Everything Has Changed Except What Matters Most

Four decades in the beer business and going strong, I have seen a lot: ten thousand new breweries, a few thousand fewer distributors, innovation, consolidation, wild fortunes, bankruptcies and more. Brands come and go, people come and go, companies get acquired and new people get into the business.

Eventually we all learn, or should learn, the one thing that matters…

If the consumer wants your product, the rest is easy. If the consumer does not want your product, nothing you do will work.

There. That’s it. Simple. It reminds me of Steve Martin’s how to become a millionaire. “First, get a million dollars…”

With the decline in craft beer sales, competition has only intensified and consumers have more choices than ever. But history has never rewarded companies that waited for better times. It has rewarded companies that used difficult times to become better businesses.

The brands that grow are rarely the biggest. They are the ones that stand for something. The brand of beer a consumer chooses is a badge – a statement of self-identity, like the clothes they wear or the car they drive. Know who your heavy users are – the 20% of core loyalists that drink 80% of your beer. Protect them.

Reward them. Relate to them. Never stop asking one simple question: why should someone choose us instead of everyone else. If the answer isn’t crystal clear, that is where you have work to do. The rest won’t matter if the consumer loses interest in your product.

I get to advise some really smart people. This is the first thing I tell them. In the end, the consumer always decides. The rest is noise.