Direct to Consumers in the World of Alexa

DTC-as-a-Concept

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) selling is as old as the first mail order catalog by Aaron Montgomery Ward in August 1872. The trend has spiraled and in the past decade there has been a frenzy of activities by over 400 brands to exclusively sell to customers (without intermediaries). Classic example being Dollar Shave Club’s 2011 launch got it a 16%-unit share of the men’s razor market and its acquisition by Unilever in 2016 for $1B after multiple VC fundings of over $160M.

According to a Forrester Research, the US online DTC market is set to reach $43.3B in 2022 from $22.6B in 2018 largely led by Gen Y & Millennials (19-34 age group) who prefer:

• ·Convenience with customization
• ·Connected customers for sharing experience and
• ·Try before you buy even if it comes at a cost

Battle for Brand Recognition

However, this age of customers the battle of the brand is getting triangulated between CPGs, retailer’s own private lines and digital start-ups selling directly to customers.  Examples of these newcomers include:

• · Designer eyewear brands Warby Parker and Mister Spex
• · Mattress brand Casper
• ·       Men’s grooming brand The Man Company
• ·       Cool girl’s brand Reformation
• ·       Fresh press juices by Raw Pressery
• ·       ReadyRefresh beverages

All focus on providing value to customers through DTC at a cost however their success can be measured by their increasing market penetration and brand recall.

AI as the Differentiator

Although CPGs realize that their retailers remain the most influential touchpoint on the path to purchase however with the rise of AI Platforms & Assistants it’s time to up the game:

1.     Amazon Alexa through Echo (25M sold till 2018)

2.     Google Assistant through Google Home Cylinders & Pixel Phones (400M devices till 2018)  

3.     Apple Siri through HomePod

4.     Microsoft’s Cortona

5.     Samsung’s acquisition of Viv (an intelligent assistant company founded by Siri’s creators), to advance its Bixby AI assistant platform

6.     Tencent WeChat’s Xiaowei

7.     Mobvoi’s Chumenwenwen and Microsoft’s Xiaoice in China (Over 40M registered users)

As per HBR, AI will transform how companies connect with their customers, they will become the primary channel through which people get information, goods, and services, and marketing will turn into a battle for their attention. This will result in Consumers’ allegiance to shift from trusted brands to a trusted AI platform which would be omnipresent with them - at home, cars and mobile devices. The platform will gather & deliver information and the assistant would be the interface with home systems, appliances & other machines. The more the consumers use the platform would be better to understand their habits & preferences, meet their needs – thereby increasing the CSAT levels.  

The Transformation

As the AI platform becomes powerful it would become the single channel for marketing to influence and sales & distribution to fulfil. This would present a new challenge to CPGs, bigger than the Walmart clout as AI platforms would be in a better position to communicate with its users, share consumer preferences to CPGs, price & promotions and manage the consumer relationship itself. As an example, AI Platform might use the inquiries for product suggestions: Imagine asking how to clean tea stains from your table cloth and you might get response with suggested products. Although Amazon says they do not have plans to add advertising to Alexa but CNBC as reported it as “Experiments in the works”.      

What next for CPG

It’s estimated that CPGs invest more than $500B annually in trade funds to maintain their share of retailer’s shelves. However, there has been a commitment of funds to DTC sales across CPGs with the likes of:

·       Nestle generating 5% of its sales from its DTC channel

·       Kraft Heinz and Kimberly-Clark increasing sales significantly through the Amazon Dash program

·       Adidas and Nike dependence on retailer Foot Locker dropping in August 2017 as it enjoyed DTC success

·       L’Oréal generating €2.1B revenues in 2017 with 30 brand DTC eCommerce channels

So now what for CPGs, the answer is to onboard the journey to DTC commerce by integrating with these AI platforms. It is a holistic process which involves focus on:

1.     Business to Consumer- B2C

a.      To publish product information & availability in search feeds

b.     To engage with customers for feedback to calibrate promotions

2.     Business to Enterprise- B2E

a.      Capture order details with price

b.     Order management for execution

3.     Business to Business- B2B

a.      Product availability details

b.     For order fulfilment

Focus needs to be on delivering value to customers through a platform approach.

In my next blog would detail on various use cases possibility in the CPG value chain focusing on Customers. 

Blockchain for More Trust in Government Systems

Rs 500, 10 minutes, and you have access to billion Aadhaar details is what has been flashing in media for some days now. Irony that human intervention can lead to a critical initiative like Aadhaar to be weakened by privacy doubts, hacking vulnerability and no trust. 

So how do we solve the human challenges posed by hackers who look at every angle and one-step forward from the authorities? We could see the options available by focusing on the technology aspect what UIDAI can do to make it more robust and trust worthy for each of the 100 crore subscriber and allow the following social to the right target audience:

1. Benefits of DBTL, PDS, Scholarships & Pensions (NSAP)
2. Linking Usage: Bank Accounts, LPG Connections, Ration cards, NREGA cards
3. Authentication: UIDAI, eKYC

A system more robust which always has promised its subscribers/citizens (users) trust of their data which has been accentuated by the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment, where the Right to Privacy has been termed as a fundamental right under the Indian Constitution. This can be tried to be reached when we have a system which displays the following attributes: 

1. Multiple Copies where no single place to hack with multiple copies to compare and distributed across multiple locations
2. Watchdog through a consensus algorithm which runs on a distributed network and decides which version of data is valid one
3. Secure to provide a tamper free environment for the participants in the network through a self-reviewing system
4. Smart Contracts which provide a mode of exchange which define the rules & penalties just like a regular contract but also automatically enforce these obligations so there is no misuse and unwarranted access to anyone other than the designated authorities/people
5. Open Technology Standards for increased innovation, participation and efficiency 

Blockchaining the Aadhaar is a possibility based on features required however implementation would depend on the government agency especially with the backdrop of Virtual ID (limited period and limited demographic details access).  As a start, options to empower the User can be seen where he/she decides who gets to see his/her limited demographic information and for what time and at the same time the information is validated by the Watchdog. Also provide limited access to service providers for limited time to verify the required data required based on privileges and allow the authority to be watchful of data being accessed.

Blockchain as a definition is a distributed database shared among a network of devices, all of which must approve a transaction before it can be recorded. So, it is essentially a universal ledger of digital records one that’s shared between various parties (P2P-Peer-To-Peer) and can only be updated by consensus of a majority of the participants where once entered, information can never be deleted.

As a thought process we can reuse the existing OTP feature where the user is empowered by allowing him to validate the OTP either received on his phone or application like mAadhaar which would be like a node for the user to validate. The use case can follow the below process:

1. The User has a private key that has been created by himself which allows him to access his information through Node or relevant app.
2. Vendor like telephone agency initiates a request to verify the user’s Aadhaar Details or Citizen wants to update certain information on his account (possible online only or visit Aadhaar Enrollment Centre)
3. OTP received by user on his registered number or email to validate which details which Agency has asked for the data validation and what data is required. OTP is validated
4. System triggers this transaction to create a record in the existing block of the user data.
5. The transaction details are relayed to the network, which includes all users (defined by UIDAI) including: 
1. UIDAI
2. Users
3. Government Officials (Central or/& State)
4. Third party Vendors (Telephone, banking, Insurance etc.)
5. Security Organizations
6. Technology Vendor Partners
7. Other Peer-To-Peer Network users
6. Data Access to be provided or updated is checked for validations like OTP  or signature  or biometrics (if user initiates from home environment)
7. P2P network approves and data gets updated and same is relayed to the User
8. Blockchain update based on user requirement

The advantages of this process would include:

1. Data Secure for user: User would be able to block access to his information based on validation through his device/node if he feels he does not want to share the information
2. Data Access Authentication by User
3. Reuse of current OTP feature
4. Increased Trust as P2P network

However this also comes with a set of challenges like increased network security, more users to be added who not only perform as a Watchdog but also system partners and  data hackings as digital thieves are always one step ahead of whatever anyone does to secure their properties. 

Design Thinking For Collaboration And Empathy

Design Thinking helps in meeting the customer requirements through the lens of creative problem solving, technological possibilities, and customer-centric based strategies.

The IT world is witnessing a sea of changes in terms of new business models as well as technologies. However, for any organization, the challenge lies in structuring an IT organization and strategically managing the product/ service delivery expectations of the clients with limited financial as well as human resources.

Here comes the relevance of a concept like design thinking, an efficient approach of building ideas from the scratch, to brainstorm and test solutions for the best possible outcome. When we are delivering digital transformation solutions, design thinking needs to be put at the core. Let’s take a specific example which we all might have experienced.

In any IT organization, at the starting of a project we all scramble with the objective of solving the business problem or client issue efficiently and yet want to keep the solution as simple as possible. In this whole hustle, we largely forget how the consumer perceives the solution, resulting in multiple change requests, and the scrapping of modules, the rebuilding of certain modules or worse scrapping of the whole solution. This can end up in outcomes that have been tangible but not up to what was expected.

This is where Design Thinking can help business analysts understand the real challenge and helps in developing a product or digital transformation solutions that the users can correlate with their requirements and use intuitively. It helps in meeting customer requirements through the lens of creative problem solving, technological possibilities, and client-based strategies, which helps any organizations to excel in the field of product/service delivery.

As business analysts, we largely work as an advisor/consultant trying to understand what really the clients require implicitly or explicitly and how technology can be used as an enabler to deliver these requirements. In this whole process of consulting, we move from collecting and analyzing the requirements to prototyping to delivery either using lean principles or waterfall methodology. However, often we forget to address a couple of the below key points to deliver our value proposition:

• Who are our key partners?
• What are the key activities that are required to achieve the value proposition?
• Which are the key resources do our value proposition require to be developed?
• What is the value that we plan to deliver through these value propositions to our end consumers?
• Who are our most important customers/consumers?
• What type of relationship exists and is expected to be established and maintained with the targeted customer segments?
• What channels are preferred for awareness building?
• For what value are our customers really willing to pay?
• What are the cost inherent to the business model and value proposition?

As business consultants, we focus on surveys, business mapping and KPIs as the success keys for an assignment. However, instead of this the focus should have been given in identifying the correct value proposition, customer segment, revenue stream and joint working for the Magic. This is why we need to move up in terms of value addition by being a facilitator along with the consultant role.

The bimodal role, enables us to work in dual velocity as we not only focus on requirements but also make sure the value proposition has all attention on consumers. This involves in working in an exploratory manner in collaboration with client team to empathize with consumers through (extension to what is required as consultant):

• Creative reframing: Allows in widening the scope after problem framing through solutions for the challenges (stated vs unstated needs). The why-how laddering technique can be a good tool for this and can be substantiated using the Business model canvas.
• Customer journey route: To map the consumer emotions so that focus can be:
  
  • Map emotions: When do they feel high and low and
  • Territory mapping: Identify direct/ traditional competition, new/experimental and perceptual competitors based on influencing consumers asking for more features
• User personas for tangible iterative prototyping: Fail initially to succeed later

These activities often enable looking beyond the obvious and results in platformed products like UBER, eBay, Amazon, Flipkart etc. or disruptive business like Facebook Commerce. Design Thinking has allowed a CPG company to rebuild itself in its 174 year history: P&G has all ATTENTION ON CUSTOMERS through its Clay Street sessions to reinvent the popular Pampers. Clay Street gets team members to take off their functional hats and see how the product looks from the perspective of the consumer — and in so doing – to view their work in the context of the other functions. This involves all departments from technology, R&D, packaging to marketing.

However, any change always comes with a set of challenges and with Design Thinking the biggest challenge is to be ready to break the process that is generally followed. Instead of requirements being done before prototyping we should be able to do it after. Prototyping will not be counted as an isolated event but the playful and collaborative task in which everyone participates and remains ready to ‘Fail initially to succeed finally’.

In Retail One Size Loyalty Fits No One

Loyalty in retail has been associated with discounts, offers and rewards; largely offered indiscriminately to all customers irrespective of their tenure as customers. At least in India we are yet to see a robust loyalty program being rolled out which focuses on customer as an Individual and not a group.
Shoppers Stop used to run a preview sales for its privileged customer before sales season however of late not seen a lot of activity. Also the loyalty rewards exists with respect to only the purchases that have been done by customers and not other modes that he might take (like product reviews, experience sharing etc.).
There is a blank space in loyalty where the customers can be given extra privileges based on his activity. As an example in case on ecommerce loyalty can be judged based on references through product reviews, engagement through social channels for sales assistance or sharing his experience through his social profile. While in case of offline the loyalty can be based on his past purchase patterns, access to custom in-store offers and Omni channel  coverage.
An opportunity exists for retailers to engage with their customers for repeat purchases through a dynamic strategy after all one size does not fit all.

Social Engagemnet in eCommerce

How to have the maximum conversion?
How to give the best experience to the online visitors so that they come back again and again?
How to define meta tags so that search is optimized and holistic?
How to define content so that visitors know what they are buying?
How to minimize clicks for quick purchase?
Just a couple of HOWs that are put up by the marketing teams to technology counterparts or the product owners to increase the CTR and enable business growth.

To answer the above HOWs we have seen online brands coming with focused-loyalty, social integration, one-click-purchase, holistic purchase across platforms and gamification (to a certain extent) to enable customer interaction and deliver what each visitor looks at i.e. RICH EXPERIENCE.

However, one key ingredient that has not been exploited well is that of sharing/gifting based on what the customer's social circle is. Imagine:

• If you would be able to gift or gifted a thing that has been added in the cart or searched most frequently based on a special occasion that is coming or 
• Think if you get a good deal from the merchant just because you are buying something similar for your family or 
• Allow cross channel loyalty or gamification through contests where your social circle also engages

Am sure online retailers are thinking and you might see something more engaging coming soon :)

Retail Sector 2016 and some more time :)

Thomas Friedman was true in saying the World Is Flat and that is what is being seen as retailers and platforms (B2B, B2C and C2C) outgrow their markets and expand to newer geographies. Increasingly there is a movement in the retail space to give customers an Omni channel experience that link online and physical shopping. Along with this the increasing mobile penetration in rural markets (largely in Asia Pacific) and a continuously connected customer has allowed for the Internationalization of the retail industry.
As per the 2015 Global Retail E-Commerce Index by A .T. Kearney, the global retail sales is set to grow to $1,506 B by 2018 with a CAGR of 15.71% (from 2014-18). However, the increased market size comes with a challenge of lower growth percentages which were 23% in 2013 and forecasted at 13% in 2018. The growth forecast is lower due to the increasing market penetration & saturation, economies of scale and stabilization of One Provider retailers globally.

Based on research we see the following challenges being dominant in the retail industry and needs to be managed:

1.Targeting the Right Customer and Engage: Expanding sales beyond the local borders and targeting an international audience offers a great opportunity for retailers. However, it is quite challenging to predict the user behaviour when sales expand beyond local borders. Targeted advertising using cookies in multi-regional multi-lingual websites are more effective when compared to a centralized ecommerce website. Analysing billions of cookie information relating to all the regional aspects and implementing targeted advertising for overseas customers without impacting the customer experience is challenging and how retailers tackle this is the key. The advent of the continuously connected customer using mobile devices serves as a technical challenge as the browser history tracking issues limits ad buying, resulting in no universal standards and low bidding in geographies with mobile based users.

2.Spur in Local Payment Formats: Although credit and debit cards are widely used in various countries but the authentication differences (like dynamic PIN, OTP etc.) pose a challenge. Along with this other payment modes like Mobile wallets (upcoming in the Asia Pacific) and cash on delivery does not support the Internationalization of business. This is complimented by low availability of  one-view tools to gather and analyse payment data (due to different payment modes and language) for payment conversion, revenue generation via each payment methods, average order value, fraud analysis, understanding past purchase behaviour, financial potential of the customer etc.

3.Disparate Legal Regulations:  Doing business in overseas is always a challenge especially when the rules of the land puts limitations in the form of FDI, local sourcing and red tapism to do business. Cross border expansion of e-commerce demands retailers to comply with international rules and regulations. In certain countries the lack of secure infrastructure and legal frameworks to prevent financial crimes can introduce risk to the business itself for the overseas retailers. 

4.Communication as a Cultural Challenge: Although Countries with a business friendly ecosystem attract more business. However, socio political environment, purchasing potential of the customers and cultural openness are also important, as that it enables higher adoption rates and openness to try something new. The US, UK and Japan are some of the strong markets in an online trading point of view. Brazil also is one of the fastest growing international ecommerce markets, with the dollars spent online shopping expected to double by 2018.

However, concerns about security in online transactions and personal information sharing makes certain countries reluctant to adopt online shopping from foreign retailers. For example France is a country which is a bit sceptical of shopping online and are very hesitant to pay online with a credit card. Even in Russian market ‘trust’ matters the most. The legitimacy of the product, return policies are also elements that matters in certain geographical regions.

The mantra to lead Internationalization is to “Know your customers intimately”. How efficiently and precisely you can do this determines the success in this highly competitive business arena. A successful ecommerce company can sense the customer’s intent to purchase a product, sense the purchasing capacity, entice with compelling offers, assist in purchasing, offer a wow experience in purchasing and make a customer into their brand advocate.

Ecommerce players use various technology to achieve this.  Since a large amount of data revolves around purchasing, retailers have started to leverage Big Data and Analytics to get the actionable intelligence. For example, cart abandonment is a serious concern affecting almost all the players in the retail industry. Customer behaviour & demographic understanding could result in effective targeted communication. Predictive Analytics can play a major role in reducing cart abandonment by anticipating customer behaviour, enhancing the opportunities to do cross sell or upsell, or offering some targeted promotions thereby avoiding the potential chances of cart abandonment. By analysing patterns on each shopper, coupled with academic research, public information, and general transaction analysis, the retailer can also find anomalies in the transaction. Data sources like customer information and demographics, loyalty rewards and behavioural data, combines these with the right predictive modelling and segmentation methods to achieve the twin benefits of customer segmentation and customer price scoring. 

Retail Therapy through Customer Experience Management

We always read/listen on consumer empowerment and various initiatives being undertaken by retail organizations to achieve the same. This trend has enabled retail organizations to explore new channels to not only develop their customer base but also nurture loyalty.
Books have it that nurturing loyalty among its customers is always cheaper for retail organizations and enables saving in the form of acquisition costs, servicing time and brand development. This has resulted in a trend to manage customer’s experience not only inside the store but also outside.
Customer experience has been also promoted by the extensive use of mobile devices (with web connectivity) and social media which not only promotes price/product comparisons, availability and other options but also enables interactive kiosk, self-check-out systems and custom promotion availability.
Focusing on in-store customer experience, technology could be the drivers through the following modes:

·         Customer Entry: As soon a customer enters a store he is offered the opportunity to participate in-store experience through a mobile app

·         Product Choice: Scan feature availability in the app which allows customer to scan the product bar-code and know the best price, availability, store location and options in the price bracket

·         Payment: Either through the M-wallet feature linked to the app or the online payment gateway  

·         Purchase Check-Out: Scan based checkout post payment confirmation and delinking of the product (through bar code delisting from the store DB)

·         Experience Sharing: Customer can provide feedback through social channels to his followers or provide feedback using the app

The full process would have a two part technology usage:

·         One which is front end facilitated by mobile app, custom feed development for the store associates to assist customers in case they do not a compatible device, and interactive kiosk

·         While the back-end would be driven through database management, and app/product/price DB integration

After all HAPPY CUSTOMER translates to HAPPY BUSINESS J