Why Do You Need CPG Data?

A little bit of retail data can make a huge difference in formulating retail strategy and winning over new buyers in line/category reviews. Especially for data novices in the CPG industry. But, you shouldn’t be collecting CPG data that you have no use for. Many business owners find themselves drowning in data because they don’t know how to segment the data and focus on valuable things. Tip: You should only collect the data that can be used to drive revenue.

What Types of Data Should You Collect?

Data can seem overwhelming to many CPG business owners, especially when there are so many forms it comes in. Luckily, there are only three main categories of data that you need to worry about. Collecting retail, customer, and marketing CPG data can help you invest your budget and efforts to maximize returns and grow sustainably.

Here’s a closer look at the data you should definitely be collecting:

1. Retail Data

The most important type of data for a CPG company to track is retail data. This includes things like pricing and promotion data, sales figures, assortment data, and market share information. Some of these figures can come directly from your retailer, but more likely will need to be acquired by using a retail data analytics company. However, not every company has access to the same amount of actionable data. Fortunately, NielsenIQ has contracts with most major retailers and can get you up-to-date reports down to a product level. We even give you insight into the best actions to take to maximize revenue and limit spend.

2. Customer Insights

Customer insights is an often-overlooked set of data for small CPG businesses. This data includes customer persona data like customer demographics, life stage, lifetime value to your brand, and purchasing behavior. This type of data helps you better understand consumer wants and needs so you can position your products appropriately. If your customers aren’t having their needs met by your offerings, they’re much more likely to leave for a competitor. You can also use this data to influence your promotion and CPG marketing strategies.

3. Marketing Data

Finally, you need to be tracking marketing data for your brand. This includes engagement with your marketing efforts, advertising costs, SEO rankings, and lead generation. This information lets you understand where your ad dollars are working and where they aren’t. Many small CPG brands find themselves spending their budgets on marketing efforts that don’t drive sales. This negatively impacts their ability to convince retailers to carry their products because their profits aren’t as high as they should be. Tracking marketing spend will allow you to invest in the right tools and target only the most profitable markets.