In recent years, a wide variety of direct-to-consumer companies (like Away) have come on the scene—and we’ve shaken up traditional marketing in the process. But our tactics don’t need to be limited to D2C companies. While there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy, we know there are a few key things to keep in mind when you’re trying to connect with customers.
When your customers give you feedback, listen, and then prove that you’ve heard them by acting on it
Back in March, 2017, we launched a limited run of a millennial pink suitcases that sold out almost immediately. Over the next few months, we heard from thousands of customers via social media, email and calls to our customer experience team that they wanted it back. So just months later, we reintroduced the color as part of our evergreen collection. Not only did we listen, but we made a core business decision to act on what we heard.
Understand that you’ll never be everything for everyone
This is a simple, back-to-basics reminder, but one that we think about often. We have a unique perspective on all-things travel—and we know that what we have to say won’t resonate with everyone. But by curating stories and a point of view that’s consistent across every one of our platforms, we’ve created a voice that’s as familiar as your most in-the-know friend. We believe that type of authenticity—rather than trying to shift our voice just to appeal to a particular audience—will build trust among our growing community and convert them to lifelong customers.
What you do online is crucial, but don’t discount the physical experience
As a digitally native company, we know how important a brand’s online presence is. Our biggest store is, of course, our online store and the second most common way people discover the brand is through Instagram. But we know we can’t be digital only. Traditional brick and mortar (a legacy brand mainstay) has brought our brand to life in a way we couldn’t do if we were only online. But we also know that consumers today expect more out of the retail experience. So we approach our stores a bit differently than traditional brands might and really use them as place to curate unique and memorable experiences that will appeal to people who love travel, not just those in the market for a new suitcase.
Test your theories and iterate often
We’ve grown incredibly quickly—from a team of four to more than 100, and from a single carry-on to a wide range of travel essentials. That rapid growth wouldn’t have been possible if we weren’t constantly challenging ourselves to test what we think might work, and then iterating based on what we discover. Brick and mortar is just one example. We figured that because we’d made it so easy to purchase online (100-day free trials, lifetime warranties), traditional retail locations might be a good marketing play, but wouldn’t necessarily be a business cornerstone. But instead of relying on our instincts, we tested that theory and were quickly proven wrong. All of our stores in the U.S. are not only stand-alone profitable, but they lift web sales in the regions where they’re located. So we’ll continue to grow our retail presence in the coming year.
The first item on this list might be the most important. Listening and responding is a key strength we have as a D2C brand, given that we own the relationship and feedback loop with every single Away customer. And while I recognize that this could be harder for legacy brands and large companies that rely on retailers to adopt, the goal of building deeper customer relationships is a universal necessity to survive in this hyper consumer-centric environment.
I’ll be on stage at the IAB 2018 Annual Leadership Meeting later this month, sharing more of what I’ve learned as we’ve built Away. And these lessons don’t just apply to high-growth direct-to-consumer brands—any company interested in deepening its relationship with its customers can use these tactics for growth.
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Jen Rubio is the cofounder and chief brand officer of Away, a global company designing special objects that make traveling the world more seamless.
