THE CASE FOR DIRECT CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS
The way your customers buy continues to evolve. Today 10% of CPG purchases are made online. This will continue to grow in the coming years. How will your customers shop in 2025? It could be ordering via voice or re-ordering delivery of staples on mobile devices. But no doubt there will be more digital engagement and CPG marketers need a long-term plan for customer engagement.
INVEST IN DIRECT CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
To prepare for all potential scenarios, it is important to have direct customer relationships. Benefits include:
- Full control of your brand’s perception
- Reduced dependency on retail
- Improved customer insight
- Persistent sales
- Greater valuation
Direct consumer engagement requires actionable customer data. This doesn’t get built in a day. If you haven’t started building a database of known customers, we recommend that you start now.
IT STARTS WITH RICH FIRST PARTY DATA
Building a customer database is an important asset that will serve you well in the coming years. Whether your customers buy at retail, direct from you are thru an online retailer like Amazon, this database will be critical in successful marketing. Many brands have invested in Data Management Platforms to stockpile first-party for anonymous customers. But leading marketers like General Mills, Heineken and Purina have started using Customer Data Platforms to build pools of known customers. This can be used for both better customer insights as well a building direct customer engagement.
PERSONALIZE YOUR CONSUMER’S EXPERIENCE
CPG Marketers have long engaged with their customers through their retail partners. As many CPG brands begin to build direct relationships they quickly learn that today mass massaging has limited effectiveness. To make a connection you need to engage in a personal way. Technology gives you the ability to customize messages based on each consumer’s history with your brand. You also have the opportunity to test offers and optimize over time based on results.
YOUR CUSTOMER DATABASE IS AN ASSET
More than ever it is important to know that building a customer database is not a sunk cost. You are investing in a valuable asset. According to a recent CapGemini EMC Big Data report, 63% of the respondents considered that the monetization of the data could eventually become as valuable to their organizations as their existing products and services.