One of the hardest jobs to undertake in the brewery business is trying to stand out from your competitors. The brewery industry is full of beautiful branding and luscious labels. Everybody is striving to have a unique brand, with a look and feel that everyone craves. If you’re new to the brewery sector, it’s very easy just to blend into the background and that is not where you want your business to be. If you are passionate about brewing, you probably have aspirations of reaching new heights and rising above your competitors. You want your name to be mentioned every time somebody talks about beer. It’s never easy, but LemonTop can help. Here are a few things we can do together to achieve this.
1. Always look at other brewery branding.
If you don’t know what your competitors are doing, you won’t know what to do to make your brand and promotional material stand out. Take inspiration from the things you like but make sure your logo and identity can’t be confused with other brands. Building a strong brewery brand is about creating unique visual and verbal elements and then repeating them across all of the promotional materials that you create. Making it unique and consistent across your business will help it stand out from your competitors.
2. Dare to be different.
Playing it safe is the riskiest thing you can do. If you “stick to the norm” you run the risk of doing what everyone else is doing. How do you expect to stand out. Of course there are rules and regulations to all design, but sometimes these rules are there to be broken. Don’t think just because everyone is doing things in a certain way, you have to follow the fashion? When we first created our LemonTop brand people kept asking where the unusual name came from and commented on our unorthodox colour choices. This worked to our advantage by allowing us to tell our story. Now our clients don’t say yellow, they say LemonTop yellow. The moral of the story is it’s much better to set trends of your own and create your own style. Maybe then other breweries will want to start following and replicating what you are doing.
3. Get your brand in front of customers.
Whether it’s social media, beer festivals, or brewery tasting events, there are a myriad of ways you can get your brand in front of potential customers. Perhaps the easiest way to start the process is through social media, such as twitter, facebook and instagram. However if you go down this route, it is essential you keep your communications current, interesting and plentiful. Attending festivals and events is always popular as you not only meet potential customers but many suppliers too. At the very minimum you’ll need an eye-catching exhibition stand and desirable promotional material, but to really stand out, again you should dare to be different and stay one step ahead of your competitors. Brewery tasting events are where brewers feel most comfortable. Potential customers are on your patch, on your terms, whether it’s your brewery or your local pub. It’s up to you, with our help, to deliver an interesting and memorable experience.
4. Listen to what customers and competitors have to say.
Whether it’s the taste of your beers or the design of your labels, customer feedback is a precious commodity. After all, they are the one who are buying your stock. If they think your recipes or your promotional items aren’t as good as your competitors they may end up leaving your bottle on the shelf in favour of another brand. It is this feedback that allows you to fine-tune your offering and create better products. Whether it’s through social media, blogging or a feedback form on your website, you must act immediately on both praise and criticism. Some people will love your products, others will discard them, but both will tell other people of their experience and it is this you must act upon. In our connected online world, you have the perfect opportunity to thank your supporters and win over your doubters.
5. Be known for what you know.
A simple way to stand out is by making customers and suppliers turn to you as the industry expert. Put inspirational stories and advice out on social media and populate your blog with your experiences of the brewing industry. Answer peoples questions that you see online. Use the opportunity to assist them and demonstrate your knowledge, showing you are willing and able to help them. This goes a long way in creating loyalty and trust.
6. Don’t be afraid to promote yourself.
Many brewers steer away from shameless self-promotion because they feel that it’s something that only desperate people do. In reality though, you are the face of your business. Self promotion should be part of your marketing plan. You wouldn’t think twice about promoting your business. You should be doing the same thing for our personal brand too? Tell people who you are, about your brewery and beers every chance you get. They may not seem interested at the time, but next time they’re in a pub or supermarket faced with a choice of beers and bottles, guess whose name will be first to pop into their mind.
