Are you driving people to your website?
Do you have what it takes to reach your customers today? I know, what everyone needs right now is one of those broad stroke questions that has, like, one hundred different answers. I mean, come on, right?
Okay, so do you? In a time when people are limited to where they can go, shop, eat, drink, and on and on, do you have the right tools in place to let them know what you are up to? Another question.
Without lecturing, I am going to bet that you at least have a strong web presence. A clean, modern designed, easy to navigate site that offers all the particulars, helpful tools, resources, etc., to keep your customers informed. Websites can be a funny thing. Some offer more bells and whistles that you can shake a beer at, while others are nothing more than “Are you 21 or older” and a cloud of smoke.
When the Craft Brewers Association of Oklahoma (CBAO) recently launched its new website (yes, we track these kinds of things), it offered all of aforementioned tools, giving craft spirit lovers throughout the state an opportunity to find the beers that fit their taste. It had member listings, a statewide map, event information, signup forms, information on how to join and connect with other breweries.
Having a website as the face of your brand, because that is what it is, is critical. It should be fun and informative, interesting and vital.
So, when a craft beer lover finds what they are looking for, one of the first things they do is come to your site. Forgive me for the question again here, but what do you have to offer?
Having a website as the face of your brand, because that is what it is, is critical. It should be fun and informative, interesting and vital.
The reason for my soliloquy is simple: I spend an enormous amount of time visiting sites looking for craft spirit brands that have interesting stories to tell. Many of the leads I follow and the brands I fall for have the coolest sites filled with entertaining stories about who they are and why they do what they do.
So take a look at what you have to offer. Make it an extension of who you are, instead of something that somebody said you needed to have as a “landing place.” Remember, landing and sticking around are two, very distinct things.
Story by Michael J. Pallerino, editor of Craft Brand & Marketing magazine. Over the past 30-plus years, he has won numerous awards, including the “Jesse H. Neal Editorial Achievement Award,” recognized as the Pulitzer Prize for business-to-business magazines. He can be reached at mikep@ccr-mag.com.