Salesforce's Devin Kunysz: CRM-Driven Consumer Goods Growth

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Devin Kunysz, Senior Director of Physical Goods Industries, Retail, Consumer Goods, and Manufacturing at Salesforce, the #1 AI CRM—where humans with agents drive customer success together with AI, data, and Customer 360 apps on one platform.

This episode is sponsored by Saleforce

Follow Devin on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinkunysz/

Follow Salesforce online at: https://www.salesforce.com/consumer-goods/cloud/

Devin answers these questions:

1. Tech Fueled Sales: Why is CPG selling, still operating the way it did in 2010? So much has changed, but the process looks very much the same. What are some of the leaders doing with “tech-fueled sales” that our listeners should be thinking about?
2. We talk a lot about 'the cloud' and real-time data, but any field rep will tell you that the back of a grocery store usually has zero cell service. How critical is it for a modern commercial hub to function fully offline, and how does that change the day-to-day life of a field seller? 
3. Let’s make the unified commercial hub concrete. What does it actually mean to connect trade promotion management, CRM, and retail execution — and how does that change the quality of joint business planning and value-creation conversations with key accounts?
4. There’s this catch-22 we see a lot in CPG right now. Growth slows down, so brands freeze hiring or cut budgets—which means they don’t have the resources to actually chase the channels where the growth is happening. What does this vicious cycle actually look like on the ground, and how can the right tech snap a brand out of it? 
5. Focus on the Consumer: Moving to the consumer side, why should CPG brands be thinking about agentic shopping, and what should they be doing about it?
6. AI is inserting a new discovery layer between brands and consumers, and a shopper agent can shrink the digital shelf down to just three to five items. How should CPGs operate in that world so both B2C and B2B revenue don’t suffer?
7. Why does a data flywheel matter? CPG data strategy tends to be siloed — consumer insights in one tool, retailer insights in sales notes and spreadsheets. What changes when data is created at every step and flows from consumer engagement to promotion choices to in-store execution?
8. One growth pocket is reaching customers that were previously unprofitable to serve, like the long tail of accounts. How does a connected commercial platform make it possible to serve those customers profitably?
9. Beyond the traditional channels, we’re seeing market leaders explore enhanced direct channels — not just D2C sites, but using that data to power personalized, breakthrough products at the front of store. How should CPGs think about that opportunity?
10. To wrap us up: if you’re a CPG leader listening today, what is the first step you should take to start building a connected front office, and what should they realistically expect success to look like a year from now?

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