- DTC Daily
- Posts
- 🛍 DTC Daily - Monday, Feb 13
🛍 DTC Daily - Monday, Feb 13
Today's DTC news, tips, & tools you need to know
🎩 1 - Viral Beyoncé hat maker speaks out on TikTok
📰 TL;DR - Remember when we told you about the Etsy maker whose mirrored hat was worn by Beyoncé? Well someone on TikTok said she "fumbled the bag" when she didn't have enough stock to respond to a slew of Bey-fueled interest. She dueted that video and talked about how nothing was fumbled — she just refuses to compromise the quality and care she puts into each hat.
💡 Insight - It's smart for her to speak out in any case, but the comments on this TikTok really reveal that sticking to her guns is the right move. "WE STAN AN ETHICAL QUEEN," says one comment. Others simply said "respect." We know that Gen Z in particular really cares about the ethics of the brands they buy from, and this demonstrates that perfectly.
🤖 2 - A ChatGPT competitor for retail
📰 TL;DR - A major e-commerce player in China is planning to launch a ChatGPT-style product targeted at finance and retail. JD.com is calling it an "industrial version" of the much-hyped chatbot, called ChatJD. They say it'll be adept at writing product descriptions and other copywriting needs. They join Alibaba, which announced its own AI chat product.
💡 Insight - Given the massive buzz and investment around ChatGPT, it's not surprising that companies are developing more niche applications of AI chatbots. The win for e-commerce brands is that products like this can cut down on the time and expense of copywriting and customer service. It's definitely worth exploring how you can incorporate these bots into your workflow.
🗡 3 - Why this brand posts 6 videos per day
📰 TL;DR - Here's an interesting interview with the founder of Mini Katana, a DTC brand that sells swords and sword-inspired goods. It's certainly a niche, but they've found great success with a robust video strategy, posting an average of 6 videos per day across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. They create both simple B-roll videos and creator-led content, with the latter being the most popular.
💡 Insight - The very 101 advice I see for videos is to post once per day, but this brand offers a glimpse into what it looks like to scale that up to something that really drives sales. Most interesting is they say this isn't about a simple views=sales equation, it's more about brand building and customer acquisition costs. It also shows that if you really want to ramp up your video content, you need to invest in a team.
📹 4 - When livestream shopping is actually worth it
📰 TL;DR - As much as there is about livestream commerce, it's also true that it's still a work in progress for US shoppers. This piece outlines the use cases for livestream shopping that make it worth your time, with lessons from successes in China. For example, livestream works when there's an urgent call to action, like a coupon code that only works for 30 seconds. Another thing that works is one-on-one video appointments with personal shoppers.
💡 Insight - This is excellent insight into what to actually do with livestreaming. Simply showcasing some products in a live video isn't enough — you need to harness what makes livestream commerce successful. Even though livestream shopping hasn't totally y caught in the US, now is the time to position yourself as an early adopter.
🎟 5 - The case for outsourcing customer tickets
📰 TL;DR - Chain Store Age has a Q&A with the customer experience manager of Chubbies Sorts, a menswear brand. The company was having staffing issues because they'd have to hire customer service agents for high-volume months like the summer and winter holidays. Then, they'd have to let people go when things slowed down. Now, instead, they're outsourcing to a pay-per-ticket customer service product.
💡 Insight - It's true that keeping all customer service in-house makes it easier to control the quality of service, the tone, and the integrity of your brand. But not everyone can afford to do that, or do it without avoiding a constant hiring and layoff cycle. Chubbies uses Simplr, but there are other options out there. Do some research into these services if you're struggling to manage the ebb and flow of seasonal tickets.
Did you learn something new from today's newsletter? |
If you want to reach our audience, fill out this short partnerships form.