Ever-changing customer preferences are driving the expansion and evolution of the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry. CPG companies are embracing new business models and innovative technologies to transform into experience brands. Direct-to-Consumer (DTC), hyper-personalization and omnichannel optimization can pave potentially profitable paths forward for CPG brands, if they can sidestep data, people & tech setbacks, and begin to scale AI initiatives.
Deepening direct connections with customers is the cost of doing business for today’s CPG companies, but it’s not business as usual. CPG leaders are breaking out of their comfort zones to pursue and prioritize this consumer-facing path to profitability:
Excelling at customer experience requires a direct data connection to customers. Accustomed to selling through retailers, CPG businesses face a learning curve when it comes to data collection, storage rights and permissions, as well as how to use data to ignite innovation. For example, challenger brands are social media savvy while established CPG businesses often struggle to strike an emotional connection with customers. D2C demands a hybrid skill set—a mix of digital marketing and e-commerce expertise. Assuming employees can manage both without technology upskilling can jeopardize transformational goals.
Most consumers - 73% - expect companies to understand their unique needs and wants.* Targeting customers with highly tailored messages and products takes synchronizing systems and understanding personal customer preferences. Yet, the current siloed environment creates approval bottlenecks and customer blindspots. Building a solid data foundation better positions CPG businesses to use integration platforms and GenAI to orchestrate optimized creative workflows. Product Information Management (PIM), Digital Asset Management (DAM) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems seamlessly syncing means customized content delivered faster and sharper consumer insights received sooner.
Gen Z, between the ages of 12 and 24, is now the world's largest population and one of CPG's most sought-after targets. Considered the "purest 'omni' shopping generation to date", they shop online, in-person, and via social media. Like Gen Z, all customers switch channels and dart between devices, making them difficult to track and target. However, with GenAI, plug and play integration platforms and data mastery, CPG companies can now provide captivating and consistent customer experiences.
The world’s leading consumer packaged goods brands are using Generative AI to brainstorm ideas, incorporate consumer feedback, optimize supply chains, accelerate development, and enhance personalization. But they still need help deploying AI at scale.
Producing high quality content that sparks connections with customers is seemingly a click away. However, deploying technology without a strategy to drive adoption and ROI isn’t enough to emerge as a successful experience brand. Scaling personalized content for customers across multiple channels is complex and carries unique operational challenges. We get it. Qvest was born in media & entertainment, the quintessential experience and storytelling industry. We know what you’re up against when it comes to meaningfully engaging customers and can help you reach your growth goals with our suite of services:
With Salesforce, CPG businesses can facilitate sticky customer environments, creating hyper-personalized and cross channel experiences spanning the full customer 360, from acquisition to storefront to post-purchase. We work alongside companies to orchestrate targeted marketing journeys leveraging built-in predictive AI — increasing D2C sales, optimizing processes and actioning on data-driven insights.
Collecting data across the customer journey from pre-to-post purchase is critical to adapt to consumer needs. Yet, unstructured data from third parties leads to a cloudy view of consumers. We help CPG businesses collect data properly, build their data models, and layer data across customer channels. With advanced data platforms like Databricks and Snowflake, CPG companies can implement a first-party data strategy to add clarity and flexibility in their analytics and reporting. Data mastery is the key to understanding customers, which is instrumental to conversion, sales, and ultimately revenue.
Delivering personalized messages to consumers across channels will strain digital asset development and distribution. CPG companies need nimble marketing campaigns that not only scale, but improve customer targeting with each iteration. Efficiency is essential. We help clients unite disparate teams and systems, and identify practical AI applications to create friction-free, data-driven workflows. Collaborate with ease, enable automation, accelerate time to market and monitor how customers are reacting to digital assets in real-time to fine tune future campaigns.
With GenAI, CPG can speed up marketing campaigns, provide hyper-personalized experiences and content, and drive operational efficiencies. The benefits are abundant, while the risks are acute. Every company that experiments with GenAI faces uncertainty around privacy and security concerns and carries the responsibility of ensuring AI is ethical. Consumer trust, brand reputation, and cyber and privacy compliance are all at stake. So it’s more important than ever to (i) balance the tech tightrope of risks and rewards, (ii) bring your people along, and (iii) provide them with the guidance and guardrails needed to use GenAI effectively.
In the end, transforming to an experience brand is a journey — one that requires innovation, efficiency, and enhanced customer insights. Building intelligent systems that can flex and evolve is how CPG brands can keep pace with omnichannel customers to scale and grow.
Request a demo to see how to accelerate your marketing campaigns with a plug-and-play integration platform. It’s as simple as snapping together Lego bricks.
Sources: *Salesforce Report: State of the Connected Customer
**Consumer Goods Technology: 5 Things CPGs Should Know About the Lucrative Gen Z Consumer
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