Top use cases for Marketing Automation in FMCG

The UK FMCG sector is the largest manufacturing sector in the country. And accounts for 14% of all manufacturing in the UK.

Large, global companies such as Mars, L’Oréal, Cadbury, and Coca-Cola dominate the industry. However, there has been a drastic increase in smaller, more niche businesses appearing. Particularly as the organic, clean-eating, and vegan movements become more popular.

Traditionally, FMCG has generated most of their sales offline, via supermarkets and third party retail stores.

However, due to the rise of digital and rapidly changing customer demands, FMCG have had to shift focus to building positive brand relationships and offering an omni-channel experience.

While some FMCG brands are becoming far more adept in these areas. Others are finding it a challenge to bring consumers back to purchase more. Particularly when there is no eCommerce as a driving factor.

To achieve all of this. Automation is key.

Read on to learn some of the automation use cases from our clients within the FMCG industry.

You may just find yourself inspired.

Consolidate data to better understand target audience

Challenge

Many FMCG brands struggle to fully understand their audience – who their target market are, identifying regular purchasers, profitable customers, and most likely to churn.

All of this information is essential for brands to offer up the most relevant products and content to increase the likelihood of regular purchasing.

This information can be gathered through audience demographic and purchase behaviour. But with so many disparate systems collecting data from different sources. Consolidation is rare. And data silos are common.

Solution

FMCG brands should focus on consolidating all of their data systems, from CRM to ESP, spreadsheets, and hardcopies. To keep their data organised and reduce siloes.

Once this is achieved, these brands will be able to gain a fuller understanding of their audience. They can create customer personas for a relatable view of their audience. As well as conduct segment analysis, such as RFM, RFE, CLTV – all of which are important metrics for an FMCG brand.

Increase audience and subscribers

Challenge

A key goal for many FMCG brands is to grow their audience and sell directly to their consumers.

However, with such strong competition in the industry. FMCG brands need to offer highly personalised and tailored experiences throughout the buying cycle to achieve this.

They need to remain in the forefront of customers’ minds to ensure their products are the first thought of when it’s time to re-purchase.

Solution

FMCG goods have a short lifespan. Meaning there’s plenty of opportunity for repeat purchases.

To increase their audience and subscribers, FMCG brands should use the data they have consolidated to create targeted and personalised automations and campaigns at every stage of the buying cycle.

Welcome, nurture, re-engagement, and replenishment campaigns are all important to keep engagement at key purchasing points. And increase the likelihood of entering a subscription.

Build brand loyalty through strong communities

Challenge

As well as increasing audience and subscriptions, FMCG brands will want to increase the loyalty of their current customer base. Again, to ensure that their products are purchased then replenishment is required.

Solution

To succeed in achieving this, FMCG brands need to focus on building communities via their email and social media. This will give them the competitive advantage compared to other brands when it’s time for a customer to repurchase.

Personalised automations are key to creating community. They can offer customers a ‘backstage pass’ to the brand and help to humanise messaging.

Customers feel far more valued and part of the brand when they’re given the VIP treatment. So brands should offer exclusive content, VIP offers and discounts, and birthday and anniversary emails as part of their strategy.

Remain creative and innovative in a competitive industry

Challenge

The FMCG industry consists of some big brands with some big budgets. This gives them the scope to test highly creative and innovative campaigns. Which are difficult for smaller brands to compete with.

Solution

For brands without big budgets, personalisation is key to creativity and innovation.

FMCG brands can use dynamic and real time personalised content to engage with their customers and offer them a hyper-personalised shopping experience.

They can combine one of the most creative and innovative channels, social media, with their email communications to ensure their creative campaigns are getting in front of their customers. And engage with customers on the channels they love the most.

And of course, brands need to stay relevant. They should focus their campaigns around key dates and spend time generating creative campaigns for these.

And by using automation, brands can create templated campaigns that are dynamically tailored to fit the recipients’ demographic, purchase, and behavioural activity.

Do you work within the FMCG industry?

If you’re a business in the FMCG industry and are dealing with data consolidation, growing your audience, or keeping creative. We can help.

Get in touch for a no obligation chat with one of our friendly experts.