CG Firms Increase Sales & Marketing Investments
June 22, 2009 -- As the recession presses on, IT budgets in the consumer goods industry face more scrutiny than ever before. Nevertheless, results from the 2009 Sales & Marketing Report, conducted by CGT and AMR Research, signal that IT spending on sales and marketing continues to grow.
As a follow up to a lively panel discussion at the 2009 Consumer Goods Sales & Marketing Summit, AMR Research's Vice President of Consumer Products Lora Cecere led a Web seminar discussion focused on the report's findings. She was joined by Jon Harding, CIO, Conair, and Stan Pingelski, director NA Sales IT, Campbell Soup, who added real-world insights to the survey findings.
Rob Russell, director Industry Solutions, Consumer Goods, Retail and Hospitality, AT&T, was also on hand to provide cross-industry context to the report's results based on 18 years of experience advising major global brands on how to improve their marketing and distribution operations.
Here are a few highlights from the web event:
- According to the survey, 55 percent of respondents are increasing IT spending to support sales and marketing in 2009/2010. Both Conair and Campbell Soup are experiencing tightened IT budgets, but reaching the consumer through marketing messages that support their branded products remains imperative. Harding advices: "Pick a few key strategic projects to focus on, especially during these times of ever-increasing operating expenses. Properly targeted, a relatively small amount of money can be spent to greatly increase efficiencies and reduce overall operating expenses." Pingelski added, "You can't do it all in today's world, and you really need to ensure that you are picking the issues that are causing the most pain or have the best return on investment. Then once you decide to do them, do them really well."
- When it comes to the importance versus performance of specific sales and marketing capabilities, survey respondents identified large gaps in two main areas: marketing analysis and shopper insight collection and management. Without a doubt, the industry's lack of sound master data management processes and systems lend to these shortcomings. Both panelists identified investments in business intelligence and downstream data as key strategic projects that are receiving resources and funding throughout the recession. "Part of our work each year is simply understanding the changing customer dynamics and allocating the right resources against the right customers," says Pingelski. "We must work to improve the use of in-store data, shopper data, loyalty data, etc. to still be a valued manufacturer for our key customers."
- Relationships always matter in sales, but in the consumer goods industry, fact-based selling is critical. "Equipping sales people at any level with timely information for better decision-making -- maybe even specific to that account or store -- is enormously valuable," said Russell, who also commented on the quality of mobile applications on the market today: "There are a lot of applications that work really well on mobile phones now -- a lot of the developers have made great strides to make information relevant not only to that person but to their exact time and location in the selling process. Consumer goods companies realize that spending money on mobility solutions will save them money in much bigger cost centers."
To listen to this event in its entirety, click here.
To download your copy of the 2009 Sales & Marketing Report, click here.
As a follow up to a lively panel discussion at the 2009 Consumer Goods Sales & Marketing Summit, AMR Research's Vice President of Consumer Products Lora Cecere led a Web seminar discussion focused on the report's findings. She was joined by Jon Harding, CIO, Conair, and Stan Pingelski, director NA Sales IT, Campbell Soup, who added real-world insights to the survey findings.
Rob Russell, director Industry Solutions, Consumer Goods, Retail and Hospitality, AT&T, was also on hand to provide cross-industry context to the report's results based on 18 years of experience advising major global brands on how to improve their marketing and distribution operations.
Here are a few highlights from the web event:
- According to the survey, 55 percent of respondents are increasing IT spending to support sales and marketing in 2009/2010. Both Conair and Campbell Soup are experiencing tightened IT budgets, but reaching the consumer through marketing messages that support their branded products remains imperative. Harding advices: "Pick a few key strategic projects to focus on, especially during these times of ever-increasing operating expenses. Properly targeted, a relatively small amount of money can be spent to greatly increase efficiencies and reduce overall operating expenses." Pingelski added, "You can't do it all in today's world, and you really need to ensure that you are picking the issues that are causing the most pain or have the best return on investment. Then once you decide to do them, do them really well."
- When it comes to the importance versus performance of specific sales and marketing capabilities, survey respondents identified large gaps in two main areas: marketing analysis and shopper insight collection and management. Without a doubt, the industry's lack of sound master data management processes and systems lend to these shortcomings. Both panelists identified investments in business intelligence and downstream data as key strategic projects that are receiving resources and funding throughout the recession. "Part of our work each year is simply understanding the changing customer dynamics and allocating the right resources against the right customers," says Pingelski. "We must work to improve the use of in-store data, shopper data, loyalty data, etc. to still be a valued manufacturer for our key customers."
- Relationships always matter in sales, but in the consumer goods industry, fact-based selling is critical. "Equipping sales people at any level with timely information for better decision-making -- maybe even specific to that account or store -- is enormously valuable," said Russell, who also commented on the quality of mobile applications on the market today: "There are a lot of applications that work really well on mobile phones now -- a lot of the developers have made great strides to make information relevant not only to that person but to their exact time and location in the selling process. Consumer goods companies realize that spending money on mobility solutions will save them money in much bigger cost centers."
To listen to this event in its entirety, click here.
To download your copy of the 2009 Sales & Marketing Report, click here.