Spending hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars per year on sampling campaigns, but looking from the business perspective, it is clear that these campaigns cost too much compared to the results obtained, if not outright wasteful. Are the samples reaching the intended audience? Is the customer data collected accurate? Beyond receiving a free sample, is there a unique customer experience?
Sampling – A Timeless Marketing Strategy in FMCG
Sampling campaigns in the FMCG sector are a popular marketing strategy to introduce new products to potential customers by offering free samples for them to try directly. This is a marketing ”trick” that helps increase brand awareness because you can reach a large number of customers by stimulating excitement and attracting interest in the allure of “free.”
With a higher goal, many businesses aim to collect customer feedback through samples to plan to adjust/upgrade products and increase the chances of converting customers from competitors.
Don’t let outdated methods diminish the “heat” of sampling
Every year, FMCG brands spend hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars to distribute samples. However, the effectiveness of these campaigns often fail to meet their objectives due to data management issues: the PG team under pressure of KPIs might fabricate data or third parties might exploit the system to obtain and resell samples.
This leads to two major problems, (1) the waste of budget for the sampling campaign, (2) the chaos of input data that seriously affects future data analysis and procession.
For a closer analysis, we can look at the evolutionary history of the form of sampling:
Traditional Sampling
We might not forget the PGs standing at the booths inviting people to use the sample when going to the supermarket or going to the market with our mother when we were young. This “early-stage” sampling method of FMCG businesses with a lot of shortcomings related to operational costs (PG’s recruitment & training costs, logistics,…), each PG’s performance, data fraud to store samples,…
Automated Sampling Booths
Although this method limits the inadequacies from PGs, it does not provide direct interaction between businesses and customers, diminishing customer engagement. Additionally, if the number of customers who want to take samples exceeds the capacity of the automated booth, the machine is broken or has technical problems, the sampling campaigns will be interrupted, lowering effectiveness.
Online Sampling
In the last decade, with the internet’s rise, FMCG businesses also made efforts to improve online sampling. This method allows businesses to distribute samples to pre-registered recipients via the internet. With a sample aggregation website, users can choose the product they want to receive free sampling. This method is considered optimal when it can both reach a large number of customers and solve problems related to people and machine operation.
However, none of the above-mentioned methods can completely solve the problem of verifying input data. With more than 15 years of experience in FMCG and providing a powerful technology platform for data collection and consolidation, PangoCDP helps FMCG businesses raise the level of sampling campaigns.
Elevate Sampling Campaigns with Master Channel
This method not only leverages the advantages of traditional methods but also addresses their shortcomings, sampling campaigns through The Master Channel also helps businesses enhance customer engagement. Thereby reducing dropout rates, boosting revenue, and fostering loyalty.
Standardized Input Data
Unlike previous ways of sampling, customers will provide a phone number/email or automatically fill in a phone number or email leading to errors or intentionally filling in the wrong information, with the playback of sampling via Master Channel, the customer will be the one who actively scans the QR code and the information will be filled in by the platform. The business completely has the correct data, which has been authenticated by the Master Channel.
Unlike traditional sampling where customers manually provide phone numbers/emails or automatically fill in phone numbers or emails leading to errors or intentional misinformation, implementing sampling through The Master Channel enables customers to scan a QR code actively and the information will be filled automatically. The business completely has the correct data verified by the platform.
Transparent Data
Sampling campaigns often face fraud, taking advantage of sampling programs to get samples to use or resell to the market. With sampling campaigns through The Master Channel, businesses will ensure samples reaching the end-users. Businesses can completely manage the distribution journey thanks to the sampling report: which points or promoters issued samples, the quantity, and peak times. Detailed effectiveness measurement helps minimize budget waste for sampling campaigns.
Unlimited Distribution Network
In the past, manufacturers often depended on high-cost and quantity-limited PG teams. With the solution provided by PangoCDP and The Master Channel, the sampling will be replicated to tens of thousands of sales points, including convenience store chains or grocery stores. After registering online, users can pick up samples at any designated point.
Beyond Sampling Campaigns – It’s also a Long – term Customer Engagement
In today’s multitasking era, mere sample distribution to customers is nothing special to mention. One of the biggest advantages of sampling through The Master Channel is the ability to combine with other interactive scenarios such as customer surveys, useful product information, and personalized messages to enhance the overall experience.
In a recent Nutifood campaign, they combined sampling and surveys through The Master Channel to collect customer feedback on the brand for segmentation.
In the context of the economic downturn, businesses scrutinize every expenditure – How can they maximize ROI? With a new sampling method through Master Channel, manufacturers can both ensure input data, optimize processes, control distribution journeys, and engage customers through the campaign. With a single campaign, FMCG businesses can achieve multiple business objectives. Scan the code to experience it now!
If you’re interested in The Master Channel and PangoCDP to achieve breakthrough revenue results, contact us at: https://pangocdp.com/vi/
Not only data exploitation strategies, but also detailed marketing campaign implementations for businesses based on data orientation and much new knowledge around The Master Channel will be presented in detail in The Main Interaction Channel – The Master Channel, Volume 1.
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