What is craft beer marketing? Do you know who your customers are, where they come from and how often they return? What is your brand and what does it stand for? If you don’t know the answers to any of these questions, you may look around your crowded tasting room and think having answers isn’t important. But, the sale of Ballast Point and Saint Archer signal a changing landscape in the San Diego Craft Beer scene. Not only are big players watching, they’re making moves. No matter your opinion on business strategy and the definition of craft, one thing is for certain, as more breweries open and more big players enter the scene, competition will increase. So about those important questions, how do you better understand your customer and convey your brand?
Customer Loyalty Programs
These initiatives can take many forms. They can be technical through an app or POS system or they can be as simple as a pen and paper list. There’s lots of room for creativity here and when implemented right these programs can increase knowledge of your customer and visits to your location.
Branding
You have a logo, it may even be on a few T-shirts and your brewery space has a couple designer touches, what else is there? Your brand is how you connect with your customers. A regular may come in weekly because you’re on their way from work to home. But when they change jobs, your brand and their connection to it is what will keep them driving out of their way to continue to drink with you. When they know the story behind your location and feel invested in your success, that’s powerful stuff. How can you better integrate your brand and your story into your business?
Direct/Digital Marketing
Call it what you want, it’s your website, email and social media. I’ve signed up for countless email lists at local breweries, very few have ever sent me a message. I often see great events taking place at breweries, only to not be able to find the event details again, they’re not on the breweries website and they’ve been buried in social media feeds. Do you have a plan for your social media accounts? Or do multiple people in your organization just post as they see fit? Your social media may be authentic, but it could probably be doing more for you. Ignoring this category is not wise, eventually consumers will gravitate to those who are top of mind, who communicate regularly and with clarity.
Building a solid brand and a loyal following takes time. There will be a day when just great beer won’t be enough. Will you be ready? The Mash Marketing can scale to any budget and help you address any of the categories above, plus more. Click here to send a message and get started.