Episode 15 – Creating digital growth for FMCG brands

(03:54) What are the digital challenges at an FMCG company?

Here are the major digital challenges faced by Fast Moving Consumer Good (FMCG) companies:

1. Learning to spot a potential customer on a digital platform. For example, finding a consumer who would opt for an anti-greying product is difficult on a digital platform than offline stores. 
2. Convincing customers to buy products.
3. Unavailability of sales assistants online and offline who can assist potential customers in buying a product. 
4. Lack of data from online ads for analysing its impact on customers. 
5. Difficulty in adapting a brand online which has an average offline presence. Whether it is from a creative or content standpoint, a 360-degree unification of a brand is a considerable challenge.
6. Hiring the right candidate for the digital campaigns, grooming them for the future, and retaining them for a longer time.

To avoid these challenges, FMCG can opt for a multi-touch attribution model for collecting data and verifying channels that give maximum return on investment (ROI). 

(07:55) How would you compare these challenges faced by FMCG companies to the digital challenges of an eCommerce company?

 Here are the three major differences in digital challenges faced by FMCG and eCommerce companies.

1. FMCG companies have to continually try to stay relevant to the online world, whereas eCommerce companies have already spread their roots in the online market. 
2. There is a profitability challenge with eCommerce but not with FMCG companies.
3. Risk appetite is more with eCommerce companies due to the online customer base when compared to FMCGs.

(09:01) How would you measure the success of digital campaigns in the FMCG industry?

You could follow some of the points mentioned below to measure the success of digital campaigns in the FMCG industry.

1. Checking whether the website content is as per the best practices or not.
2. Maintaining a benchmark for SKUs (stock-keeping units) and regularly checking the number of products stocked out (out-of-stock) or stocked.
3. Identifying the reach and final conversion numbers of marketing ROI.
4. Setting a competitive price by researching about the offers and discounts set by competitors online. 
5. Using a Share of Search model for identifying the number of times your brand is appearing in that particular category or niche.  
6. Continually checking the cost per miles (CPM) for optimising reach and frequency of content.
7. Measuring ROI of influencer marketing by checking the engagement you get on your products. 

(11:23) What are the digital channels that provide the best ROI?

Smaller brands can opt for digital channels, such as Amazon or Facebook search for best ROI. Bigger brands can go for YouTube videos for promoting their products using long-tail keywords. FMCGs need to use the brand search volume model for measuring the success of the ads and the ROI they receive on digital channels.

(13:05) Share one digital growth story at Marico?

Marico worked with Kaya Youth; a 2019 launched cosmetics brand. They planned a regional frequency campaign for the brand, but it didn’t work out due to the saturated market. Later Marico researched from the consumer point of view and created a functional marketing campaign by offering offers and discounts on eCommerce platforms. Kaya Youth saw organic growth and received maximum ROI later. 

(16:05) Are campaigns different for different demographics?

Yes, brand campaigns are created based on targeting a specific demographic. For example, Marico targeted women in their 30s and 40s for promoting Livon hair care products as the women in that age group face more hairfall problems. 

(18:04) What role does content play in FMCG businesses?

Content plays a huge role in the FMCG business. It helps in creating more organic growth than paid advertising. Be it a blog about a specific brand or a video about a product, having relevant content on a website can help an FMCG company rank higher than the competitors.

(19:50) How has the centre of excellences helped Marico in achieving growth?

 Marico has achieved growth through its following centres of excellence:

1. Content development studio for developing content, such as blogs, images, and videos
2. Trainspotting and social listening team for computing the popularity and performance of brands on social media.
3. Learning and development team for improving the effectiveness of brands.
4. Cross-learning for promoting brands offshore.