Four ways loyalty tech is helping FMCG brands regain control of their customer relationships
FMCG brands face a fierce battle to become their customers’ first choice.
But technology has ushered in a new era of opportunity, offering solutions to longstanding challenges.
White Label Loyalty’s latest whitepaper “The New Era of CPG Loyalty” explores the challenges confronting FMCG companies and the solutions that are now available.
Download the whitepaper now, or read on for a comprehensive look at transforming your customer relationships through technology.
The Biggest Challenges for FMCG and CPG brands
Brand loyalty has long been an elusive goal for FMCG and CPG companies. Consumers switch their preferences for a variety of reasons – from pricing, promotions, convenience, availability and quality – making brand allegiance difficult to cultivate.
Adding to the struggle is the scarcity of first-party data. The FMCG industry relies on selling through third-party retailers, which deprives brands of the crucial consumer insights needed to build meaningful relationships.
The problem is further complicated by fragmented customer data, which originates from a variety of disconnected sources, such as online activity and vending machines. It’s estimated that only about 12% of brands have fully integrated customer data across channels. A fragmented landscape leaves brands clueless about individual consumer preferences and behaviours.
Outdated tech has also held brands back from building relationships with their customers. Many still rely on outdated setups, working with agencies and juggling multiple stakeholders just to execute simple campaigns.
But technology like White Label Loyalty is now helping FMCG brands, such as PepsiCo, connect data across brands and channels and take control of their customer relationships.
Loyalty technology is changing the way FMCG brands interact with their customers in 4 key ways:
1. Easy first-party data collection
Loyalty tech enables brands to collect vital first-party data directly from customers, cutting out the middleman. By incentivising participation in loyalty programs, brands prompt customers to willingly share preferences and purchase history.
2. Comprehensive data collection
A loyalty program allows you to combine data from different interactions, like online and in-store purchases, creating a single source of truth within a business.
Technologies like receipt scanning provide insights into customer buying habits from various sources, including full basket data that reveals both products purchased from your brand and those from competitors.
3. A single customer view
Loyalty tech can build comprehensive customer profiles based on different interactions. Brands can access individual profiles of customers, which show how, when, and what they’ve engaged with.
4. The AI advantage
Crucially, the fusion of loyalty technology and AI is driving significant results. AI-driven analytics enable brands to tailor recommendations, optimise campaigns, and predict consumer behaviour accurately.
- Tailored recommendations: AI helps brands find patterns and insights in customer behaviours that might otherwise be missed.
- Fine-tuned campaigns: With AI-driven analytics, brands can easily optimise their marketing efforts, ensuring messages resonate with the right audience, through the most effective channels, at precisely the right moments.
- Predictive analytics: AI in loyalty technology helps brands predict things like customer churn. Identifying consumers at risk of switching brands enables brands to take action before it’s too late, such as delivering personalised incentives to keep customers coming back.
PepsiCo employs smart loyalty technology to win in the brand battleground
FMCG giant PepsiCo uses intelligent receipt scanning technology to overcome data collection hurdles and drive engagement.
The receipt upload feature allows PepsiCo to get valuable first-party data while offering personalised incentives based on customer behaviour.
Receipt scanning uses computer vision and machine learning to accurately capture transaction data, building up an insightful picture of PepsiCo’s consumer base, activity, and preferences.
See the full Pepsico case study
All of this only scratches the surface of what loyalty tech is doing for FMCG brands. This technology is opening doors to interact with customers like never before.
Event-based loyalty engines like White Label Loyalty allow brands to reward and incentivise any customer action. Drive transactions, social media engagement, or referrals – it’s up to you.
Download the full, free FMCG whitepaper to get deeper insights into the strategies outlined here. Find out more about how industry leaders like PepsiCo and Crosta & Mollica are using loyalty tech, and get practical steps to transform your brand.
The future of FMCG is bright, and there are many possibilities awaiting those willing to embrace change and innovation.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
