It is important to maximise every touchpoint in the customer experience journey, say industry experts

In the last few years, thousands of D2C brands have made their way in the daily life of consumers. India’s D2C success story has witnessed an impressive growth trajectory with brands across verticals shifting to online selling. However, this scale of growth would not have been possible without the role of key enablers helping D2C brands with simple yet innovative solutions.

To deep-dive into understanding the role of enablers and the current boom in the D2C ecosystem, the premier edition of YourStory’s Brands of New India Mega Summit featured Gaurav Mangla, Co-founder and CEO, Pickrr; Akash Gehani, Co-founder, Instamojo; Kapil Makhija, CEO, Unicommerce; Prabhkiran Singh, CEO, Founder, Bewakoof; and Shankar Prasad, Founder and CEO, Plum in a panel discussion on ‘Scale and Solutions’. Here are some key takeaways.

Catering to the desire for simplicity

Gaurav kick-started the session by highlighting Pickrr’s contribution to introducing simple logistical solutions to aid the growth of D2C brands, “We are not just enabling the D2C ecosystem but also helping the brands grow. With our innovative solutions, brands have been able to use logistic-tech to its best potential,” he said.

Akash of Instamojo reiterated similar sentiments, saying, “Our approach has always been on making something simple and affordable which can be used by a large number of people. Today, we have emerging businesses from across the country and a diverse set of people even from the remotest corners of the country. So, it is extremely critical that we make something simple and innovative for them,” he said.

Democratisation of brands: Boon or bane?

For Unicommerce’s Kapil, three key factors are important for business growth. “First is traffic, then you have elements on your website that compel your visitors to engage with your brand, and post-purchase experience which I consider to be the most important factor,” he noted.

The road to success for D2C brands is not without challenges “Now, with all the enablers coming together, brand creation has been democratised in a true sense. This in a way is great news for those starting up. However, with an increase in competition, it has also become extremely difficult for new-age brands to scale beyond a particular point,” adds Prabhkiran.

“The competition has made it difficult to build a pure-play D2C brand. If several brands are targeting the same consumer section, the customer acquisition cost is going to increase,” he explains.

Making customers happy at every touchpoint

One of the biggest advantages of D2C today is customer engagement and hyper personalisation. “There is no dearth of brands or choices for customers today. Even legacy brands are competing with D2C brands today. Therefore, the only way to grow is to focus on customer delight,” said Shankar of Plum.

“Brands often mistake customer satisfaction as something that comes in after the purchase. I believe it starts way earlier and has to be taken care of at every touchpoint. It includes the entire experience on your platform irrespective of whether they make a purchase or not,” he noted.

As a key enabler in the ecosystem, Pickrr is helping brands in multiple ways, “Firstly, it helps new and emerging brands to get on with the business and start delivering the products at a quick pace. Also, when it comes to customer satisfaction, it indeed has to be taken care of at every touchpoint and not just after the purchase. At Pickrr, our utmost focus is on helping brands establish a strong and happy customer relation,” shared Gaurav.

You can watch videos from all the sessions of Brands of New India Mega Summit here. Don't forget to tag #BrandsOfNewIndia when you share your experience, learnings, and favourite moments from the event on social media.

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