2019 saw CPG marketing teams handle their fair degree of challenges. The increasing complexity of the customer journey, combined with keeping up with consumer marketing trends, such as the pressure on brands to produce sustainably packed goods, has triggered a change of strategy for many brands.
This only scratches the surface of what brands need to know about their CPG audiences. A quick look online and you’ll discover a world of insight into consumer attitudes and behaviors. How receipt OCR technology has impacted the CPG sector and the rise of the socially conscious and value-driven consumer is affecting brands.
Interested in learning vital information that will help you to understand your CPG customers better and provide a value-driven service that speaks to consumers wallets and their mindset? Keep reading. You’re certain to discover one or more insights that will change your perspective.
Insight One: Environmental Focus
Now we know that we’ve touched on the impact that the current global ethos is having on CPG, but such is the emphasis on sustainability that it’s worth reinforcing.
Need statistics to back up a statement? 53% of consumers in the US and the UK have reduced the amount of disposable plastic used in the last 12 months alone. This is a clear indication that consumers are placing greater emphasis on the sustainable attributes of the products they purchase. This extends beyond packaging to the entire brand identity.
Make sure that your brand is transparent in its mission. This creates an immediate emotional connection with consumers and opens the opportunity for dialogue.
Insight Two: Online Purchasing
Shopping online has never been more popular. In 2018, 87% of retail purchases were made online in the UK. That’s an increase of 9% over 2017. In short, brands that ignore the digital marketing opportunities of CPG do so at their peril.
It’s paramount for a brand to have a well-rounded online footprint and that they utilize innovative marketing opportunities, such as receipt OCR, to bolster their brand message and value. Access to granular data sources allow CPG businesses to focus on where consumers spend their time online, and how to divide budget resources.
This means that you can create a streamlined, effective strategy and communicate with consumers where and when it matters.
Insight Three: Gender Trends
Despite our evolving focus on gender equality and the great strides that we’ve made as a society towards this over the last decade or so, in many cases, households are still defined by the traditional roles of a man and women.
Take grocery shopping, for instance. 64% of female consumers in households still have this responsibility. This means that women are more likely than men to make sure that the shelves are stocked with wholesome, nutritious food for the family.
CPG brands need to recognize such gender trends and ensure that their marketing reflects this. This can be achieved through audience targeting validation with OCR technology. Just think how effective your marketing could be when you fuse digital technology with a tailored message that’s been shaped to a specific demographic, promoting messages, products, and ad placements!
Insight Four: Brand Advocates
The cornerstone of successful enterprise is turning customers into advocates. 49% of consumers say that a high-quality product is the deciding factor in their reason for purchase. For brands to create advocates they need to make sure that the products they’re offering meet the standards consumers demand.
Better still, in the hyper-competitive online eCommerce age that we live in almost half of consumers would willingly promote a brand if they are satisfied with the quality of their products. Quality must play a central role in a brand advocate strategy and be promote on brand advertising, such as that which can be employed alongside OCR technology. Why? This will clearly highlight brand USPs.
Insight Five: Online Accessibility
If consumers cannot find your brand with ease online then they cannot buy into or from you. It’s that simple. Not investing in an online strategy that bolsters attractive brand awareness is just poor business acumen.
Moreover, research has shown that despite the continued growth of brand discovery online, consumers still discover brands on TV. The statistics demonstrate that whereas 38% of consumers find brands online, 37% still find brands on TV.
CPG marketers need to expand their brand reach and maximize any strategy by utilizing different forms of marketing. One such technology that is gaining much favor is the use of receipt OCR to communicate brand messages.
Though online marketing tends to swallow up much business opinion when they consider how best to market their products and services, it would be a mistake to neglect more traditional or established forms of marketing.
These are just five key things that brands need to know about their CPG audiences. There are more, of course, but by focusing on each of these first, you will give your brand the best possible opportunity to gain a strong foothold in a sector and reach more customers than ever before.