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In the ever-changing digital world, D2C brands are reimagining the way they connect with customers. From the first click to the final delivery, each touchpoint shapes the customer experience. Brands must integrate technology, logistics, and customer-centric strategies to thrive and scale.

The D2C Playbook, a joint initiative by Delhivery and YourStory, hosted a live webinar on ‘Solidifying customer experience from click to delivery’. Panellists Mohammed Ali, SVP and Head, SME and Direct, Delhivery; Bharati Balakrishnan, Country Head and Director, Shopify India; Anil Mendpara, Founder, Hamercop; and Preetam Chhipa, Founder, Bagru Boutique; shared insights on how D2C brands are working with ecosystem enablers to strengthen their customer experience.

Stability, flexibility, and innovation

Shopify’s journey of becoming an enabler of choice for millions of entrepreneurs is one of a kind. Balakrishnan kickstarted the webinar by recalling Shopify’s motto, which is to make commerce better for everyone. From homepreneurs to seasoned entrepreneurs, she listed down a few reasons why Shopify has become the go-to platform for entrepreneurs to set up their online businesses.

“Having a website that never goes down – that kind of stability is what brands look for. Moreover, you can execute as many orders as you like daily without worrying about the tech part of it,” she said.

Emphasising the importance of flexibility and innovation, Balakrishnan said: “It is important to fit into tech stacks of both large and small companies. Also, building technology that supports everyday innovation is equally significant.”

Understand your customer

Talking about solutions that can help D2C brands serve customers better, Ali said, “Understanding your customers is a critical part, which is why a lot of brands are investing in data warehouses to understand them better.”

According to Ali, there are multiple touchpoints to understand a customer journey. From shopping carts and shipping providers to managing ERPs and marketing tools, it can be challenging for brands to bring everything together and build a single customer database to track a customer’s journey.

“Given the economic circumstances, the kind of spend that brands can do on acquiring new customers is low. This is where retention becomes essential. Offering a seamless experience is directly linked to a great retention rate,” he said.

Scaling with enablers

The live webinar by The D2C Playbook hosted a couple of D2C founders who shared their inspiring stories of starting up and scaling with the help of enabling partners like Delhivery and Shopify.

Chhipa founded Bagru Boutique from a small town in Rajasthan, with a vision to take the local craft of blockprinting to the world.

“We, as artisans, always faced the issue of selling our craft to middlemen who would then sell it to the market at exorbitant prices. The idea of starting Bagru Boutique was to directly reach customers across the world while helping local artisans avail a fair compensation,” Chhipa said.

Describing the challenges faced by partnering with offline delivery platforms, he recalled going through a tedious process – manually entering data and not being able to fulfil COD orders.

“We were hesitant in the beginning but trusted Delhivery with our COD orders. The moment we received our first remittance, we knew Delhivery was our go-to platform for end-to-end shipping support,” Chhipa added.

Mendpara, who founded Hamercop, a startup in the premium men’s wear category, also credited Shopify and Delhivery for helping them adopt tech and scale faster while reaching a wider number of customers.

Customer is everywhere

The pandemic has blurred the distinction between offline and online.

Balakrishnan said as technology enablers, their job is to ensure that the brand is where the customer is. “Helping brands with social media integrations is crucial. Lastly, having a reliable payment and shipping partner is super important for brands to implement a seamless consumer experience,” she said.

Delhivery works with some of the biggest marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart but is also enabling thousands of small businesses to accelerate and grow. Large brands know how to take care of their customers, and Delhivery partners a lot with small companies to help them serve their customers better.

“We have a built-in Shopify Integration for seamless execution. We are also trying to solve NDR challenges by integrating communication modules. Our interface is smooth and you can book for international shipments as well. We think of D2C brands as partners in their journey of serving customers. That is how we differentiate ourselves,” Ali said.