CRM –A tool for success in FMCG Sector

CRM is commonly recognized as an effective tool in B2B marketing. However, does CRM also work in B2C marketing in the FMCG industry? This has long been questioned because CRM is characterized by leveraging large customer base in order to offer customized one to one marketing, ideally at the individual level. It seems that there exists a paradox between the mass appeal branding (production driven) and one-on-one customer relationship of consumer goods. It is argued that consumers are too many and too scattered, products are purchased directly from retailers, and a particular brand is just one among the many products of the same category that the retailer sells. Therefore, the value of customers is more easily captured through the distribution channel. This is where CRM becomes critical. This is the reason why end-consumer relationship programs have been by and large disjointed in the FMCG industry, although customer relationship has always been an integral part of the philosophy of many FMCG manufacturers. Relationship building is a slow process, especially in a market where the consumers are highly heterogeneous. Although FMCG companies have realized that the objectives of consumer-end CRM is to provide a platform to consumers to get closer to the company and encouraging them to offer solutions, feedback and suggestions, there is far less agreement on the model with which a CRM program can be successfully launched.