D2C For People & Planet #03 - The Wrap-Up
Sustainable commerce for a sustainable business.
In this, now our third D2C for people and planet event, we had a really diverse range of speakers representing brands big and small. The diversity not only came from the brand sizes but also the strategies they are employing on a day-to-basis. Before we dive in to some of the hot topics and key take-aways, we want to acknowledge everyone who dragged themselves out of bed to be with us at 8:30am. It was great to see so many of you at our breakfast event and bring such energy and enthusiasm to the conversation about building positive growth for direct to consumer e-commerce.
We heard all about the different actions taking place for each brand and how they really connect to their customer base.
French Connection, Vita Coco, Kuroa & Scent Social each very different in their product offering, positions and market sizes, all did have a common thread.
Their sustainable positioning was integral to their operations and communications. It was delivered at different points in the customer brand experience but it was never the ‘holy grail’ or ‘magic wand’ that increased conversion, engagement or loyalty. In simple terms, we were told not to slap a sustainability sticker on top, but bake it in the brand and business.
We cited a McKinsey report, The State of Fashion that 66% of consumers consider sustainability when making a purchase. After digging a little deeper into what this stat really means, it was fair to say that the key highlight in that headline was consider/consideration.
Sustainability is part of the e-commerce experience and so really it needs to be part of the brands make-up or DNA for overall scoring consideration in the psyche of the consumer.
Listen, learn and adapt
We know it is imperative to have a great product, otherwise why should anyone really buy from you, however a great product typically comes from listening to how your customers have used it, interacted with it and experienced it.
The same goes for enacting sustainable positive actions into your brand operations and experiences. Listen to your customer to fully understand what their needs are so that you can optimise an action or actions that finds the sweet spot between people, planet and profit.
Transparency is key for how a brand operates; acknowledging areas for improvement and bringing your customers on the journey with you, as we heard, will build a lifetime value, reducing customer acquisition costs and opens the door for greater loyalty.
Hear direct from our guest speakers below…
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French Connection
Vita Coco
Kuroa
Connecting customers, staff and suppliers
We learnt that French Connection in partnership with Thrift, offers a take-back scheme and donation service where your second-hand clothes can be given a new lease of life, earning a 10% discount from their next French Connection purchase.
As part of their Conscious Connection initiatives, this simple and effortless in-basket e-comm strategy has seen conversion increases month on month since its inception. This gives Ellie and the French Connection team reason to believe more opportunities lie ahead, particularly when also using social media to connect with customers.
Interesting side note - Since the French Connection team have been ramping up the socials, the demographic age range has decreased while more sustainable shopping habits have risen, along with the cost of living crisis.
Generational shift, maybe?
Big does not have to be best
Next, client of ours, Vita Coco, a B-Corp accredited company spoke to us about the massive impacts they seek to make with The Vita Coco Project. With their sights set high, their “Ambition is to positively impact 1,000,000 people in coconut farming communities around the world.”
Vita Coco explained to us that they had to go beyond the tetra pack because they knew making positive change did not stop with responsible packaging. Having an ambition to impact that many people is impressive and as a bigger business, a grand plan like this is possible, however there was an elephant in the room; what can you do when you are a smaller brand? We asked.
The answer? Big does not mean best. Engage with your suppliers. Find the right 3PL, tech partner or packaging provider and with that, you could also find these sustainable changes can bring cost efficiencies to your operation. Win, Win.
If you want to read more from Vita Coco, you can read the 2022 impact report here.
If at first you don’t succeed, try again
Mike Stevens, Author of the best selling amazon book “The Direct To Consumer Playbook” and Scent Social Founder Ryan Hall both brought a perspective of business and brands that were not afraid to iterate, morph and evolve, importantly brushing themselves down and trying again and again.
The founders story is always one of trials, tribulations and testing, yet rewarding times. These did not stray much from the trodden path however, they both had one thing in common - Adapt to consumer demand and listen closely to customer feedback and reviews.
Small positive changes that became weaved into the brand as part of its identity become contributing factors to customer decision making but not the deciding factor - that will always be the product they offer.
These changes were a mixture actions; from Scent Social starting and engaging a community swap shop on social media, encouraging product reuse and return as well as rebranding and repositioning to Kuroa educating customers about the manufacturing processes so they can make better informed decisions as well as embarking on the B-corp accreditation process.
What can I do?
If you are asking yourself this question, we say start small, but make a start. We can help businesses of any size make the decisions that are positive, purposeful and full of impact. Drop us a line.