The secret to "going from zero to a billion dollars" in just 5 years of a razor-selling startup: Making customers addicted because it's so interesting, even the giant Gillette has to imitate!

Context: In a market "monopolized" by Gillette. Men have only 2 choices. One is to accept "burning a hole in their pocket" to own a high-quality razor and have to continue to replace expensive blades. Two is to use cheap products but often cause bleeding and also have to buy new ones regularly.

Plan: Since its establishment, DSC has built for itself an extremely "charming" sales strategy. From a "million-view" monologue video in 2012 to a series of services with humorous content. DSC is not a company, DSC is a "club".

Results: More than 10 million USD of investment capital was poured in after only 1 year of establishment, with 3.2 million loyal customers and was acquired by Unilever for 1 billion USD after only 5 years. Dollar Shave Club has become an example for startups in terms of marketing and sales strategy.

Simple but good

If we only consider the business model, Dollar Shave Club has a model that can be said to be too simple:

- First, DSC is simply a trading company. The products that DSC provides to customers are all purchased in large quantities and at high discounts from many suppliers (such as razors from Dorco USA).

- Second, "DSC Club" is simply a place where customers register to become a member and pay a fixed amount each month to receive products from DSC.

But the special thing here is that DSC always spends most of the cost to satisfy customers. This "club" is willing to take a loss to get new members.

A typical example is the "All for $1" strategy. When customers register to join, they have the right to try DSC's products from popular to high-end for only $1.

So how does Dollar Shave Club make money?

As mentioned above, DSC is a combination of a commercial business model and a membership registration.

DSC does not directly manufacture, the products provided by DSC are purchased in large quantities and redistributed to members in the Club. The difference between the purchase price and the selling price will become DSC's profit, and Club members will automatically "have" a sum of money deducted from their accounts every month to receive products regularly.

The cost of a DSC product package includes:

- Input purchase price of the product.

- Logistics fees (transportation + packaging + printing ...)

- Management and sales costs (including marketing fees, company operating costs and other unnamed costs).

DSC is often "willing to play" when it does not bother to charge logistics fees and product purchase fees for the first orders of customers. These fees (and profits) are only added after customers are satisfied and continue to use the service.

This seemingly simple tactic has helped DSC attract many customers to try the service and become loyal members.

How is Dollar Shave Club different from other companies?

Right from its name, Dollar Shave Club has always positioned itself as a "Club" rather than a regular company. DSC has the ability to recognize the needs and common personal hygiene problems of men and strive to solve them. Although the business model is nothing new, the smart way of selling is the factor that makes the difference and at the same time an advantage for DSC.

With marketing minds that are praised by analysts. DSC's advertising content always hits the target, the right audience and the right product they need.

"The Men's Club" is always proud of their products as "excellent", ready to provide a good and cheap solution for customers.

Although possessing great value for customers, DSC still needs an effective sales plan to take off. After all, low prices and quality are only achieved when DSC has a strong enough revenue to put pressure on partners to maintain a competitive advantage for customers.

And when the going gets tough, smart things come to mind, DSC decided to use a sales strategy based on videos and "stormy" content, starting in 2012, DSC's first video "exploded" when the CEO with a very humorous style explained the price and excellent quality of the product.

In just the first 48 hours, the video brought DSC more than 12,000 new customers, who only needed 1 minute and 33 seconds to feel that DSC was delivering exactly what they needed.

And not only providing products, DSC also focuses on developing the relationship between the company and customers. The "DSC Experience" is one of the factors that makes this company a part of the daily lives of the customers.

With each package delivered, DSC sends customers a "Bathroom Magazine" containing humorous content, beauty tips for men, and extremely "heaven and earth" articles such as: "How to shave without glasses" or "Can the toilet seat be used as a shield?".

According to a recent survey, some loyal DSC customers said they "couldn't bear" to cancel DSC's service because the club was "too fun".

Dollar Shave Club has cleverly combined economic benefits with an extremely smart sales model, thanks to which DSC has quickly become a rival to industry giants like Gillette. Gillette even had to create its own "Club" to avoid losing more market share to its competitors.

"Stormy" success and the "billion dollar" ending with Unilever

Not only is it a customer favorite, Dollar Shave Club has also been supported by dozens of different investment funds with many continuous "infusions" of money: 1 million USD in March 2012, 9.8 million USD in October 2012, and 12 million USD in 2013.

In 2014, DSC began adding dozens of products to go with the razor and providing a "hygiene package" for customers. In June 2015, DSC received an additional 75 million USD in investment capital.

Since its founding, DSC has had more than 3.2 million members across the United States. And although DSC's products have always been aimed at men, more than 20% of current customers are women, showing that the product's appeal is not gender-specific.

In 2016, Dollar Shave Club was acquired by Unilever, the world’s largest consumer goods company, for a reported $1 billion, five times more than DSC’s projected revenue that year. Despite the initial skepticism surrounding the deal, Unilever quickly became a formidable rival to its archrival P&G (owner of the Gillette brand).