Choosing a marketing agency for a D2C brand
What to ask a marketing agency before hiring them for a D2C brand, and the signals that suggest they understand margin, not just top-line growth.
4 min read
Every rupee spent recovering an abandoned cart or earning a repeat purchase is cheaper than a rupee spent acquiring a brand-new customer through ads. For most D2C brands, the highest-return email work is not the newsletter — it is the automated flows running in the background.
The three flows worth building first
- Welcome series for new subscribers, introducing the brand story and bestsellers, not an immediate discount.
- Abandoned cart sequence, starting a few hours after abandonment, escalating gently rather than jumping straight to a discount.
- Post-purchase flow covering shipping updates, usage tips and a well-timed request for a review.
Protecting margin instead of discounting by default
A brand that discounts in every abandoned cart email trains customers to wait for the discount rather than buy at full price. Try value-based recovery first — addressing a likely objection, showing a review, clarifying shipping cost — before defaulting to a percentage off.
A customer trained to expect a discount email will wait for it every time, which quietly erodes margin on every future purchase.
Re-engagement and list hygiene
Segment out subscribers who have not opened anything in six months and either re-engage them deliberately or stop sending — this protects deliverability for the active part of your list. See our guide on re-engagement and list hygiene for the specific approach.
The takeaway
Build your abandoned cart and post-purchase flows before spending more on paid acquisition — they recover revenue you have already paid to earn.
Written by Fibvo — Bengaluru and Erode, India — working with clients in other time zones. Questions, or think we have it wrong? Tell us.
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