When you enter a new market, the natural inclination is to figure out how the game is played there and then how you can play it better than the incumbents. This is a very poor way to enter a new market. A better way is to determine what the end users require and then start from a blank sheet to design your own way to serve the ‘best’ segment in tha...
Read MoreAs a business leader, you own your company’s strategy. But most of us get tied up in the day-to-day and, at best, are focusing on tactics that will see us through this quarter or this year. The next few years are guaranteed to be full of big changes and therefore will present equivalently large threats and opportunities.
Read MoreEach year I mentor a student in the Telfer School of Business at the University of Ottawa. This year the woman I am mentoring has been asked to participate in their Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. A truly noble cause. But… I am reminded of the great experiment underway at the moment to encourage the vaccine hesitant to rethink their opp...
Read MoreThe reason I bring this up is because of a more recent interaction with Bell. My internet stopped working and so I went online to try and resolve it… The first items on their phone tree are all about buying a new phone, a new TV service, faster internet etc… Eventually you get down to repairs and you again click through a long tree only to be put o...
Read MoreHi everyone Andrew here. Previous blogs have answered: What is D2C? Why would I use D2C?; Is D2C Profitable? How hard is D2C to set up? Can I use D2C if I also use a 3rd Party Channel?. This blog puts it all together. How do I decide what to sell through D2C? It just makes sense to launch with a world beating product rather than a ‘me too’ product....
Read More“I have an established sales and distribution network. How would I ever be able to set up a direct to Customer sales approach? Great question. Many industries are locked into old ways of working and will find it hard to transition; the automotive industry is a great example. Manufacturers depend on a huge network of franchised dealers who promote...
Read MoreFor many new companies, selling direct to the customer is quite natural. However, if you run an established company, you might be asking yourself how difficult will it be to set up a direct to customer model. This is the fourth in a series of articles on D2C. In previous articles we’ve looked at the factors that make D2C possible, the non-cash be...
Read MoreThis is the third in a series on Direct to Customer (D2C). This one explores the financial implications. All of us in business are part of an end-2-end value chain that ends when the product or service is consumed. The ‘Direct to Customer’ model is one that skips some of the traditional steps that in the past would have been completed by an indirec...
Read MoreThis is the second in a set of short articles on Direct To Consumer (D2C) sales models. This one explains what you can gain from this approach. OK – so the above are benefits of a D2C model. But (and it’s a big but) it is not for everyone in every situation. You need to look at the value that each member in the value chain is adding to the end use...
Read MoreAs we continue to work with more and more manufacturers coming into North America, we are seeing a sharp increase in the number of companies that are exploring a Direct-to-Customer (D2C) model. The advantages of this are many, including: In the manufacturing segment, markups are typically 100% on the wholesale cost before it goes to retail. Innova...
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