What is direct-to-consumer marketing? A guide to global DTC success

Direct-to-consumer marketing (DTC) is changing how brands sell products and connect with customers. Unlike traditional business models that rely on third-party sellers, DTC brands sell directly to their audience. By cutting out intermediary players, businesses maintain complete control over the customer experience—from product presentation to customer service.

DTC marketing strategies include personalized email campaigns, targeted social media ads, and subscription models. With access to customer data and feedback, brands can tailor their messaging for various demographics and regions, creating customer-focused solutions that drive loyalty and sales worldwide.

This article will break down what direct-to-consumer marketing is, explore globally proven DTC marketing strategies, and highlight how successful DTC brands thrive in international markets by prioritizing customer experience.

What is DTC?

Direct-to-consumer is a business model that eliminates traditional intermediaries like wholesalers, distributors, and retailers, allowing brands to deliver their products directly to customers. This differs from conventional business-to-consumer (B2C) models such as retail and wholesale.

With the advent of globalization and e-commerce, DTC brands have direct access to customers overseas. In Hong Kong alone, annual DTC sales reached $2 billion in 2021, and they’re expected to double by 2026.

However, selling to an international audience requires you to connect with consumers in their own language via localized content.

Overcome this challenge with Smartling’s professional translation services. Smartling’s 100% native-speaking translator network performs specialized localization for a wide range of DTC industries and content types. We assign translators based on their expertise in your specific domain, ensuring accurate translations that maintain your brand voice in every global market.

Comparing DTC with other business models

Curious to see how DTC stacks up? Here’s a quick comparison of DTC with other models:

DTC vs. B2C

Although DTC and B2C both involve selling products to end consumers, B2C often relies on third-party retailers to reach customers, including brick-and-mortar storefronts and online retailers. In contrast, DTC companies eliminate these intermediaries by selling through their own websites.  

DTC vs. retail

Traditional retail relies on third-party stores to sell products, meaning brands have limited control over pricing, display, and customer interactions. DTC marketing prioritizes direct engagement with the brand’s e-commerce website and catalog via media campaigns and social media marketing. 

DTC vs. wholesale

In a wholesale model, brands sell products in bulk to vendors or distributors, who then handle stocking and selling to consumers. With DTC marketing, brands eliminate the need for external wholesalers and perform these duties themselves. 

Pros and cons of DTC commerce

Before you start localizing content for international DTC marketing, consider the benefits and drawbacks of the direct-to-consumer model. Here are some of the most significant factors:

Pros

• Greater flexibility with pricing: DTC brands can set their own prices without working around retailers or wholesalers. They can experiment with what works best—trying out different price points, offering seasonal discounts, or bundling products to add value.

• Increased profit margins: Traditional supply chains contain numerous middlemen, such as wholesalers and retail stores, that take a share of the profits. DTC brands bypass these intermediaries and pocket more revenue from each sale.

• Data-driven campaigns: DTC brands benefit from direct access to data about their audience’s preferences and pain points. For example, some DTC brands use customer feedback to expand their product lines or run A/B tests on website designs.
  
  

Cons

• Increased responsibility: In a DTC model, a brand must oversee every aspect of the supply chain, from manufacturing to order fulfillment. This added responsibility can be overwhelming for businesses with limited resources or experience. 

• Higher marketing and customer acquisition costs: Without the visibility provided by established retailers, DTC brands must often spend more on marketing to acquire new customers. Many DTC brands invest heavily in digital advertising.

• The need for a strong digital infrastructure: A DTC brand’s success hinges on its ability to manage online operations, which requires a strong digital infrastructure. Slow-loading websites, payment processing errors, and inventory mismanagement can frustrate the customer journey and deter sales.

Scaling direct-to-consumer success across global markets

Expanding a DTC brand into new global markets carries massive profit potential, but it’s not as simple as translating your website word for word and shipping products to a different country. You need to develop a global DTC marketing strategy that connects with international audiences in their own languages and establishes a strong customer relationship with your brand.

Start with local market research

Before diving into a new market, research your target audience to determine a market entry strategy. What are their shopping habits? What kind of products do they already buy? Surveys and social media polls can help you understand what matters most to your target audience. Don’t assume tried-and-true approaches in your home market will automatically work in an international one. 

Adjust your messaging to fit the culture

During localization, don’t assume literal translations will do the trick. A phrase or image that resonates in one country might be confusing or offensive in another. Partner with local experts or hire professional translation services, like Smartling’s, to avoid cultural missteps. 

Not only can Smartling connect you with expert translators, but Smartling also offers a best-in-class Translation Management System (TMS) that streamlines the translation process by providing a centralized platform for managing translations and features that make translation easier and more efficient.

Establish a robust logistics network

Shipping to international consumers is more complicated than getting packages from Point A to Point B. You must consider warehousing, delivery times, and return policies. Partnering with reliable shipping companies or setting up local warehouses can minimize delays and shipping costs.

Use digital marketing to reach your audience

Every DTC brand should incorporate social media into its marketing strategy. However, there’s a catch: Not every platform is popular in every country.

For example, TikTok might be huge in one market, while another relies more on Instagram or WeChat. Start by testing small campaigns to see what works best, and avoid assuming your go-to strategies at home will perform similarly abroad.

4 successful DTC e-commerce brands you should know

Now that you’ve learned some practical tips to succeed in DTC marketing, let’s examine direct-to-consumer examples from successful brands.

Rothy’s

Rothy’s made a name for itself selling stylish and sustainable shoes. They use platforms like Instagram and Facebook to share stories about their sustainability efforts and highlight customer contributions, such as photos of their favorite Rothy’s styles.

One of their smartest moves was the “Vote It Back” campaign, which lets customers pick sold-out styles to bring back. Rothy’s gives dedicated consumers a say while making the brand feel more personal. This two-way interaction keeps their community engaged and reinforces their brand’s mission, making them a true leader in sustainability. 

Casper

Casper flipped the mattress industry on its head by ditching the showroom model and going straight to consumers. Their genius move? A 100-night risk-free trial that lets customers try the mattress at home—no awkward store naps required. They also nail convenience with their “mattress-in-a-box” concept, which makes delivery and setup a breeze.

This focus on the customer journey helps Casper stand out from its retail competitors. By making mattress shopping easy and informative, Casper turned a traditionally boring purchase into a standout DTC marketing success story.

Dollar Shave Club

Dollar Shave Club made razors affordable and accessible through a subscription service. Instead of remembering to grab a new pack of blades at the store, customers can simply sign up and have them delivered on a schedule that fits their needs. This approach cuts out traditional retailers while highlighting how much simpler and cheaper the customer experience can be when brands go direct-to-consumer.

Little Spoon

Little Spoon recognized that busy parents often resort to heavily processed, shelf-stable products that lack essential nutrients. Determined to make healthy eating more accessible for children, they launched a direct-to-consumer service delivering fresh, organic baby and toddler meals straight to families’ doors.

Little Spoon connects with parents through personalized stories and relatable social media content, sharing parenting moments and tips on childhood nutrition. A direct approach and flexible subscriptions made them one of the most trusted names in early childhood nutrition.

Maximize global DTC marketing success with Smartling

DTC marketing lets brands connect directly with customers and control their messaging and sales. But taking your DTC strategy global can be tricky without a robust localization program or partner to help you land successfully in every market.

A study found that 72% of consumers are more likely to buy a product if the information is in their first language. Without proper translation and localization, you risk missing the mark in your effort to reach a global audience.

With top-knotch translation services and our best-in-class TMS, Smartling can help your brand authentically connect with global audiences. 

Want to take your DTC strategy across the globe? Download our eBook, the “Ultimate Guide to Translating Your Marketing Materials,” today. This resource walks you through the essentials for creating localized messaging. You’ll learn why translation and localization matter, how to get started across different content types, and how to elevate your global marketing by speaking your audience’s language.