An unclear branding strategy could compromise how you connect with your customers. Your brand identity should be clear, consistent and found across every element of your brand. With so much competition in the craft beer industry, your brand needs to stand out.
Brands with strong reputations have 31% higher shareholder returns.
If you are growing your craft beer business, here are 5 branding mistakes to avoid:
Not Defining Your Brand Strategy
Your brand strategy is not your logo, colour palette and website, although those things do play into your strategy.
Think of it like a long-term plan to achieve long-term goals that result in easily recognizable traits of your brand by your customers. All elements of your brand should drive brand awareness, brand equity and brand sentiment.
Take a deep dive into your niche to understand:
- Who is your target audience?
- What does your target connect with?
- What does your brand stand for?
- What do you want to accomplish?
- How will you reach them?
A strong brand communicates its values and connects to its customers at every opportunity. Whether it’s packaging on the shelves, individual cans in the fridge, messages on the website, or content across social media platforms.
Forgetting What Your Brand Means
Don’t lose sight of why you started your craft beer business.
Business growth is a good thing, but make sure during your expansion you cultivate a strong relationship with your customers. When making branding choices, refer back to your mission statement. Will this new change ring true to the brand your customers know and love?
Targeting the Wrong Audience
A big red flag is when you think your target audience is “everyone.” You can’t make people feel seen and embrace connection with a generic message targeted to any person who passes your product.
Are you looking for twenty-something weekend drinkers who buy in bulk, or seasoned craft beer drinkers who appreciate the subtle hint of spice in your new amber ale?
Are your craft beers meant to be drank in a room full of people at midnight, or among close friends around a fire?
Would your audience appreciate subtle and simple advertising or loud and proud messaging?
You really want to think about:
- Age
- Income
- Location
- Interests
- Needs
The more you know, the better you can sell your craft beer. Try offering surveys and gathering website and social media analytics where you can.
Ignoring Public Opinion
Getting opinions from your customers, and an outside perspective is incredibly valuable. It will help maintain trust and loyalty among your customers.
- Research public opinion
- Utilize feedback forms
- Set up polls
- Ask questions on your website and social media
Make sure you address public opinion thoughtfully and professionally to foster a further connection with your customers. This could also help put you a step ahead of the competition by solving problems you didn’t realize your customers had!
Stone Angel Brewing Co. recently changed its branding on its Redhanded Irish Pale Ale. Since 2017 the company had been using a stylized red hand on their can, reflecting their Irish heritage. As they state, a symbol can mean many things to different people. The Indigenous community uses a similar symbol to reflect violence against Indigenous people. Stone Angel Brewing Co was asked to stop using that image and respectfully changed its branding of that beer. Without this change, they likely would have lost a connection with many of their customers.
Not Researching the Competiton
Doing proper market research will help you uncover gaps in the market, find common trends, and put you on the track to success. Plus, investigating and trying a bunch of craft beer doesn’t sound so bad!
Find out where your company fits in and how you can offer a unique selling point that will resonate with your customers.
If you are looking for more information on packaging for your brand, Crafted Box Co can help. Contact us here for a free quote.