When shopping, do you prefer to go to a retail store to buy a product, or would you rather buy something directly from that brand? Lately, many customers prefer to buy directly from the company that creates the product, rather than going to a middleman to make the purchase. Because of this, many companies are changing their business models to sell directly to the consumer.
This shift is known as direct-to-consumer sales, and there are mixed reviews about this newer sales model.
Thanks to the internet, it’s never been easier than to shop directly through the company who develops the product you want. Instead of going through a retail store and possibly seeing only a limited amount of options, the consumer can walk into a store set up by the company to view everything.
A recent example of the direct-to-consumer model, and one that is changing the way we look at this method is Vincero Watches.
Who is Vincero Watches?
In 2014, Vincero came to be from three young entrepreneurs who bought a one-way ticket to Guangzhou, China. They were crafty men that had ideas they wanted to bring to life, but no means of doing so. These men wanted to change the way manufacturers work and the common perceptive of inferior quality products to save money.
As they continued to develop their watches and work with Chinese manufacturers, they soon realized that the perception of Chinese manufacturing being a cheap way of creating something was, in a sense, wrong. Yes, you can get a cheap product shipped out of China, if that’s what you want. If you favor quality over quantity though, you can get the quality you’re looking for.
Today, Vincero sells luxurious watches at a reasonable price. How can they do this? By working with the manufactures directly, and revamping how the direct-to-consumer model works.
Their Take on Direct-to-Consumer Sales
We know that this method of running a business cuts out the middleman, and instead, allows a company to sell directly to the consumer. However, it often gets lumped together with words like cost-cutting.
Vincero, although still cutting out the middleman with their business model, took direct-to-consumer sales one step further. They actually involve the customer in almost every aspect of their business. To them, their customers are not just customers; they are part of shaping what Vincero means. They do this by taking consumer feedback into their designs. Being built on a crowdsourcing model, they continue using that as a guide for running their business.
The Change in the Business World
We’ve seen a massive shift in how retail business work. It’s more than about selling a product anymore. Customer service is at the forefront. As businesses like Amazon change the way a customer’s experience works with their company, those who do not keep up with the change, ultimately fall behind.
Vincero does the same thing but takes it even farther by including the customer in as much as possible. If they have a question or concern about a particular product, their feedback could significantly affect future designs. The customer becomes apart of the company.
Direct-to-consumer models continue to change the retail world. However, to keep a business at the top with this method, customer service and quality should still be at the forefront of the business model. Looking at Vincero Watches, we can see how this mindset shift works.