#83 The Least Boring Weekly Newsletter

April 27, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

Good Morning readers! 🌞

Hope your week is filled with love and plenty of love.💕

Twitter is working to hammer 🔨 out the terms of a transaction and could reach an agreement on Monday.

Musk is lining up partners for the acquisition and continues to speak to potential co-investors, one of them stated. The situation is fluid, and discussions could drag on longer or fall apart.⌛

Musk made a pitch to select shareholders in a number of video calls,📱 with a focus on actively managed funds, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Twitter is scheduled to report earnings, “which likely will not be rainbows and sunshine, thus, putting further pressure on the company around this game of high stakes poker with the Musk bid looming,” said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, in a note to investors.

Almund’s newsletter will let you in on all kinds of tips for D2C brands and much much more.

Alright, so let’s get right to it!

This newsletter is going to dive into:

🌏 Two Ways Early-Stage Startups Grow Their Brand In Saturated Markets

👌 5 Evergreen Trends Of the DTC Industry

🎙️In Conversation with Eric Bandholz

📜 Top reads for this week

👩🏻‍💼 Plenty of jobs awaiting you!

So, scroll down already to THE VERY END & read up on what's yet to come your way!

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WHAT’S COOKING

Two Ways Early-Stage Startups Grow Their Brand In Saturated Markets

The term "growth" is used frequently in the startup world.🌍 After all, companies are defined by their potential rather than their actual state of affairs, and the most vital sign that you're on the right track is growth.

However, one of the issues that smaller, emerging businesses face🐰 is the explicit or implicit entrance barriers that larger, well-established brands erect in their markets.🛒

Customer loyalty programs, which raise the cost of moving to a new brand, are a good example of such explicit barriers.

Implicit barriers, such as the goodwill that a large brand has built up over years of providing goods and services, maybe even more difficult to overcome.

Here are some ideas about how to deal with the problem:💡

🤔Use your imagination to get around direct competition.

Carving out your own market niche is the greatest method to do this. You will become the company with the highest ⚡market penetration in your own market niche if you provide an original solution (regardless if your niche is a part of a larger market).

This will help you establish brand loyalty while also avoiding the dilemma of the double jeopardy rule.📏

This is also why trying to appeal to a too broad market is a classic early-stage company marketing blunder. Your initial goal should be to find your niche.🔎

⌛Invest in Long-Term Customer Acquisition Regardless of the Challenges

Companies that choose to go against the tide by focusing solely on brand loyalty can fall into a trap known as the heavy buyer fallacy🍂, in which entrepreneurs conflate historical purchasing behavior with future growth potential.🌱

In conclusion, there are two ways for small businesses to avoid the double jeopardy rule:

Be disruptive, but don't aggressively threaten the established brands with your creativity. Take a fresh look👁️ at old problems. Creativity is a requirement for success, not an option.

Longevity: Branding is a long-term endeavor that requires perseverance. Over the course of 30 years, studies 📓demonstrate that brands that invest in client acquisition do three times better than those that do not.

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5 Evergreen Trends Of the DTC Industry

The DTC industry is constantly growing. We’ve seen a huge influx of businesses shifting to a completely direct-to-consumer approach from their regular brick-and-mortar stores over the last decade & things don’t seem to slow down anytime soon.

Setting up eCommerce stores is now easier, understanding marketing psychology is just a few clicks away, and learning about entrepreneurship is all the more accessible. While mastering all this takes a considerable amount of time, and often, DTC businesses don’t stand the test of time, getting started with it has never been easier.

It is ideal that you start your journey into the DTC industry by keeping in mind that adaptability in strategizing and performing business operations will take you the extra mile you need. While working in such a volatile industry, staying on your toes is a survival tactic, not just a promising quality.

That being said, there are a few evergreen trends that help businesses flourish, helping you stand out from the flock of other DTC businesses.

👤 Personalization Is Key

The entire idea of direct-to-consumer business is centered around creating personalized customer experiences. The closer you are to your customer, the easier it is to not only acquire them but also retain them.

Look closely to find thoughtful ways to create a better user experience for your customers, making your brand even more accessible and engaging.

Some examples include enhanced navigation throughout your eCommerce website, auto-saving form details during checkout using cookies, and creating smart landing pages that alter based on users’ activity.

🌍 Go Global

Many DTC brands are seeing merit in selling outside the US. Consider setting up shipment and delivery policies for overseas orders to ensure you cater to a global audience as you set up your eCommerce business.

🤝 Collaborate Often

DTC industry runs on collaborations. Whether it is collaborations on social media with micro-and large-scale influencers or tie-ups with other DTC brands to advertise a special product. Not only does this add a fresh look to your brand’s appeal but also helps with a mutual boost of exposure to both the involved businesses.

🔊 Always Bet On UGC

UGC content is the key to gaining new and retaining a higher number of customers with every passing year! Your customers see your brand through the lens of loyal customers as you encourage and highlight user-generated content on your social media. Including UGC content in your marketing strategy is a sure-shot recipe to success; after all, it’s easier to trust a brand whose products are marketed by other real-life customers who swear by them.

🛠️ Constantly Innovate

It’s always easy to enjoy success and continue with your current array of products and services if you see them working well. But don’t let the stabilized figures make you get all cozy! Continually try to innovate with your products, introduce new categories to your customers, and work on the feedback obtained to never miss out on the opportunity to be a better DTC business.

Succeeding as a new DTC business is challenging, even if you’re a veteran in the industry. Bootstrapping your company from the ground up can be demanding, causing you to jump through the hoops to make it to the top. At times like this, it’s good to go back to the basics. Trends may come and go, but practicing these principles in the DTC industry always helps you move forward.

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IN CONVERSATION WITH ERIC BANDHOLZ

Beardbrand, an American men's grooming, and facial hair wellness firm, was co-founded in 2012 by Eric Bandholz, a financial advisor turned DTC business owner.

He began his quest with an

$8000 investment, developing an active community on Tumblr, Youtube, and an online magazine called Urban Beardsman, but he has now built a solid foundation, with an estimated total net worth of over $4.48 million!

We had the opportunity to speak with him about his enthusiasm for the DTC business, as he discussed what it takes to be a great entrepreneur, the importance of getting started early, and more.