The million dollar question: is fast moving consumer services (FMCS)  the same as fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) ? In an ever-rapidly changing world where everything is expendable – products, services, even people -, there is an unwritten human demand for having everything “right now”. Consumer trends are changing quicker than before. Technology mostly enabled us to seek products and resolutions that can solve problems instantaneously. Most of us accept no less than an Amazon-Prime-style delivery for our products and instant help with enquiries. The middle class became “spoilt” with choice and it makes me wonder whether it is the product or the service that we have high expectations of.

 Back to basics then to help us identify the difference between FMCG and fast moving consumer services.

FMCG are consumer goods that are demanded in abundance for everyday private consumption. They cover a large product portfolio including food and non-food categories and their lifespan is usually shorter than a year. Mostly FMCG are delivered through B2C retail channels. However, they could also be delivered through procurement channels for B2B and B2B2C public organisations – NHS tender for own-brand and branded healthcare products for example. Many companies invest large amounts of money for the development of new products. They base their investment on recent market trends and research findings, adapting the product, packaging and labelling to meet country-specific requirements. I had to do that with some of my products when I was working as a product manager in the automotive retail aftermarket. Fast service on this occasion used to be a matter of good supply chain and good project planning with the factories in China and Taiwan. 

Slow moving consumer services

Someone could argue that there are goods out there that are slow moving (SMCG). If we think of household goods that their lifespan is longer than a year, that would mean that furniture, white appliances and even shed tools can be considered SMCG. The sales of those categories could be slower compared to FMCG, however, turnover could be higher per sale due to the product lifecycle. Do they come under fast moving consumer services? I believe that the service of delivering the goods is quite standard for SMCG. Delivering serviced enquiries on time is usually the struggle, i.e. when your boiler breaks down and you wait 4 days for the next appointment slot to be free is not good and fast service.

 

What about fast moving consumer services?

For me, fast moving consumer services (or FMCS) come in two parts: delivery of a product/service proposition and aftercare. Most people don’t think of services as fast-moving. In fact, services usually resonates within the “delivery” slot of FMCG. With the cut of delivery times of goods, services started being a fast-moving intangible asset for both companies and consumers to keep up with demand. Services that simplify consumers’ lives and disrupt an industry with high turnover times and bureaucracy are the ones that modern consumers shift towards to. Bright example of disrupting archaic business models and  innovating is the finance industry: banks vs challenger banks.

Part of fast moving consumers services is also the aftercare of a product or a service. I bought, for example, a GeForce Nvidia graphics card from Amazon a couple of years ago. However, I received a random product instead. When I called Amazon, the resolution offered was almost instant – better than their Prime delivery. I was really happy with the service and I left a 5 star review for the call handler. Even if I can find what I want on PC World, I would still buy it from Amazon because I can trust them to service me quickly and reply to my queries in real time. 

 

What is the value-for-money of fast moving consumer services?

Expectations have changed rapidly, so has the pricing of tangible and intangible products. Most of us have come to terms with the fact that the Far East makes most of the products we own. When I was working for FMCG companies, a bulk of my time daily was to speak on Skype with my Chinese suppliers, exchange pictures of ideas for products, check existing stock, cost pricing, and most importantly delivery times. However, consumers still want quality products and they are willing to pay more for something that looks, feels and performs better than the cheaper version. It has to do with the longevity of the product, the value-for-money.

When it comes to fast moving consumer services (FMCS), we should be expecting better and faster services as standard, not only for tangible but also for intangible products. Technology allows us to improve customer service with just-in-time (JIT) deliveries and real-time updates. If technology enables us to develop a smoother customer journey, we would be imbeciles not to grab that opportunity.

The modern consumer, for example, uses an ATM inside a bank instead waiting at the queue to speak to someone, even if there is a queue at the ATM. The modern consumer prefers to order something online for a store pick-up whenever it is convenient for them, even if the item was in stock at the shop right now. When the washing machine breaks, people want someone to come quickly and fix it so the mishap does not disrupt their everyday life. What is relative with these examples is time. Fast moving consumer services (FMCS) save time for the consumer. Therefore, whether you are an FMCG company or an organisation within the private or public sector (the NHS and councils count, too), saving time is the most important factor when it comes to improving services for modern consumers.

 

Should fast moving consumer services be a sector of their own? 

I believe that fast moving consumer services should be a sector on their own to represent companies who do not sell physical products. Sectors that have got a history of long-winded bureaucracy should be looking to simplify the customer journey. In my opinion, tech companies are the ones who strive to crack FMCS. Delivering a product on time is not the ultimate factor. Delivering the maintenance on time, in real time, and dealing with customer enquiries and issues is also part of the fast moving consumer services industry.

Companies, regardless of the size or the industry, should have their marketing managers not getting their hands dirty all the time. This is what the members of the team supporting the marketing manager do. The job of the marketing manager is researching, visualising, planning and implementing. A company without a simple, clear customer journey map that is explicitly visualised and digested by every department is a company that will fail to retain sales and profits. 

Visualising a customer journey map helps us understand and explain the process that person goes through in order to accomplish that goal tied to a business service or a product. It also helps with consumer focus groups and secret shoppers. Each touchpoint of the journey is an influential action that started from a type of communication, a sensory or physical interaction or human contact. We understand what touches the customer every step of the way and helps us improve, simplify or create new steps within the process to help in the decision making. The “making it easy for the customer to buy” doesn’t come from shoving the product in the customer’s face. It comes from creating an emotion through purchase, an experience that the customer will be more than glad to share through word of mouth and be proud of that purchase.

Why am I talking about the customer journey? Because this is where companies can start adding value to people’s lives, improving their services and delivering them faster. A strong FMCS with a simple, clear and fast process can become a competitive advantage. As soon as that competitive advantage kicks in, you will stop being in the middle of price wars because your service is setting you apart from any price. Modern consumers, rising middle class wants you as a company to react real time. As long as you manage that and pass it on as an evangelion through your company values, people like Paddy Power with ad messages like “no loyalty, only rewards” message will put their marketing budget money where their mouth is. 

 

Thank you for taking time to read my blog, I appreciate it.  If you have any comments, please, leave them below. If you want to send me some feedback on this piece or want to discuss anything else in private, you can email me on vdiamanti@gmail.com .