While research indicates that more CPG marketers are allocating more money to digital a lot of that money is going to be wasted. Digital marketing is not a bunch of tactics, it’s a way of thinking and too many brands are still stuck in the “sell” mindset.
From what I have read a lot of brands are putting more money into digital marketing but is just a case of the sheep following the master. According to Statista almost 27% of Internet users are using ad blockers and that number is increasing.
Search is being driven, more and more, by organic search not paid search. Yes, there are times when paid search can help your brand but if you’re a well-established brand paid search can be a drain on your budget. Analytics can point the direction to which is providing more traffic in relation to bounce rate but traffic alone means nothing.
One of the areas that CPG marketers continually neglect is usability studies and content. Most CPG websites look like billboards because marketers love the creative even though users hate most bright billboard websites.
Content marketing has been oversold. There is already too much content out there for moms to read and content for most products found in grocery stores is not going to lead to better metrics. However, content for hard goods like electronics and bikes is going to be used in decision making if it’s more informative and less sales talk.
Marketers right now should be asking “how can we make our digital marketing better and think the way online consumers do?”. A digital marketing team is NOT the answer. The answer is thinking like a consumer and asking two basic questions:
1ne: Do I need to go online to research this product?
2wo: What do I want to know when I do go online to research this product?
I’ve sat in a LOT of research with women when it comes to using the web to research products and most do not research new yogurt or frozen food products. They rely, instead, on word of mouth and POP displays in stores.
The pseudo digital experts who once told us we need to be on social media have never apologized for their shameless self-promotion. The money flowing into Facebook is at an all-time high even though Facebook has continually bitch slapped users.
Marketers see a chart from some research and instead of questioning the data and what it really means they follow others down the path towards irrelevance. Then they wonder why their marketing isn’t working.
The best way to think about your digital marketing is to think like a consumer. Don’t assume they are coming to your website to learn more because they just don’t don’t have the time.
