The majority of consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are mining the best data in order improve trade promotion investments, but lack the internal resources to create actionable strategies from that information, according to a recent study from Accenture.
As many as 61% of the 350 CPG executives surveyed by Accenture said they don’t have the talent to help produce a return on their trade promotion platform investment.
Only a small number (19%) of CPG executives view their trade promotion performance as industry leading; and just more than half (53%) believe their company’s trade promotion performance is good, but can be improved. In addition, 28% of respondents believe the company’s trade promotion performance is “totally ineffective” or is in need of significant improvement.
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Additional findings from the report include:
- 71% of CPG companies have increased their trade promotion spending in response to the economic downturn;
- 27% believe their trade promotion return on investment (ROI) has increased by more than one quarter since the downturn; and
- 16% believe that their ROI has declined.
Most survey respondents identify predictive analytics as a critical tool for improving trade promotion performance. In fact, 54% of respondents view predictive analytics as important or very important for companies seeking improvements in this area, while 56% rated predictive analytics as being very desirable or the most desirable way for their company to improve trade promotion efforts.
To help improve trade promotion performance, Accenture is offering a solution called Accenture Perfect Promotion, “designed to help clients increase their trade promotion volume and effectiveness with less investment,” reported Ed Stark, a managing director in Accenture’s Consumer Goods & Services practice, in a company press release.
