Empowering tomorrow’s CMO and retail execution teams with advanced analytics and cloud technologies
When was the last time you reevaluated your organization’s data and analytics capabilities?
Many consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies already have an approach to data collection and analysis, and are seeing the benefits of data-driven marketing efforts. And while most Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) use analytics to form strategy, their organizations may have the capabilities required to make even greater progress, particularly when it comes to using the most advanced techniques available in the market today to measure the end-to-end impact of a campaign, or to adapting quickly thanks to revealing insights generated in near real time. In fact, 44 percent of CPG companies say they don’t have adequate resources to interpret the output of analytics tools.[i]
Consequently, building analytics muscle is becoming a top priority for marketing leaders—65 percent of marketers say that using outcome-based KPIs will be key over the next five years to measure success, especially as CMOs’ focus shifts to personalizing customer conversations.[ii] New analytics techniques make it possible to move away from simply observing historical customer behavior and into creating predictions that drive seamless customer experiences and higher revenue. Companies who focus outside of operational efficiency on providing top-notch digital customer experiences are poised to outperform their peers.[iii]
At Microsoft, we believe that advanced analytics techniques such as machine learning can play a vital role in a CMO’s marketing and customer relationship strategies. For example, CPG companies can better anticipate customers’ preferences and needs using more multi-dimensional analytics, leading to better SKU optimization and new product introduction. But doing so at scale requires capabilities like access to real-time, in-store data and systems, and the ability to manage ever-growing data volumes. Today’s cloud-based solutions deliver exactly those kinds of capabilities, enabling you to quickly derive new insights and pass them on to your teams.
When analytics can be amplified with the power of cloud computing, they can be especially useful for retail execution professionals, who benefit from having access to the latest insights regardless of where they are. In this post, we explore how cloud-based analytics help CMOs and their retail execution teams in the field drive better results.
Get near-real-time data from stores
Acquiring data from stores on a monthly or bi-weekly basis should be a thing of the past. Cloud-based technologies make it possible to capture and send data in near real-time, a potential game-changer for marketers. Studies have found that access to on-the-spot, store-level information, including POS sales and on-hand inventory data, can help improve sales by 10 percent.[iv]
Having access to timely, relevant data is an important differentiator – in one survey, 64 percent of retail executives said that analytical capabilities give them a clear competitive advantage.[v] By using cloud-based analytics, companies can equip professionals in the field with the latest insights, empowering them to make more informed decisions.
The cloud is also what enables marketing leaders to have a full view of the business, utilizing analytics to monitor stock and distributors and track campaigns. Cloud-enabled technologies like digital shelves automate the inventory audit process and give clear line of sight to every level of the company. This data can be sent directly to the CMO from in-store teams, with the analysis of products to watch already complete thanks to automated machine learning capabilities.
Improve performance with better insights
CMOs have long been able to compare historical year-over-year (YoY) performance with geographical data. Advanced analytics enhance that, enabling leaders to easily manage the complexity of pricing and optimizing the marketing mix for a given area. Algorithms can utilize historical trends, external sources like weather data, and current sales data to provide a more holistic, real-time picture of performance, in addition to providing predictions about the future performance of specific SKUs and more.
Advanced analytics make it possible to get ahead of problems, like triggering alerts regarding the risk of low inventory or faster-than-expected sales. This helps brands quickly reevaluate promotions, product placement, and other execution elements. It also allows teams to see the details of why particular strategies are working and accurately forecast their ROI. In the future, machine learning technology will also provide recommendations on how to improve sales at struggling stores.
With data stored in the cloud and mobile-friendly analytics solutions, CMOs and field teams have access to near-real-time reports anytime, anywhere. Team members at every level can track performance, and drive rapid adjustments when there are issues.
Increase efficiency of retail execution teams
Take shelf management as an example. Imagine starting a big campaign to promote a certain brand of soda when suddenly you receive an alert that a group of stores didn’t receive the inventory they were expecting. Imagine having real-time information that drastically reduces the resources required to make adjustments while supply is being normalized.
Andres Jejen, Global Product Director for Retail Execution at AFS Technologies, noted in an interview that “when you’re managing product in millions of locations, it’s easy to see the advantage to having a continuous flow of information. [Representatives] have all the information they need…the moment they walk into a store and will know how to manage store inventory to be as effective as possible.”[vi]
Assortment decisions are critical to in-store success—32 percent of shoppers decide what to buy at the store shelf when they see products and deals.[vii] Cloud solutions support optimal in-store execution by making information easy for reps to access. By providing field teams with the latest insights and guidance, you enable them to take the right actions faster, such as executing on planogram or promotion changes.
To learn more about current Software-as-a-Service solutions for retail execution, take a look at AFS POP Retail Execution and AFS Retail Execution on AppSource today.
[i] EKN 2016
[ii] http://www.isba.org.uk/news/2015/09/10/greater-self-reliance-new-agency-models-and-performance-based-metrics-are-top-priorities-as-cmos-prepare-for-2020
[iii] http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/digital-business
[iv] EKN 2016
[v] Retail Insights Survey, Microsoft, 2015
[vi] https://blogs.microsoft.com/iot/2016/11/07/retail-execution-best-practices-in-the-age-of-iot-qa-with-industry-leader-afs-technologies/
[vii] EKN 2016
