Does growth hacking apply to Fast-Moving Consumer Goods? Can the FMCG industry actually implement a growth methodology and active experimentation framework? 

Growth hacking is a relatively new focus in the marketing field, which focuses on company growth. The goal of its extremely effective methodology is to quickly test ideas that can improve the customer experience before investing a lot of resources, copy and expand ideas that can work, and modify or abandon those that don’t work. 

First, we start with metrics to measure growth of our FMCG corporation. The key metrics should always be the ones that best deliver growth to your FMCG, like the number of products purchased per customer on average, study how costs are distributed in the value chain or stand out the products with the best rating among customers.

Once we know which metrics are the most important ones, it is time to set goals. Goals should be SMART, and these are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely.  Achieving an increase in sales of product X by 10% in the next two months will be a good starting revenue goal. Increasing presence in digital marketing for sales campaigns or seeking to attract a certain sector  could be valid starting goals for the company. We have to think of goals as a desired increment, or  decrement, of your key metrics.

Any KPI that brings us growth, customer commitment (think daily buyers per product),purchase of additional insurance or anything that brings direct revenue could be measured as growth metrics.

When we already know what brings us growth, which KPIs to focus on and also, what are the SMART goals associated with them, it is time to design or ideate growth drivers. Growth drivers are hypothetical ways to achieve our goals, and we will be validating or rejecting them through small campaigns, called experiments.

The ultimate marketing goal of any content strategy is quite simple, capturing the attention of a target audience.

Many consumer products are similar in almost all characteristics, packages with the same shapes and sizes, the greatest differentiation is usually found in the brand. Well, they are products with low involvement, which indicates that the buyer may be acquiring them only out of habit. How can we get our brand to attract consumers who are currently in other brands? Can digital marketing benefit our FMCG company? ¿Can we use direct marketing for example to take advantage? Is maybe remarketing the correct way to do it?

Consumers in rural areas usually buy goods from nearby towns and villages. Recently, consumers’ buying behavior has shifted to local purchases, which has prompted people to conduct better local promotional activities locally in order to establish brand awareness in small towns. Fast-moving consumer goods play an important role in the economy because they are inelastic products that touch all aspects of consumers´ lives. Can companies that provide fast-moving consumer goods to rural communities take advantage of the lack of competition for such products in those areas?

By providing valuable content to interested consumers, it becomes easier to translate compelling sales messages. Unfortunately, knowing the right channels, methods, and types of content that resonate the most boils down to a "love at first sight" strategy. What works for one brand may not work for another brand because it depends on your only audience.

You need to take the first step.

But how can we do it? How to differentiate yourself from the rest? What is the success strategy for my products? How can I lower my current costs even while increasing production and sales?

All these and more questions are what we have to answer to find the right marketing strategy, answering them from small tests that allow us to have a global vision of the most important thing: What can make us GROW.

Finally, learnings. Learnings are essential to document in order to know what worked in the past and what to avoid repeating. You should have a regular feedback cycle and track your learnings consistently.

Want to know more about how to apply growth hacking to your FMCG business? Sign up for Hypertry and ask for a one to one session!