D2C Brand Playbook - Part 4 - We will start marketing once product is perfect?

🚫 “We’ll start marketing once the product is perfect.”

If you’re a D2C founder saying this, you’re already late.


In today’s world, a great product isn’t enough.
And being the first mover isn’t an advantage if you move slow.

Many D2C founders proudly share that they have
• a game-changing WIP product
• early signs of product-market fit
• plans to “do marketing” after it’s polished

But the reality is:
Products get cloned. Fast.
The me-too brand that tells the story better, distributes faster, and builds community earlier; often wins.

And don’t plan a day to start marketing!
You have already started doing it.
Ask yourself:

What’s your own story?
Why have you created this product?
What drove you insane, that led to it?
What’s keeping you up at 3 AM working on it?
That’s your “brand”.

You have a working prototype.
Start talking about it asap - start raw.
Build in public. Showcase your authentic efforts.
Capture testimonials of first users, customers.
Showcase who is it for - solving for whom.
Show how it works. How it benefits.
Pitch it. Document it. Share it. You are already doing it.
That’s your “marketing”.

👉 First mover advantage is a gift. Don’t squander it by spreading your story when it’s too late!

The goal is not to shout louder later; it’s to be heard sooner, more consistently, and more authentically.

👉 Your story is an asset. Don’t delay its compounding.

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I share actionable insights on hashtag#brand, hashtag#marketing & growth for hashtag#D2C businesses. Follow me on linkedin, if you’re a marketer/ founder building yours.
hashtag#RunningMarketer

D2C brand Playbook - Part 3 - Building your first product - Should it be a Premium or a mass offering?

Your First Product - Should you start at the bottom end and create an affordable offering Or start at the top and create a premium offering?

The answer lies in the category type!

1. When your category is well established (mature)...

....you need a product that serves an existing need but with "strong differentiation" (for efficiency in market peneteration) else it would end as a me-too product:

- You can build it at the bottom end to play on volumes.

- You can build it at the top to play on exclusivity.

>>>Where you start doesnt matter here!

Eg:

Mass

Deodorants - Fogg (differentiation of no gas)

Shampoo- Chik (differentiation of 1 Re Sachet packaging first time)

Car - Nano (differentiation of 1 lakh price tag)

Premium 

Fashion - Rare Rabbit (premium fabrics with minimalistic designs)

Soaps - Sebamed (differentiation of ph 5.5)

Car - Ford Ecosport (First compact urban SUV)

2. When your category needs category creation work (new)...

....you need a product that first needs to create/educate about a need by building differentiation for the category itself (market development):

- You should build it with a premium+feature packed offering first to establish differentiation with magical benefits accrual (post purchase) that catches a small cohort (early adopters)'s attention first!

- Early adopters are experimentative folks who need "inspiration" to pick you not affordability!

- Building a new category with affordable but non-magical benefits, run risk of non-adoption of the category itself.

- Gradually, to target masses, then you create affordable simpler products.

>>>New categories need the strongest premium magical offering first!

Eg:
Touch phones - Iphone
VR headsets - Vision Pro
EV 2W - Ather 450x/Ola S1 Pro

Do you believe, new categories can be built with affordable not so inspiring products?

D2C Brand Playbook - Part 2 - Building or Launching a new product?

You MUST write a PRFAQ doc if not yet written yet - Its Amazon's customer centricity secret?

Amazon's PRFAQ doc is a document written as a first step while a #product is being imagined, to be made.

It is something which follows a habit from the classic book by Stephen Covey - “7 habits of highly effective people”
(Must read for anyone on the planet)

Begin with the end in mind.

The doc asks the person to imagine the product and then draft -

a) Press Release
...that would go out for the launch of product, completely imagined with a catchy headline, with the story (What is it, Why is it needed, What it solves, How it solves better Vs anything else) & the quotes from an official + a quote from a customer!

b) 2 sets of FAQs - a) Customer FAQs b) Internal FAQs.

This document follows Amazon's leadership principle - “Customer Backwards Thinking” which means to put yourself in the shoes of the customers and imagine everything you do, from her perspective - her life, priorities, pain point, frustrations, enemy, and then how a product/service will help her.

Have you thought about your product’s PRFAQ yet?
-Try, it will really help you build an intended PMF wala product faster or stop you in making the wrong one!

Or even your life’s PRFAQ? 
-Stephen Covey talks about writing your own obituary - Who would you like to be remembered as?

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I write regularly on topics around brand, #marketing & #growth on one side and running, fitness and productivity on the other. #runningmarketer