n Tesco has global ambitions for its data warehouse giving suppliers access to critical marketing information says Ed Bedington Tesco's understanding of its customer has been a key factor in the retailer's meteoric rise. But can the use of the same information which propelled it so far and so fast have the same pay off for the manufacturing sector? That's the question Tesco, along with marketing consultancy Dunnhumby, in which it has a controlling stake, is hoping to answer. Through it, the retailer is making available to manufacturers information gleaned from its Clubcard scheme. "Tesco realises that to do a good job, it needs to understand the consumer and it sees that manufacturers need to understand their consumers as well as Tesco does," says dunnhumby chairman Clive Humby. This means companies will have access to information on more than 10 million consumers. "Granted, they're all Tesco customers, but Tesco is a broad church with a wide variety of customers," Humby adds, although he acknowledges it has limitations. "Most of the big brands are global or at least Europe wide, and they're not likely to do something radically different in the UK. "What would make it more attractive to manufacturers is if they could have the same kind of insight from 20 countries. But that's a big challenge, perhaps the biggest we face ­ to ensure other retailers around the world have the same systems as us. So we need to work out how to deliver this globally." Loyalty cards were not new when Tesco launched Clubcard five years ago, but Humby says the multiple's application of the scheme was new. "The company recognised what it was, that it was a consumer insight tool and not just promotional. Clubcard was a way for Tesco to get close to their customers." Now the supermarket is looking to extend that unique advantage to manufacturers, giving them the kind of information standard market research does not offer. Humby says: "What we can measure is those time critical, small number of things that traditional market research would struggle to do. Asking to find someone who bought a brand post-promotion who hadn't bought it before the promotion is a market researcher's nightmare." At the moment Tesco is using the data to focus on enabling manufacturers to understand how its marketing strategy is working, and whether it's showing any returns. "Who's buying the products? What's the change following an ad or promotional campaign? Did it sell more, or just encourage stockpiling?" says Humby. "These are the sort of things we can look at.Who bought it, was it for the first time, and, much more importantly, who stayed with the brand, because that's what promotions are all about." As well as revealing what effects your marketing and advertising is having on the consumer, the information can also be used to create a strategy. Humby adds: "At the moment, manufacturers see consumer data as a result of what they are doing. Retailers, however, see it as shaping what they do. "The biggest problem manufacturers face is getting their message across to consumers because the channels have become so fragmented." Humby says the data they can supply will allow manufacturers to build models to assess where their advertising spend would be most effective. Because the feedback from Clubcard is weekly, it gives time for campaigns and promotions already running to be altered, or pulled, to limit damage and costs should they fail to achieve their objective. Humby adds: "We can see whether the advertising worked. At the moment, ads are judged on their creativity, not on their contribution to the business." The fact the company is selling information on its customers' shopping habits may seem to be a source of worry for shoppers, but Tesco is quick to point out that all information is anonymous. Humby says that big businesses are simply not interested in the individual, and would rather sell to a big group. "No one person is worth enough for that information to be important to an organisation. We have to be careful with the data, but I believe the British public expect companies to know about them and use that information well to help them have a better shopping experience. If you abuse the data, customers will vote with their feet. The big brother angle is grossly overstated." Humby says the scheme is still in the early stages and they're taking it one step at a time with their existing clients: "We are learning what manufacturers want from the data and they are learning what it's like to have that kind of insight. But we've been doing it with Tesco for five years, and we're still learning how to use it as a retailer." n {{FEATURES }}

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