Welcome to Taking Stock, a podcast designed to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing corporate executives. This podcast series is designed to share thought-leading topics, ideas, and innovation with its listeners. Listen to previous episodes here.

For the last few years, established consumer products companies have been facing a variety of new challenges enabled by technology innovations. Digitally-native vertical brands can quickly gain category power. Driven by social media and influencer marketing, shopper preferences are changing faster than companies can launch new innovations. Retailers are developing and offering their own brands designed to compete and traditional consumer products manufacturers. And, channels are changing, with an estimated 12,000 retail locations expected to close in 2020 and retail sales growth slowing. All of this is driving consumer goods companies to accelerate their direct-to-consumer strategy and implementation, with the conventional wisdom being that direct-to-consumer will be the key to reignite growth.

Direct-to-consumer is part of the growth engine for consumer products companies, but it’s not just about reigniting growth. Companies who are embarking on investing in their direct-to-consumer journey need to consider the impact of eCommerce on your brand website. How does the eCommerce channel fit into the rest of my business? What are we trying to achieve with this investment?  What is the mission for the eCommerce channel?

In this week’s Taking Stock, I sit down with Evan Shirley, a manager at Clarkston Consulting who has spent the past few months diving deep into this topic. In this podcast, we discuss the market trends and consumer dynamics that are driving companies to invest in a more robust direct-to-consumer strategy and the opportunities this strategy could potentially unlock. There are numerous factors that need to be considered in evaluating your direct-to-consumer strategy, including how to compete in the world of Amazon, and how to think of direct-to-consumer in the context of your broader omnichannel story.

Download and listen to Taking Stock Episode 3 with Evan Shirley: Direct-to-Consumer Strategy.

For more information about direct-to-consumer acceleration, check out our perspective on Building Data Analytics Capabilities to Improve Your Direct-to-Consumer Model and Direct-to-Consumer: Is it Right for My Brand and What Are My Options?

Taking Stock

In this podcast series, Clarkston Consulting Partner Steve Rosenstock sits down with experts and thought leaders from both within Clarkston and throughout its consumer products and life sciences client-base, covering a range of topics from industry trends and consumer dynamics, to organizational governance and business strategy. Steve provides you access into the passions of its guests and allows you to benefit from their stories, knowledge, and deep expertise.

Podcast production by Zach McClughen