Two critical questions each marketer has to ask her/him self

Two critical questions each marketer (FMCG, F&B or Retailer) has to ask him/her self as the answers will have a significant impact on the marketing and sales plans:

1- Is my brand strategy going to be a user-base or usage-base?

2- Is my brand business plan going to be offensive or defensive?

To illustrate, your brand strategy will be user-base if the growth potential can be achieved by: 1. Expanding the brand current reach (accessing new trade channels or regions) or/and 2. Targeting additional consumer’s segment with new technical/conceptual brand offering, or price reduction. 

However, for some brands adding new users either:  1. Isn’t feasible, due to certain corporate limitation, or 2. The brand has reached what can be accepted as the highest users share, so adding new user will be very costly and the investment will not pay out. Hence, it’s advisable that to switch the brand strategy to usage-base to build consumption among the current users. There are multiple techniques to drive consumption like: 1. Encouraging alternative uses i.e. Clorox laundry bleach, but also used for surface disinfection. 2. Change the consumers habit i.e. tooth paste to be used 3 times/day. 3. Upsize products to fill the length of purchase cycle i.e. DANON offer shrink-wrapped three packs of DANAO as a single sku with discount.

Now let’s assume that your brand is declining and losing sales. In this case, your brand business plan should be switched from offensive to defensive as you will need to understand the root cause behind the decline and whether: 1. Your users are departing you, to another brand or a different category, or 2. Using your brand less frequent due to finding alternatives or habit change.