Customers buy once because of an ad and buy twice because they remember the shop's name.
A direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand has no store for customers to walk into, so the storefront, the photos, the shipping box and the messages have to do all of that work. Sinh Vũ makes those touchpoints speak in one voice.
Three things: one distinctive idea for customers to remember, a product photo template used on every channel, and a package worth opening. Together they give customers a reason to look for the shop again beyond a discount code.
A single line on how the shop differs, carried onto the storefront name, the cover image and the greeting.
The same background, lighting and angle on every channel, so even a small thumbnail on a marketplace is recognizable as the shop's.
A box and thank-you card distinctive enough that customers want to photograph them or tell people they know.
All of it is selling online, but customers meet the shop in different places, so what comes first differs too.
Their customersCustomers go to the marketplace for a specific item and compare many storefronts within seconds.
Brand challengeStand out among storefronts selling the same item with the cover image and the first photo, while still working inside the marketplace's frame.
Their customersCustomers follow a page or a seller and buy after watching videos and reading comments.
Brand challengeKeep one face across videos, posts and messages, even when several people post every day.
Their customersCustomers come to the website on their own, usually already knowing the shop's name or referred by someone they know.
Brand challengeShow on the first screen that this is a brand worth trusting, with a reason to buy here.
These are the places where online shops lose customers even with good products.
The marketplace storefront looks one way, the social page another and the website a third; moving from one channel to another, customers feel they have met three shops.
One shared set of name, color, type and photo template, with its own sizes for each channel.
Start from this problemMost revenue flows through the two big marketplaces, and customers don't remember who they bought from, so next time they search from scratch.
The storefront name, the profile image and the thank-you card in the box all remind customers of one memorable name.
Start from this problemWhoever closes the order is sometimes warm and sometimes curt, and customers can't tell who the shop really is.
A brand voice and a set of template replies for common situations, so whoever answers sounds the same.
Start from this problemA few weeks later an identical item appears, with identical photos.
A product's shape is easy to copy, but a face, a voice and a way of packing are hard; put your effort into the hard things.
Start from this problemAt the Compare stage. Customers open several storefronts selling the same item and decide within seconds, so a storefront that looks like every other one is left competing on price alone.
Touchpoints are the places where customers see, touch or hear about the shop. These five decide whether customers remember the shop.
The first thing customers see, at a very small size.
What customers study most closely before clicking buy.
The only time customers hold the shop in their hands.
Gives customers a name to remember and search for.
Where customers hear the shop speak, so the voice has to stay consistent.
Listed in the order to do them. A new shop can stop at step three or four; build your own website when the need comes.
Settle the shop's distinctive idea and the customers it aims at before drawing anything.
Name, logo, color and type that read at profile image size.
A product photo template and a photo set for every channel.
Shipping box, tape and thank-you card.
When the shop needs its own online store alongside the marketplaces.
Sinh Vũ has not published a marketplace storefront project. The three below are the closest because all of them sell without a store for customers to walk into.
Moon Coffee Bean delivers coffee, the person pulling the shots is a fourteen-year-old learning to run a real business, and the customer has never met her…
The image on a screen and the cup on the doorstep have to carry the work of a whole store: exactly an online shop's problem.
Hàng Xóm Tốt is a central kitchen cooking family meals for residents of premium apartment complexes, in the spirit of a good neighbour who cooks well and brings a plate over…
The voice on the label and every tap in the app feel as warm as an acquaintance, so the service doesn't read like a transaction.
Instant porridge is easily seen as a makeshift food, so Sinh Vũ built the identity and packaging for Cháo Life to keep the fresh, clean, wholesome feel even in a pack that cooks in minutes.
The pack divides its roles clearly: the front pulls the handle up, the back settles trust; the package sells in place of the seller.
The principles behind it
The logo has to read at the very small profile image size on marketplaces and social media. Sinh Vũ tests the logo at that size before settling it, then builds the full version.
Yes, because customers see hundreds of storefronts selling the same item, and the one that looks like it has an owner is remembered. A cover image, a photo template and a package that all remind customers of one name help them find the shop again.
Not necessarily right away. Before a custom box, a thank-you card and tape with the shop's name already give customers something to remember, and you can step up as orders grow.
D2C (direct-to-consumer) means the shop makes or selects its own products and speaks to customers directly. So the brand has to carry the work a store would otherwise do.
When customers already know the shop's name and some of them want to buy directly. Until then, a well-run marketplace storefront and social presence are enough.
A few lines about the products, the channels you sell on and what is holding you back is enough. Sinh Vũ reads and replies within one working day.