Is it time to reconsider how your consumer packaged goods (CPG) business accesses external data? There are two main ways that small to mid-sized CPG manufacturers get market and product performance insights: one-off reports, or through a continuously updated database. Each method suits different manufacturers’ needs, so it’s possible that the “snapshot” you get with a standalone report is all you need right now.
However, your business may be ready for an on-demand and up-to-the minute approach to accessing data. Here are three signs to help you determine whether you’re ready to gain access to NielsenIQ’s Answers on Demand, a database of CPG market insights:
The tipping point: Three signs you’re ready to access NielsenIQ’s database of CPG market insights
Your buyers are asking you for data
Imagine you work for a manufacturer of meal kits. Your product has been selling quite successfully at Retailer X for over a year. Over the past 12 months, you’ve provided quarterly updates into your product’s performance, as well as the external factors and trends affecting your product category that could help the company boost category sales. Previous to you providing these updates, the retailer didn’t have access to this type of information, so it proved very valuable. For these reasons, Retailer X starts asking you for more data more frequently, which you happily agree to do because it’s a chance for both parties to increase sales.
Spreadsheet-based reports become too cumbersome
Say you’re a manufacturer of a new sugar-free beverage. You’ve been on the shelf at Retailer Y for a while, and have been managing your data needs with a monthly brand and item ranking report. But now your product is gaining traction, and has just gotten placed in another three accounts. You can’t solely rely on a brand and item ranking because you need to produce multiple reports with account-level data to see how your product is performing across these new retailers. However, when you start to analyze these multiple data sets, you realize managing and manipulating so much data in a simple spreadsheet can quickly turn into a time-consuming and cumbersome process. To streamline you gain access to NielsenIQ’s database, which provides you with access to an always-on system that houses the latest CPG market insights, and gives you the power to create reports right when you need them. It’s also an opportunity to save you money, because now that your data needs are more robust, database access can be less expensive compared to getting the same data sets produced and delivered monthly.
It becomes a better use of resources
Your ice-cream manufacturing company has expanded its flavor offering from chocolate to include three new flavors, and a lower calorie option for all of your product lines. Now you’ve gone from monitoring just one SKU to eight individual SKUs. But requesting eight individual reports every month takes time because your finance team has to approve each one individually. This is how one-off reports can put a significant strain on businesses’ efficiency and resources. To get the best read on the competitive dynamics for your three new flavors and the category, you need data not only for chocolate flavored ice-cream products, but also for low-calorie chocolate flavored ice-cream products. At this point it makes sense, from a cost and time perspective, to transition to ongoing database access. Depending on your business, these types of large data requests can put a strain on internal approval and review systems (e.g., line manager approvals, expense approvals, etc.). With access to NielsenIQ’s always-on database of CPG product and market data, you would be able to conduct large-scale data pulls and create just the reports you needed.
How access to NielsenIQ’s database of CPG market insights can help grow your business
Whether you’re ready to make the transition to database access now or you’re still scoping out options for the future, it’s important to understand how database access can help you reach your full growth potential. Here are some key benefits of having access to an always-on, up-to-date database:
No more manual calculations
Example: You work for a confectionary company and you get a spreadsheet-based report each month that shows how each of your flavors performed. However, you want a more sophisticated analysis with cross-tabulations based on multiple variables. With database access, you don’t have to manually calculate this, or rely on an intricate formula. Instead, you can use the database’s built-in tools to organize the information automatically and show a fine-grained breakdown of each flavor’s performance.
Data at your fingertips
Example: You have a retail buyer meeting coming up—tomorrow. But it’s been one of those weeks, and you haven’t had the chance to review the account’s performance report. Database access lets you access insights about your product and your desired accounts at any time that’s convenient to you, giving you the answers you need on demand. And because the database includes up-to-the-minute numbers, you can be assured these insights are as accurate as possible.
More robust insights
Example: You’re researching the size of a new market for your dairy-free milk product, and so is your competitor. Your competitor used ad-hoc reporting to compare two different time periods to identify an overarching trend. But you used a sophisticated, industry-trusted database to see a week-by-week breakdown, and identify how dairy-free milk products performed over the course of a year. If you use more granular findings, it’s more likely that your presentation will carry weight with buyers and compel them to put your product on the shelf instead of your competitor’s.
There are clear benefits to accessing data through a database, rather than through individual reports and files. The more you generate robust and timely insights, the more your chances of driving sales and distribution in today’s fast-paced CPG market increases. NielsenIQ can help you get access to its robust, high-coverage Answers on Demand database. Contact us today to learn more or to get started.
