🍫 How do I get into FMCG Brand Marketing?
We’re often asked this question by candidates with excellent marketing backgrounds who would love to move into the world of FMCG. So why is the move so difficult to make? Surely, a passion for brands, a love of food/drink/cosmetics, a degree or professional qualification and a strong set of marketing skills are transferrable?
🤔 The truthful answer is, it’s not that straightforward. There are specific skills and experiences that are pretty much essential for a role in FMCG, so what are they, and can you align your own experience to get noticed?
🧩 At the most basic level, FMCG marketing is about understanding the DNA of the brand and why consumers want to buy it, in a way that is profitable for the business. This involves skilled strategic planning – annually as well as longer term. You need the knowledge and understanding of all the moving parts and how they fit together to make the plan work, which is a skill set built over time, with plenty of repetition and mistakes along the way.
🆕 Creating new products involves researching and analysing data and insights to develop compelling concepts that consumer will buy not just once, but again and again. Can you manufacture and sell those products profitably, through existing or new routes to market? How much will the development process cost? How long will it take? Will the supermarkets or online retailers ‘buy in’ to your idea? How will you support the launch? How much do you need to make?
💵 How will you promote your products and how much should you spend? Which media should you use and how will you measure success? How much should you allocate to retailers for marketing support, promotions and exclusive products? Selling products too cheaply can undermine brand equity and affect repeat purchase outside promotional periods.
📊 What about your portfolio? How well are products selling? What’s the future demand, bearing in mind key selling periods? Can ingredients or packaging be tweaked to increase profit or improve sustainability? Will retailers still stock it and will consumers still buy it if you make changes? What about shelf-life? What about selling through old stock?
🥅 ⚽ In summary, whilst it isn’t an impossible move to make, it’s not an easy switch and you’ll need to highlight your skills in the best way to achieve your goal!
Tarsh & Partners Marketing Recruitment
Adam Tarsh | Janine Darley | Alex Hooper
Head of Analytics, Research & MarTech | Experienced Leader in Marketing technology, Data Science, digital analytics and Qual/Quant Research
1moCongratulations Lovely lady!!! They are so lucky to have you joining them! You’ll smash it 🥳❤️