Customer relationships are now digital-centric, with consumers spending, on average, almost six hours per day on digital media.

Companies are expected to not just meet the needs of customers, but to anticipate and exceed them. Having the ability to adapt to changing conditions, act swiftly on customer feedback, bring solutions to market quickly and refine them continuously will all be critical for consumer goods brands both now and in the future.

The ability to collect, interpret and translate customer data into actionable insights is critical to understanding customers. Without it, consumer brands fall short on responding quickly to changes in trends and consumer demand.
By focusing on adapting business models to enable a true omnichannel experience while using data and technology to deliver hyper personalised experiences, consumer goods companies can accelerate online offerings while beating the competition and nurturing long-term loyalty from both new and existing customers.

Finding best-in-class talent is tough, not least because the industry is competing with energetic start-ups, and tech giants—all of which tend to be more appealing to the most in-demand talent profiles. Even the hottest consumer brands may not be perceived as desirable, so there is a big job ahead to rectify this.