Scaling across channels: Best practices for mature brands in social commerce

Five years ago, if you ran out of toothpaste, you most likely wandered into your nearest drugstore to buy a new tube. Which kind? Whatever you recognized from having purchased before.Today, toothpaste flavors are an expedition to be undertaken across your social platform of choice. Cinnamon, lavender, or good old-fashioned peppermint have their supporters and detractors.So how can brands who have long enjoyed relationships with the customer at the aisle extend that awareness into smartphones everywhere?Social commerce is the emerging channel. And amid the ever-evolving landscape of retail and ecommerce, established brands are continuously searching for fresh ways to capture market share. For this, the power of social commerce is undeniable.As platforms such as TikTok and Pinterest drive product discovery and generate viral sales spikes, brand owners are realizing the strategic value that social channels present.

The Power of Social Commerce for Established Brands

For brands with institutional legacy and an established customer base, social commerce provides an invaluable opportunity. These platforms offer a gateway to engage with fresh new audiences at moments when they're most inclined to shop. This not only expands their reach but also increases the chances of converting casual viewers into loyal customers.Enterprise organizations managing a portfolio of brands can also find strategic advantage in social commerce. Social commerce and other digital channels can serve to scale newly acquired, digital-first or direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands.By leveraging the power of on-the-spot customer engagement, these organizations can rapidly boost brand visibility, and ultimately, sales, for their entire catalog of brands.

Embracing the Balanced Portfolio Approach

In today's competitive market, maintaining a robust brand presence across multiple channels is crucial. Much like financial experts advise having a diverse portfolio in times of stock market volatility, the same applies to retail. Brands need to think omnichannel, diversify sales channels, and balance inventory availability to ensure sustainable growth.Social commerce – expected to reach a staggering $1.2 trillion in sales by 2025 – allows brands to directly engage with customers. Every interaction is an opportunity to build trust and credibility and foster a sense of community and loyalty. Engaged customers are more likely to share their experiences, advocate for the brand, and contribute to its growth.But the customer experience goes beyond interactions on social media. Brands need to ensure their fulfillment can handle the increased demand. A brand’s worst nightmare would be generating an incredible amount of interest on a social channel, only to find themselves out of stock or otherwise unable to meet expectations. Recent research by Flowspace and Digiday found that improved fulfillment features, such as integrated inventory and order management, two-day or less delivery offerings, and one-click checkout, would encourage brands to invest more in social commerce.

Omnichannel Inventory Management with Flowspace

As sales channels proliferate, an omnichannel fulfillment partner like Flowspace ensures you avoid the pitfalls of excess inventory, stockouts, and non-optimized inventory allocation.“Any merchant’s worst nightmare is to generate an incredible amount of interest on a social channel, only to find themselves out of stock or otherwise unable to meet demand. Brands must shore up their fulfillment capabilities, ensuring proper inventory availability and alignment that enables prompt, reliable delivery at scale. This necessitates multiple optimized, distributed fulfillment locations, as well as software that allows for real-time activation of inventory, order and fulfillment insights.” – Flowspace CEO Ben Eachus in Total RetailWith Flowspace brands do not need to allocate inventory by channel, meaning there will never be a situation where product is available but unable to be fulfilled.Fulfillment with Flowspace unlocks visibility, insight, and fulfillment orchestration capabilities across all channels of selling, from TikTok Shop to DTC storefronts, marketplaces, retail stores, and more. Flowspace is more than just a fulfillment management solution. Flowspace is the partner that enables mature businesses to amplify their brands across social commerce channels. Learn how Flowspace can support your brand. Get in touch today.