Digital Marketing in the world of FMCG

Digital marketing in the world of FMCG.

In this ever changing landscape of digital marketing where we have access to the world on our mobile phone and tablets, we realise the simplicity of purchasing whatever we want and whenever we want it. As a consumer we’ve taken it for granted that we can search on the internet for our favourite products and with a few clicks of a button, the products are in our baskets and then hey presto, they are being dispatched to our door!

But what does this mean to our traditional marketers from the world of FMCG where the digital marketing requirement was less of a necessity? Up until a year ago or more, we didn’t have clients asking for FMCG  brand managers with strong digital skills – it was expected that you would know how to roll out an omni-channel campaign, but these days more and more job descriptions are asking for individual candidates to know digital app marketing  and  to have a full and complete understanding of a digital marketing campaign for their brands. Some clients want candidates to know about how to manage an e-commerce site as well – becoming part of their brand management responsibility.

This is the beginning of the big roll-out within the digital landscape. Only recently we worked with a food client who was working on a big sponsorship campaign, and the brand team were all responsible for the full digital piece – getting the you-tube channel running, uploading content to all the digital platforms, managing the content, working with the back end developers to make sure it all collaborated, and then analysed and evaluated the results. Yes they had support from an agency, but this was literally “just support” – not the expectation that the agency managed the whole process end to end, which is what was expected in years gone by.

So what next? How do you ensure that you don’t get left behind as a traditional marketer in the world of digital transformation?  There are plenty of courses available to study on-line or at evening school where you can improve and learn new digital marketing skills.

Go on-line and start following your favourite brands and see what they are doing? Follow their channels, their communications, test that what they are doing actually works, look at how they message to all their target audiences and see if there is a shift according to demographics? Start thinking about how you would do this for the brand you work for? How can you grow your business or your brand cost effectively but with impact? These are conversations you can have when you go on interview as well.

In your current work, offer to be involved in projects that you may not naturally be included in so far. If there’s a digital agency – get to know what they do!? If there’s a digital project manager or colleague – take them for lunch and ask them all about their job and discover what they do that’s different to your role. Learn the talk! It’s important to start seeing how A leads to B leads to C! There will be a time when every FMCG marketer will have to be proficient in all aspects of digital marketing and you don’t want to be left behind! 

If you want to discuss your marketing or digital career further then don't hesitate to make contact with us at Better Placed (www.betterplaced.com) and the right consultant will be able to help. We have three offices in Leeds, Manchester and London so cover roles on a nationwide basis!