Marketers constantly talk about knowing what your unfair advantage is. For small CPG manufacturers, which are often the driving force behind industry innovation, turning that unfair advantage into a profitable business strategy takes a lot of work and quite a bit of finesse, too.

“As a small company, you need to double down on what you’re good at. A lot of companies try to move too fast and want to have ideas across the board. Ideas are great, but you’ve gotta be able to execute and build a program behind it, and build loyalty behind it before you try to explode nationally or explode across a number of categories.”

Executing on those big ideas when you’re a small business strapped for data can be near impossible. After all, how are you supposed to know what’s working and what’s not? That’s where Andrew Criezis, Chief Strategy and Product Officer at Byzzer, comes in. Byzzer helps small and medium-sized businesses take action while making more data accessible to small CPG businesses. On this episode of Marketing Trends, Andrew explains some of the industry trends within the CPG space that data is helping to detect, how they are helping SMBs identify that unfair advantage, and how data is helping companies not just understand consumer behavior, but market to their lifestyle.

Main Takeaways

• Take Calculated Bets: As a small company you need to understand what your strengths and weaknesses are and how they fit into your company’s long-term plans strategically. Once you’ve identified where your strengths are, double down on those strengths and build off of them before you explore new categories.
• Build a Data-First Culture: The biggest gap between large and small companies is data and how it’s used to drive their marketing strategies. By building a data-first culture, you’re not only encouraging and teaching your employees how to use and derive insights from your data, but you are also formulating a long-form plan for growth that is not reliant on chance, but what your customers are telling you.
• Data-Know How: Use your data to not only understand who your customers are but to understand how they operate from a lifestyle perspective as well. Regardless of where your data comes from, make sure that it is helping you make calculated decisions to meet your consumers at every touchpoint.

Key Quotes:

“Some of the things that we’re seeing across a number of our brands that we’ve helped with are communicating in a way that is not about selling a product, but it’s about selling a lifestyle.” 

“We’re enabling small brands to get access to panel data that historically, they never had access to. [One of our clients] was able to tease out from a loyalty standpoint, because they’re able to dig into household information and find out they have some of the most loyal customers compared to their competition.”

“We’re seeing a lot in terms of multiple channels. It’s not about just one, and it’s kind of having the component of both that is the most successful, but without some of these insights, they simply can’t tell their story. You might have a great DTC brand, and you’ve got a following, but as soon as you show up to that meeting with a retailer, they’re like, ‘Show me the data. I want to see your performance.’ Unless you know that information, or know how to tell why you’re different. That’s one of the most fundamental things with some of these small, medium-sized businesses [is knowing what makes them different].” 

“Data gives us views into demographics. What types of people are buying, what age groups, how often are they buying and what else is in their cart? That allows us to get a very deep view into loyalty. Are those same households repeating those purchases of your brand?”

“As a small company, you need to double down on what you’re good at. A lot of companies try to move too fast and want to have ideas across the board. Ideas are great, but you’ve gotta be able to execute and build a program behind it, and build a brand, and build loyalty behind it before you try to explode nationally or explode across a number of categories.”

“Understand your consumer, and understand them in a way and from a lifestyle level that you probably haven’t done before. Your data doesn’t have to be Nielsen and Byzzer, but my biggest advice is just make sure you’re using data to make decisions that you’re understanding the consumer with data, and not making decisions from your hip, but you’re understanding how the consumer landscape is changing.” 

“As you build your products, and you’re launching your products to the market, it’s super important to understand what you’re doing as a marketer is working. But at the end of the day, you have to be able to demonstrate your ROI. You have to be able to show how your campaigns are working, and you have to be able to show how you’re driving lift for the brand.”

“It’s critical from a marketing standpoint to understand the health and nature of the lifestyle that your consumers are trying to live.”

Bio:

Andrew Criezis currently serves as the Chief Strategy Officer for Byzzer, where he helps small CPG manufacturers win more market share with actionable data insights. Prior to his current role with Byzzer,  Criezis spent seven years with Nielsen, finishing as the Senior Vice President for Global Sales Enablement and Marketing. Andrew is a recognized global executive that delivers stable and visionary leadership needed in order to manage shifting priorities, spearhead innovation, and capitalize on new opportunities.  Andrew resides in the greater Boston, Mass. area.

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