Every touchpoint for a business has the potential to impact the consumer’s perception of its brand, whether that’s a first step into a taproom, a first purchase of packaged beer, or an interaction with a company’s customer service. But increasingly, that first (and, often, most formative) experience that a consumer has is with the brand’s website and social media presence … an experience that a vast number of breweries overlook. In fact, most breweries have a Web presence that ranges from nonexistent to terrible to tolerable, but very few offer a Web experience as well-considered and thoughtfully developed as their beer. The best way to develop lifelong customers is to spread your brand, beliefs, and experience across every touchpoint. So here are eleven tips to help you hone your digital strategy.
Stay True to Yourself and Be Authentic
Are you a fifty-something retired engineer who wants to build a community hub? A twenty-something hipster who loves pop-up art? Whatever direction you take through the brand-development process, know that your brand should be an extension of you—the experiences and passions that brought you to the point of wanting to open your brewery. When someone who knows you well arrives at your website, social account, or in your taproom, (s)he should think that it is the representation of you.
In the initial phase of a brewery launch, personality drives a significant amount of brand expression, as founders, owners, and brewers handle most brewery interaction with customers and industry professionals. Ensuring brand authenticity and positive experiences should feel relatively natural.