FMCG Marketing: How do FMCG brands get value from online marketing?

Marketing a consumable product to the mass of consumers is challenging. In light of all the competition, keeping your brand in the minds of consumers is paramount, but this is all you know.

So why would you market an FMCG brand on the internet? Isn’t this a niche medium that targets only a small percentage of South African consumers? Well here’s a theory… You need to market FMCG products on the internet because these are brands that are built on the relationships they have formed with their consumers.

When you buy your favorite brand of peanut butter, yogurt, milk, washing up liquid, it’s often because you feel familiar with the brands you’ve chosen, it’s a relationship built on trust built from years of quality delivery. These brands have become family friends you wouldn’t want to lose.

The challenge for FMCG sellers is to develop and maintain these relationships with their loyal consumer base and not let them get sidetracked into other brands that may be perceived as cooler, more innovative, or new brands on the block.

The role of different media in FMCG marketing

Each medium has a role to play in FMCG marketing, the important thing is to look at the big picture and integrate these mediums* to achieve your ultimate marketing goal:

• TV/Radio/Print, Outdoor: Sell your product to a mass audience that fits your demographic, which drives the consumer into the store.

• In-store marketing – make sure you engage the consumer in the aisle and close the sale at the point of purchase

• Online marketing:

• Establish, reward and revitalize your relationship with consumers
• Create exciting and amazing content by taking advantage of the freedom of the internet – widely market this content online.
• Drive consumers to engage with online platforms with all your offline marketing – Consumers often want to know “what’s behind the ad”.
• Interact with them sincerely and appreciate their feedback.
• Treat loyal customers like VIPs by offering them the first chance to try new variants, creating “expert tester” panels for new products, appreciating and implementing their suggestions.

*simplified summary of the FMCG marketing mix

Why do FMCG brands have websites?

Let’s be honest: it really doesn’t make sense for FMCG brands to spend money driving traffic to a website if the visit has no purpose. The website’s useful tools and free services are novelty and may guarantee some subsequent visits, but they don’t appeal to the consumer in the long run.

FMCG marketers should consider a broader online strategy that includes:

• Use existing social media platforms to meet your needs (instead of developing costly custom platforms that meet the same needs).

• Creation of amazing and impactful content: video, rich media, images, articles

• Maximize content sharing sites and social networks to market this content widely

• Implement integrated campaigns that target consumers offline and online with the ultimate goal of creating an impact with the consumer and then maintaining that relationship for the long term.

So why would you market an FMCG brand on the internet?

Because that’s where your consumers are talking about you.

Or are they talking about their competitors?