As an investor in the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) industry, you should continuously study the behavior of your target consumers to know what they want and how you can deliver it to them promptly and consistently. To understand consumer behavior, it’s important to have the right data and to fully understand the latest CPG industry trends.
This data will show you what your target consumers want so that you can package your products in a way that appeals to them. Obtaining this kind of data requires the right consumer products software that will collect, analyze, and report large volumes of data in real-time.
This is where enterprise resource planning (ERP) resources come in handy. ERP systems are designed to help both small and large organizations gather, organize, analyze, and manage large volumes of data coming from different sources.
These systems integrate and streamline different processes and departments in an organization, ensuring that everyone has access to real-time data that they can rely on to make informed decisions. As a manufacturer or supplier of CPGs, you need this data to personalize and align your operations with the preferences of your consumers.
In the ever-growing CPG industry, manufacturers and suppliers of consumer-packaged products must have robust demand planning and forecasting capabilities in order to successfully predict the market and ensure their products meet the needs of their customers.
These forecasting and planning strategies must be informed by real-time data insights obtained from the market and other useful sources. Many business owners are only familiar with one aspect of ERP systems, which involves streamlining operations, collecting and reporting data, and enhancing supply chain and consumer goods inventory management.
Very few businesses know that they can use ERP solutions for customer experience improvement and management. This system can provide you with a comprehensive view of your clients, giving you the necessary insights to enhance your customer experience. This goes hand-in-hand with studying the behaviors of your target customers so that you can offer them products that satisfy their needs.
In 2020, Adobe conducted a study on the effect of great customer experience on a business. It revealed that businesses that focus on giving their customers the best experience are likely to achieve–and even exceed–their business goals three times faster than those that don’t.
Fortunately, most of the latest ERP systems can be integrated with customer relationship management (CRM) solutions to help businesses uncover their customers’ preferences. This integration gives you access to important details about your customers, such as their purchasing history and their contact details.
Because your ERP system also serves as your central database where important data from every department in your organization is collected, stored, synchronized, and analyzed, you’ll always have access to information about your customers at every stage of their purchase journey. From their first interactions with your business to their final purchase decisions, your ERP system enables you to track your customers and study their purchasing patterns.
For example, you can determine which consumer products are being purchased frequently and how many of those products each customer purchases. ERP software makes it easier to understand how most of your customers interact with your business–via online purchases, in-person shopping, or both. You’ll also learn how customers prefer to pay for their orders, whether that’s cash, credit cards, checks, bank drafts, or any other mode of payment.
An ERP system will help you identify your customers’ preferred mode of communication. Some customers prefer using the available technology to place their orders, while others like more traditional forms of communication, like sending letters and making phone calls.
Your ERP software makes it easy for you to determine these touchpoints so that you can identify their preferred channels of communication. This way, you can decide whether these communication methods are efficient for your business or not.
Lastly, there’s a great deal of data you can use to better understand your customers, but you can’t get this data without the right tools. An ERP system will collect this data and organize it for you in a way that makes sense to you. For a reliable ERP system to help you study your customers’ behaviors, reach out to the experts at Navigator Business Solutions today!