders to the last-mile deliveries, this 3PL fulfillment service can reduce half of your responsibilities.
- Designing Marketing Strategies
With your products in place now, what you require is the right marketing strategy to increase your brand’s presence and drive more web traffic. If you have no prior experience with this field, consider hiring a digital marketing expert or an agency (only if your budget allows).
- Ensuring Sufficient Inventory Levels
The actual game begins now. You have a target audience who is ready to place orders, but your castle of cards might collapse if your e-commerce warehousing system is not strong and advanced enough.
Having sufficient (not excess) stocks is crucial to keep up with the flooding orders. Remember, inventory management is the basis of your order fulfillment procedure.
Try out different strategies to restock your inventory levels, where they shall be placed, etc. Of course, you must also know about the latest warehouse management system that most brands are using and its pros and cons.
With all the essential e-commerce warehousing tricks and tips in hand, you’re now just one step away from facing the world.
- Focusing On Order Fulfillment Strategies
There are various methods out there in the market to provide the best order fulfillment service to your customer. Finding out what suits your business requirements the most (especially costs) is essential.
You have the complete flexibility to simply get an e-commerce warehouse in India on rent and bring your staff to manage it. However, as your business blooms and touches success, you will have to rely on a more efficient option- a 3PL fulfillment service. You can also choose the “build to order” strategy that focuses on manufacturing items on-demand.
In a nutshell, whether you only need an e-commerce warehouse in India or the entire logistics to keep you going, what you need to look out for are your requirements.
Conclusion
Rolling out your D2C brand is no more a dream for you. With the steps mentioned above, you’re on the verge of creating your own reality.
QuickShift fulfillment can further help you grow and excel by providing top-notch order fulfillment service, assist you in managing your inventory cost-effectively, and even take care of your returns and customer service.
Regarded as one of the best e-commerce fulfillment services in India, QuickShift holds the potential to scale your business by streamlining your fleet management along with order fulfillment.