Economist Intelligence Unit Survey Reveals Consumer Goods Companies Are Experimenting More With Mobile and Social Media to Engage With and Sell Directly to Consumers

REDWOOD SHORES, CA--(Marketwire - Feb 27, 2012) - Oracle (NASDAQ: [ ORCL ])

News Facts

A recent study conducted by the [ Economist Intelligence Unit ] (EIU) and sponsored by [ Oracle Consumer Goods ] found that Consumer Goods (CG) companies are increasingly experimenting with new ways to establish and enhance direct, two-way relationships with consumers.
The report, "[ New Directions: Consumer Goods Companies Hone a Cross-Channel Approach to Consumer Marketing ]," surveyed 221 CG executives worldwide from a wide range of industries to determine how CG companies are integrating new channels such as social media and mobile into their marketing mix.
The report found that the use of social and mobile channels are increasingly helping CG companies become more comfortable with the direct-to-consumer selling model, with the number of companies selling products directly to consumers expected to increase from 24 percent to 41 percent over the next 12 months.
The results also showed that over the next 12 months CG companies plan to leverage social media for a broad range of marketing activities, including product promotion (74 percent), capturing consumer feedback (63 percent) and customer service (62 percent).
In addition, 74 percent of CEO-level respondents say social media is a priority for increasing loyalty over the next 12 months. Nearly twice as many survey respondents (33 percent) say social media will be a top priority in the next 12 months as those who say it's a priority today (17 percent). Despite the growing social and mobile marketing trend, survey respondents and other CG executives see their nascent e-commerce efforts as complementary to, not competing with, existing retail channels, but are committed to expanding their direct-to-consumer strategies.
A full copy of the results is available here: [ "New Directions: Consumer Goods Companies Hone a Cross-Channel Approach to Consumer Marketing" report ]

Supporting Quote

"To attract and engage the consumer, consumer goods (CG) manufacturers are increasingly exploring ways to integrate new channels such as mobile and social media into their marketing mix," said Cassandra Moren, senior director, consumer goods industry marketing, Oracle. "Direct to consumer interaction is growing, as evidenced by the research, and it is critical in today's highly-competitive global economy that consumer goods companies take advantage of every touch point with the consumer. As the EIU report shows, this now involves a combination of physical and digital environments, including social media and mobile platforms."

Supporting Resources

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New Study Reveals Consumer Goods Companies Are Increasingly Going Direct to Consumers

New Study Reveals Consumer Goods Companies Are Increasingly Going Direct to Consumers