Make Me Care (enough to choose you!)

Why should I care about you? It’s a little bit of a confronting question, perhaps you think I’m rude. But put it in the context of your brewing, distilling or winemaking business…..and why should I care? Because you use quality ingredients? (Well shouldn’t you anyway?!) Like all the other folks on the shelf? Or should I care because you have been making your brand of booze the longest? Meh, why does that matter to me? Or should I care because you’re on tap at my local? Well, 5 of your competitors who use quality ingredients and have been around for just as long as you are also on tap there. So I repeat, why should I care about you?

You might be starting to get the point here. I don’t need to tell you that 2024 finds consumers in a position where never have they had as much choice as they do in their booze and hospitality options, but also the renters and mortgage holders have less cash to spend on these experiences than they did even just a year or two ago. So now, more than EVER your customers need care about you….otherwise how are you going to survive, compete and dare I say, thrive?

What are you doing to make your customers care? I visited a regional brewery a couple of weeks ago, and it was dead quiet when I arrived around 5pm on a Thursday. This brewery is in a tiny village, and about a 15 min drive from a slightly bigger town (population of around 6000). Next big town is an hour away. To my surprise, from 5.30 onwards a steady stream of people started coming through the door, to having a bum on every seat an hour later. Holy toledo where did all these folks come from? Then I was handed a bingo card, and we had a fantastic time playing rock n roll bingo, while also enjoying a pizza and schooner combo, a Thursday night special. The owners were there, making time to talk to all the regulars and it was a super fun atmosphere. None of these are groundbreaking concepts, but by god they worked! A small amount of effort made a big difference. This business made people care through offering value for their money, providing a great atmosphere with entertainment and special treatment from the owners. And that trifecta ensured a healthy take away for the night, as opposed to what many businesses are experiencing many nights, a loss.

In the current economic climate, we are seeing people spending less at the bottleshops and going out less too. However, when people do choose to go out, they either want value for their money, or they are going out for a special occasion. We talk to a lot of different folks around the country with booze and hospitality businesses, and those who are putting in a little more effort than they used to, are tapping into both those segments and reaping the rewards.

A study by Wunderman in 2023 found that 88% of US consumers want to engage with brands that are setting new standards in meeting their expectations. 74% said brands can do so by providing a higher level of customer service. 89% are loyal to brands that share their values.

While the US is a different market, we can still take advantage of this data, and turn it into $. How? By asking yourself questions, and acting on the answers. What are your customers' expectations and are your exceeding them? How can you provide them better customer service? How can you provide better value or an extra special occasion? And throughout all this how are you communicating your values to these people, so they can understand if they share your values too? Answering these questions are going to be vital to your success during these trying times, and while your budget might be tight, figuring out your answers will cost you nothing except time.

When you are next sitting down to figure out your release schedule, events or nightly specials, ask yourself, why should your customers care? Listing out reasons why they should care for each release, for each event and for each special will help you frame your decisions in a different light, making it waaaayy easier to identify which options are worth pursuing and which could be a waste of time, saving you $ in the end. We always encourage our clients to get out of their own head and into their customers….they are the ones you need to convince to part with their hard earned cash. Framing your decision making from this perspective will help you make decisions to get bums on seats, happy customers and overall, people that care about your brand and will tell others too. Make them care and they’re there!