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Monday, October 14, 2013

Reader Poll : Direct to Consumer Model

Over the last couple of months, we have been studying multiple go-to-market approaches for some of our products. Marketing in an immature retail supply chain is never easy and India's business culture adds a few more twists to the equation. The winds of change are here though, the consumer is more savvy and discerning. To be successful, retailers will have to step up their game. Based on our limited survey in Chennai, the primary marketing challenges include :
  1. Established supermarket chains like Food World and Nilgiris usually do not have independent producer friendly policies and transaction policies.
    • Generally speaking, their retail model is geared towards established and heavily advertised brands. 
    • Fees for promotional displays or activities can be prohibitive.
  2. Producer to mandi to market supply chain remains strong and vicious. 
    • The ubiquitous middleman continues to dilute operational efficiencies and sap profits.
    • Current government programs to alleviate middleman malaise are generally limited in scope and impact.
  3. End consumers are becoming more aware of their food content and source.
    • Interest is organics in still small but slowly growing.
    • Small, niche gourmet retailers are tasting success in urban settings.
Overall there is opportunity on multiple fronts each with aggressive growth projections  - retailing, packed supply chain, cold chain, packaging, production, etc. During our search we came across several start-ups in the food retailing space. Packaging innovation and niche food segments seems to be current drivers. We would like to poll the readers to better understand how valuable are the following purchase experiences for packed fruits (Mango, Sapota, Apples, etc) and packed meats (Fresh Chicken and Mutton).




- Competitive pricing with direct sales from producer.
- Direct shipment to your location in protective packaging.
- Convenient, clean, resealable storage cases.
- Repeat customer and volume incentives.
- Easy ordering options over phone, email or online.
- No hassle returns or exchanges.
- Published production location, process and information.



Please take a few moments to rate the importance of each factor in your potential purchase decision. Rate between 1 - 3, with 3 being most important. Looking forward to hearing back..

9 comments:

  1. Competitive pricing with direct sales from producer : 3
    Direct shipment to your location in protective packaging. : 3
    Convenient, clean, resealable storage cases : 2
    Repeat customer and volume incentives. : 3
    Easy ordering options over phone, email or online : 3
    No hassle returns or exchanges. : 2
    Published production location, process and information. : 1

    ReplyDelete
  2. - Competitive pricing with direct sales from producer - 3 (Almost everyone wants to payless)
    - Direct shipment to your location in protective packaging - 3
    - Convenient, clean, resealable storage cases - 2
    - Repeat customer and volume incentives - 1
    - Easy ordering options over phone, email or online - 3 (most consumer like to check before purchase)
    - No hassle returns or exchanges - 1 (Return or exchange is generally more in western culture, as mentioned in the earlier point buyers go through the product thoroughly before purchase, there are some exceptional cases)
    - Published production location, process and information - 1 (As far as my understanding doesn't matter where the stuff comes from or what it is loaded with)

    ReplyDelete
  3. - Competitive pricing with direct sales from producer.-3
    - Direct shipment to your location in protective packaging.-3( but logistics may be too much for farmer)
    - Convenient, clean, resealable storage cases. -1
    - Repeat customer and volume incentives.-2
    - Easy ordering options over phone, email or online.-3
    - No hassle returns or exchanges.-3(this is required as product is shipped directly, but this policy may be headache for the seller in India)
    - Published production location, process and information.-2 for me but for typical customer this may be a 0 as most of the customers in India doesn't even care about it. All they care about is price .

    One more important factor not mentioned above is consistency of quality and service.

    ReplyDelete
  4. - Competitive pricing with direct sales from producer: 3 (Price should be comparable to other similar products, Ex: Bottled coconut water/Mango juice price should be around Rs.20 to match the price of pepsi, coke etc. To compensate volume we can add CO2 etc)
    - Direct shipment to your location in protective packaging.: 3 (Packaging should be attractive to display in shops)
    - Convenient, clean, resealable storage cases:3.
    - Repeat customer and volume incentives.: 2 (Price should be same for all. You may consider some thing free for referring to others. FREE is a magic word!)
    - Easy ordering options over phone, email or online:3.
    - No hassle returns or exchanges : 0 (Farm producers have to go for final sale. we should not enter into unnecessary trouble).
    - Published production location, process and information: 2

    Regards

    ReplyDelete
  5. - Competitive pricing with direct sales from producer. - Not a big deal for who understood the 'direct to consumer' model - 1
    - Direct shipment to your location in protective packaging. -2
    - Convenient, clean, resealable storage cases. -2
    - Repeat customer and volume incentives.-1
    - Easy ordering options over phone, email or online.-Especially for metro / IT crowd - 3
    - No hassle returns or exchanges.-2
    - Published production location, process and information.-3

    ReplyDelete
  6. Competitive pricing with direct sales from producer : 3
    Direct shipment to your location in protective packaging. : 3
    Convenient, clean, resealable storage cases : 2
    Repeat customer and volume incentives. : 3
    Easy ordering options over phone, email or online : 3
    No hassle returns or exchanges. : 2
    Published production location, process and information. : 1

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks everybody who participated. We do see a common denominator across most of the responses. While the poll is still active, I would urge our 160+ visible members to contribute to this survey. Your participation is much appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Competitive pricing with direct sales from producer : 3
    Direct shipment to your location in protective packaging. : 2
    Convenient, clean, resealable storage cases : 2
    Repeat customer and volume incentives. : 2
    Easy ordering options over phone, email or online : 3
    No hassle returns or exchanges. : 2
    Published production location, process and information. : 1
    thanks/rajan mathew

    ReplyDelete
  9. - Competitive pricing with direct sales from producer. - 3
    - Direct shipment to your location in protective packaging. - 3
    - Convenient, clean, resealable storage cases. - 2
    - Repeat customer and volume incentives. - 3
    - Easy ordering options over phone, email or online. - 2
    - No hassle returns or exchanges. - 2
    - Published production location, process and information. - 1

    ReplyDelete