FMCG – GO TO MARKET STRATEGY
Growth Strategies for Small FMCG Companies
September 10, 2024
Channels Of Distribution: Urban and Rural
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Ever wondered why some products fly off the shelves while others gather dust?
Spoiler alert: it’s not just about having a cool logo, Eye-catching packaging, or a catchy jingle. Welcome to the world of FMCG, where a killer go-to-market strategy is your best friend for achieving product success.
Let’s dive in and uncover how to turn your FMCG product into the next big thing!
A go-to-market strategy in FMCG is a Strategic plan that outlines how a company will sell its products to customers, and here is how you can begin your go-to-market strategy journey:
We have to start by answering 2 Key things
1. Where do We Want to Go?
Identifying geographical areas or market segments becomes the first step –Which is your strongest market? What are your growth objectives as a brand? Understanding the demographics, preferences, and behaviours of the target geography.
Determining how the brand wants to be perceived in comparison to competitors…answering questions like this will give you a direction to start with!
Here is a checklist for you to follow:
Q1> Which State do you want to?
Q2> List Which Districts in this state you want to go to?
Q3>List Within these districts Which Cities, towns and Villages you want to go to?
Q4> List the population State/District/Town/Villages wise?
Q5> What is the channel through which you will reach to your consumers?
– Traditional trade – Wholesale? Retail? Type of retail outlets – Grocery, General stores, Convenience stores, eateries, chemists … etc
– Modern Trade – Retail chains, Stand alone stores, Large format stores, Hyper stores etc
Q6> The final questions is Which outlets do we want to go to? A? B? C? Small, large medium, paan shops etc.
2. How do we want to go?
Once we have identified who are customers are and where they are and have a clear picture of out target audience and Market we need to deep dive and understand what is the best medium to reach to my customers – How do we make it the most affordable? How do we make it easily available to them? Where does my target audience shop?
This is a very important step as you would possibly deciding on what your distribution setup would be like – The brand has to decide what is the best medium to reach to its consumers – Online? Ecommerce? D2C? Modern Trade? General Trade? B2B? HORECA? … etc
Here is list of channels you can explore to reach your customers:
1. Company → Consumer
(Direct to Consumer – Door to Door, Ecommerce, Quick Commerce, Website, Social Media)
2. Company Company Store → Consumer
(Have own company shops/outlets)
3. Company → Distributor → Retailer → Consumer
(Distribution model when the company is present in the same state – operationally easy to store and supply goods)
4. Company → Super-Stockist → Sub Distributors → Retailer → Consumer
(Distribution Model for when the company is expanding to different regions – scaling the business – deep penetration in the market)
The answers to the above 2 questions – depends on 2 Key factors:
1. Your Product Category
2. Your Target Consumer Segment
Who is it that you want to sell your products to? What is your target audience? Where do they live? What should be the income strata of your consumer group? What should be the age bracket? Which is the key location? … and lot may such questions for you to clearly define who is it that you are targeting!
Conclusion
As you craft your go-to-market strategy, remember that success doesn’t come from just launching a product—it’s about launching it in the right way. Keep your target audience in focus, stay adaptable, and let data guide your decisions. With the right strategy, your product isn’t just entering the market; it’s making an impact.
