We get it - the FMCG industry is ultra-competitive and it moves fast. In this latest article we’ll chat through the challenge of knowing little about your shopper - the common data blindspot for food companies. We’ll explain the risks, plus how you can learn more about your shopper through our Appetise Insights.
Little Shopper Knowledge - A Common FMCG Challenge
We often speak to new brand partners that share a common problem - it’s hard to know who their shoppers are. It’s a widespread challenge impacting businesses across the FMCG industry.
Any scan data you purchase will provide a view into the volume & pricing of your units sold, though leaves you in the dark on who has purchased your products, and why. Loyalty data can give you the demographic information though is costly, proving difficult to make the ROI stack up.
Add to this the plethora of marketing channels, targeting approaches and executions you could try. Marketers can jump straight into trying various forms of marketing activity without knowing who they are targeting, a frequent & easy to make mistake. Not having a clear understanding of your shopper leaves your marketing susceptible to a number of risks…
Not Knowing Your Shopper: The Risks ⚠
If you donʼt know your current shopper base, you could be facing several risks:
- Difficulty Making Your Brand Stand Out: In today’s busy world, consumers are exposed to 10,000+ brands a day. Brands who don’t understand their shopper and develop specific and appealing marketing content for them, will simply be lost amongst the noise.
- Wasted Marketing Investment: If you don’t understand who you are promoting your brand to, campaigns can be targeted at the wrong consumers or communicate a message that does not resonate. The result is marketing spend that does not drive sales results, a wasted investment.
- Not Protecting Your Current Shopper Segments: Competition in the FMCG industry is fierce, with multiple brands competing for shoppers who at times can show very little brand loyalty. You need to understand who currently buys your products so you can allocate marketing investment to keep your brand in their consideration set. Protect your current shoppers, or risk losing them to your competitors.
- Lack of Direction for Targeting New Consumers: If you don’t know who currently buys your product, it’s very challenging to then consider new consumers to target. Don’t base your consumer expansion strategy on assumptions, use category specific data to drive your decision making.
Delving Deeper: The Benefits of Consumer Understanding 🧐
On the flip side, there are significant benefits awaiting FMCG industry players who truly understand their shoppers:
- Precision Marketing Campaigns: Armed with insights into your shopper demographics, you can craft hyper-targeted marketing campaigns that resonate with your audience on a personal level.
- Unlocking Appealing NPD: Whether it's introducing new flavours, packaging sizes or formats, knowing your shopper means you can craft NPD that really appeals to their specific needs.
- Driving Data-Driven Decision Making: Say goodbye to guesswork & workplace opinions, and embrace the power of data-driven decision making in your business. Consumer demographics serve as your North Star, guiding you to make informed decisions backed by concrete insights. From pricing strategies to product mix, every decision you make is built off robust data analysis.
Unlock Your Shopper Demographics with Appetise 🔐
In the fast-paced realm of FMCG, success demands more than just a gut feeling. It requires a profound understanding of who your shopper is. Brands who really know their shoppers can develop tailored products & marketing campaigns that make a difference in their shoppers’ lives; setting you up for sales, marketing & category success.
Our recipe discovery, meal planning & smart shopping platform provides you with a clear understanding of who is shopping your products. Our interactive data dashboards show you the age, household makeup, and geographic segmentation of your shoppers. These insights are benchmarked against the total Appetise sample size, so you can understand where you over and under index vs the wider population.
“As a result of using Appetise for close to 18months, we now have a much clearer understanding of the consumer that seeks out our quinoa. These insights have allowed us to confidently consolidate our social media and marketing towards this demographic, as well as identifying new consumers who may also be interested in incorporating quinoa in their menu repertoire.ˮ Jacqui Cottrell, Director at Kiwi Quinoa.
If you don’t currently know who your shopper is, we’d love to show you how Appetise can give you this visibility. Simply contact our Partnerships team to book in a chat today.
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