Brand advocacy drives customer retention and the more touch points a brand uses with its customers, the better.
During Tuesday’s webinar, The Secrets to CPG Success in Today’s Market, which was hosted by Loyalty360 and presented by PunchTab, PunchTab CEO Mike Mansbach told attendees that brands need to spend time building customer relationships.
“Consumer brands are facing a squeeze,” Mansbach said, “from the absolute volume of digital marketing channels.”
The domination of Amazon has forced retailers to verticalize, white label, and prioritize their own products over those of the CPG brands who, for so long, relied on retailers as their primary sales channel.
In today’s market, the acquisition-only strategy is no longer effective. The savvy brand manager needs to work on retention and growth. CPG success depends on connecting to consumers in meaningful ways, understanding their needs, expectations, and behaviors, and acting on those data-driven insights to build better relationships and increase revenue.
A survey question during the webinar asked attendees the following: As you navigate your way through 2015, which of the following factors is impacting your brand the most?
A. Emergence of digital sellers (e.g. Amazon) 10%
B. Rise of private label 10%
C. Rise of online influence for purchase decisions 40%
D. Content explosion 40%
Mansbach and Ken Plasse, Marketing & Product Executive, PunchTab told attendees that the digital revolution is creating new pressure for CPG brands and impacting brand loyalty.
Plasse outlined the levels of consumer engagement:
Basic (Website, Social media presence, Targeted/ Retargeted Advertising, and SEO)
Engaged (Digital listening and relevant content development, Select touch points along the consumer journey, and Limited data insights)
Integrated (Engaging users across multiple marketing channels, Touch points modified based on consumer segment, Integrated consumer data, with some ROI insights)
Personalized (Connect when and where consumers want it, Personalized and tailored engagement, and complete understanding of digital behavior impact on ROI)
Traditional loyalty programs are primarily purchase-based; select perks are based on levels, and they are transactional, not relational
Plasse said engagement and advocacy are crucial for brands, including the following points:
Generating automated insights regarding effectiveness of touch points and channels to drive desired outcomes
Continual optimization of touch points to drive more meaningful and personalized brand/consumer interactions
“The classic purchase funnel (Awareness-Consideration-Trial/Purchase-Repeat) is biased toward acquisition,” Plasse explained. “Digital touch points drive activation, engagement, and advocacy.”
Activate touch points:
Joining retention program
Following you
Subscribing to email updates
Downloading mobile app
Engage touch points:
Visiting your site every day
Completing polls and surveys
Watching videos
Using your mobile app
Purchasing – Receipt scanning
Advocate touch points:
Uploading photos to Instagram
Sharing videos
Writing product reviews
Tweeting and RT via Twitter
Reach consumers everywhere:
Online, offline, email, social, and mobile.
Plasse said accumulating customer data is good, but data is only as good as it is actionable.
Personalize and optimize the engagement experience:
Automatically tailor offers and messaging to drive desired outcomes.
Changing touch points and re-connecting with consumer
“Getting to that personalized engagement is the Nirvana for brands,” Plasse said.
Here are some other key takeaways from the webinar:
Higher quality content touch points drives better outcomes
Engaged consumers drive incremental purchases
Advocacy drives acquisition
Retention has never been more essential for driving growth
Consumers want more meaningful and personalized connections with brands, but brand’s digital capabilities are still catching up
Shifting more focus to retention levers is an imperative to maintain and increase repeat purchase frequency
Best-in-class retention programs:
Provide unified consumer brand experience across channels
Unlock siloed data
Deliver automated actionable insights
10%-40% sales lift from those
“It shows the power of advocation,” Plasse said. “Advocation is a powerful lever to drive new customer acquisition.”