How CPG Companies Can Use CDPs and Data for D2C Marketing

Industries have undergone a major shift in trends since the coronavirus pandemic. Most top CPG companies have realized that adopting a D2C model is key to conducting a successful business. They must up their digital game and adapt to the changing customer expectations by eliminating retailers and directly reaching out to the customers.

While embracing this change, CPG companies face the biggest challenge - gathering customers' first-party data. Successful D2C CPG companies often collect primary customer data in many different ways like - desktop websites, mobile websites, email lists, mobile applications, text messages, social media activity, downloads, search engine analytics and surveys.

With 2.5 quintillion bytes of data produced daily, businesses need to be well-equipped with the right technologies and platforms to derive the right insights. To fill in that gap, companies use a CDP for packaging all first-party raw data into one accessible source. In such a case, a Customer Data Platform (CDP) is a one-stop solution to gather large amounts of customer data and increase sales.

Benefits of Connecting Data to Your D2C Model

A CDP promises to look into customer journeys, identify the right target audience across different digital channels and effectively study consumer behavior. It also helps companies create personalized customer profiles and produce qualitative data while improving customer experience.

Helps Derive Insightful Customer Information

Customers shopping online want a personalized, seamless experience across all devices that they use. With the increased need for better omnichannel digital experiences, companies must also deliver faster and easier digital transactions with personalized in-person sales. You must leverage platforms to circulate the right information across different digital channels and social media accounts. As a company, you also need to gather primary customer data that you receive directly from the customer, eliminating the retailers. Managing this data on a CDP can help you dig out insightful customer information to personalize their experiences and convert more sales.

Building a Strong Database to Support Growth in Business

To overcome the post-COVID shortcomings, CPG companies are rapidly moving to a D2C model. With grocery stores and third-party marketplaces shutting down during the pandemic, CPG brands quickly realized the importance of moving to a self-sufficient way of selling. A good and efficient CDP can help these CPG brands build a strong data foundation while building direct relationships with customers, cultivating trust, collecting first-party data, and personalizing the omnichannel customer experience.

CDPs enable these companies to offer loyalty programs, run direct promotions and expand into non-product areas such as special events and experiences by connecting directly with consumers. A good CDP can also help these companies sustain in the long run by providing insightful data on customer journeys. They do this by storing and processing large volumes of customer data through the years while helping you personalize digital CX.

Basically, what used to be a tool used by just digital natives is now rapidly becoming a platform useful for enterprises as well. But do both these companies need the same kind of CDPs? Come find out with our webinar.

Collaborating Better with Bird's Eyes View

Companies often deal with large siloed and fragmented data gathered from various channels like marketing campaigns, geographies, and other business units. This haphazard data management in the organization can be streamlined into centralized, actionable information for effective decision-making purposes with an efficient CDP. With all the information in one place, a business can derive insights on every process across the supply chain and color different trends, creating larger impacts.

How Consumer Packaged Goods Companies Are Using the D2C Model to Grow Faster

Companies today are looking for opportunities to move to the D2C model as they see a plethora of benefits. With Covid changing a lot of buying and selling trends, here are a few examples of companies effectively adopting the dynamic changes and moving to the D2C model.

KitKat Chocolatory

A good example of a successful D2C model was Nestle when they launched a DTC online shop called the KitKat Chocolatory. This store allows customers to design their premium chocolate bars by picking from four types of chocolate and 14 ingredients. They can also customize the packaging, boosting the luxury, with personalization in a digital experience that has become popular in recent years. The company came up with a similar concept in Japan, which was extremely popular for gift-giving and testing new unique flavors.

Fig 1. Kitkat Chocolatory centered in Brazil using direct marketing channels for effective results

Unilever- Ben & Jerry’s

Unilever came up with a similar concept by opening an online store for Ben & Jerry's fans to order their favorite ice cream flavors for home delivery, including their latest Pint Slice innovations, branded T-shirts and other merchandise. By leveraging customer data using different tools and platforms, the company found that cereal flavors might be popular. It came up with new favorites like Fruit Loot and Frozen Flakes, which its competitors have followed up with.

Example of Nestle and Pepsico Using Direct Marketing Techniques for Better Growth

Fig 2. Pepsico and Nestle Using Direct Marketing Channels for Better Performance

The top players of the CPG industry – Pepsico and Nestle - have opted for the D2C model to gain a competitive advantage. By adopting direct marketing channels like SMS, promotions and other outdoor promotions, these brands have increased sales and profits.

After the pandemic, Pepsico launched two D2C websites to cater to the customers at home called pantryshop.com and snacks.com.

Fig 3. Browser view of pantryshop.com

Fig 4. Browser view of snacks.com

Customers can now pick out from brands like Tropicana, Quacker and Gatorade to rejuvenate themselves as they transform into the work-from-home culture. Snacks.com helps their customers pick out from 100 Fritto Lays products like Tostitos, Cheetos and Ruffles.