D2C fails: Sell a product your customers actually want

Retail is currently facing a tough period for many reasons. Yawn – yes, we know this already. But one that I don’t see mentioned as often is the fact that more and more brands are choosing to go direct. This is true of both new brands and established brands that have relied on a wholesale channel model for decades.

I am writing a series of blogs where I, along with various industry experts, share some key tips and challenges for those going direct-to-consumer (D2C). This first blog focuses on the product and proposition. It makes senses as the core of retailing is the product!

Every day brands fail to launch products, and this has been a reality for some of the biggest brands around. I wanted to share a few examples to demonstrate that it’s not about how much money you plough into something, because if you don’t have a product that consumers want or see value in, then it will fail!

This has been true for decades and is still true today:

I love my cars and I remember reading about the Ford Edsel. What a car! It was reported that Ford invested $400m (back in the 1950s) into the Edsel but it flopped because the American audience at the time wanted smaller and more economical cars. It was a by-product of focusing on what Ford competitors were doing rather than understanding what consumers wanted.

Who remembers the Microsoft Zune? In 2006 it was Microsoft’s failed attempt to take on the iPod. It was a product that was always chasing and failed to deliver on features consumers came to expect (thanks to the iPod) and it gave no reason to go out and buy it.

This may come back and bite me, but the Google Glass which launched in 2013 and were marketed as “the next big thing”. And although they were cool, they didn’t add any value to a mass audience and were quickly seen as a gimmick. It’s one of those products that was probably ahead of its time. Lots of hype around the technology but no real market existed for the product (at the time).

Don’t dive straight in – do consumers want your product?

The world of retailing (ecommerce or bricks and mortar) is complex and the temptation to quickly launch a website or take up some available retail space can be your downfall. Having a platform to sell your products is vital yes, but this is not where you need to start. First you need to ensure you have a proposition and product that your consumers want or need. I spoke with industry expert and founder of ‘Let’s Talk Strategy,’ Jenna Tiffany, and she says:

“Start with analysing the market place, what does the current situation look like, who are the key competitors, what's their differentiator and identify where the opportunities are in either improving 'pain points' for customers or in a gap in the marketplace.“

As the three examples above show, this is advice is spot on.

Retailing is so much more than just selling product X to consumer Y. But it should all start with the consumer. If you don’t offer something your consumers want, then why will they buy it? Philip Kotler perfectly outlines a tool to help ensure you nail your product and proposition with his ‘5 levels of a product’ to ensure consumer value:

1: Core Product. These are the fundamentals of what a product is meant to do. For example, a coat should keep you warm and protect you from rain.

2: Generic Product. These are the features that represent the quality of the product. With the coat example this would include material, pockets, water proofing ability, detachable hood etc. A bad example of a feature is a smartphone that explodes… Sorry Samsung, but I had to get the Galaxy Note 7 in here somewhere.

3: Expected Product. The expectations a consumer has when purchasing the product. The coat should be comfortable, warm and also lightweight.

4: Augmented Product. The USPs that make the product stand-out and deliver beyond expectation. Is the coat style and colour on trend and is it perceived as good value for money? Does the brand have a good warranty as I want a coat to last?

5: Potential Product. Over time true value is delivered when a product/brand continues to surprise and delight. This could be by offering a machine washable coat making the product easy to maintain, or by having a product recycling scheme to help donate old coats to the homeless.

Nail your proposition so that your consumers want what you are selling. Also, the market and consumer demands are always changing so make sure the process of analysing your market and your product is continuous. Otherwise you will quickly become irrelevant.

This is the first in a series of blogs focused on brands going direct for the first time.

If you have experiences, challenges or further tips you would like to share then please share your comments. Any other product flops that stick in your mind?

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