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31 Facets of Women & Beer: Facet #26
Dec 27, 2011 Beer, Education & Training, Marketing, Women and Beer Leave a comment
Labels and titles are powerful words assigned to things, people and situations.
Based in our research, use the words Female and Woman with universality. They’re both respectful, comprehensive and acceptable.
Don’t use words that are slang, demeaning or otherwise disrespectful (however well intended, they’re still the poor choices). Examples of what not to use in relation to women and beer: Girls (under 12), Babes (sexualized), Broads (rough and crass), Babies (infantilization), Chick (farm animal).
This facet is extremely straight forward. The irony here is that many women assign poor word choices to themselves, thereby perpetuating the green light for others to call them that. If you are a woman who is doing this, look outside and beyond your own self to see what these terms do to keep women down.
You don’t hear about men’s groups related to beer using slang like dicks, well hung, boys or cocks. Seriously – think about it first. Think about the label being assigned to your mom or daughter. Is it appropriate now?
Clever is no good unless it’s respectful and appropriate. Humor is good and acceptable if it’s respectful and fun. Good examples: Ales 4 FemAles and LOLA.
31 Facets of Women & Beer: Facet #25
Dec 26, 2011 Beer, Education & Training, Marketing, Women and Beer Leave a comment
As per the previous post – social responsibility – let’s get to Fiscal Responsibility for Facet #25.
Being fiscally responsible resonates large and loud with women. Here’s why.
Alarm for women = fiscal irresponsibility
Many women are heads of households. We already know they control and determine 80 – 85% of all purchases in the USA. They want to make good fiscal decisions themselves. And they want to support businesses who run financially sound operations.
When they shop and therefore when they are in the market to buy beer (on or off sale) they will be much more likely to support businesses they know to be fiscally responsible. If they know the company is sound and in the black, consumer confidence goes up and stays up. When they hear or feel like things are shaky – weeelllll…they may just divert their attention and dollars to a company they do know to be sound. Or at least one they have not heard is running in the red.
How do you communicate this in a tasteful manner? Talk about it on your site (yes, you must have a site…that is managed and monitored on a regular basis…). Share with them, as is appropriate, different things you do with your dollars, causes you support, money you’ve given to the community WHILE running an in-the-black business. As long as you are tactful and not boastful, sharing the general state of your financial situation is a big positive to women consumers.
Fiscal responsibility runs at the surface for women. No matter their income levels, women want to buy with confidence. Knowing your beer brand is solid goes a long way towards her continued and future purchases.
31 Facets of Women & Beer: Facet #24
Dec 26, 2011 Beer, Education & Training, Marketing, Women and Beer Leave a comment
We’re up to number 24 in our series. Seem like a lot? One primary reason is that women and their relationship with beer has not been properly explored starting with her first. Hence a lot of ground to cover.
Today #24 is social responsibility of your beer business.
Is your beer business socially responsible? Do you share that with your market and use it to attract potential new market share in women?
As long as:
- You’re authentically socially active and responsible
- You’re not exercising self aggrandizement for the sheer sake of marketing
- This factor is actually adding value to your communities
Then utilize and advertise this part of your business model.
If you’re only doing it because you think it’s what ‘you should do‘ and it’s really just a ploy, don’t do it. Women can smell a phony campaign a mile away and the damage done in falseness herein is foolish and relatively permanent.
Authenticity and transparency here is critical to women.
Doing the socially responsible right thing and sharing it with your market share – especially women, is good for all.
31 Facets of Women & Beer: Facet #23
Dec 23, 2011 Beer, Education & Training, Marketing, Women and Beer Leave a comment
Swag. Schwag, Goodies. Tchotchkes. Promotional products.
Whatever you call them, how do women perceive and receive goodies (my favorite term)? Goodies should, by the whole intent, be items a recipient wants to get.
Goodies from a business perspective should be smart, related to the brands and durable. Get the most bang for your bucks and efforts and do the least amount of damage to the planet in the process.
From the female beer enthusiasts perspective here are some considerations as you consider goodies to give away:
- Is it useful?
- It is creative or unique – will I get this item from yet another brewery/distributor/bar? (yawn!)
- Is it made with sustainability in mind?
- Is it durable? (disposable never really ‘goes away’ – it just clutters up our planet)
- How does it relate to the brand?
- Is it relevant to me?
- Is it a female fit or is it a unisex or men’s size (no women’s?? WRONG move….)
Giving away goodies can be a very positive reinforcer. Make sure you’re putting thought into how it relates to your brand, it’s usefulness to her, and its long term value and durability.
The world does not need any more foam – koozies or otherwise. Make it make sense to her and your beer.
31 Facets of Women & Beer: Facet #22
Dec 22, 2011 Beer, Education & Training, Marketing, Women and Beer Leave a comment
Did you see the gorgeous luminous new moon in the early morning sky today? I never tire of marveling at the moon and its phases and beauty.
Excellent should be consistent
That’s exactly the kind of experience women want with their beer: to feel like every time that beer arrives, is served to them, they find it in the store, it’s given to them as a gift - every time it’s exciting. Building a consistently exciting or at least pleasing feeling every time she engages with that specific beer is key for getting her into enjoying your beer. And your key to successfully promoting and selling it to her.
If it falters, if the tap lines are dirty, if the flavors are off, if it’s been mistreated and she has an experience she is NOT counting on, then it’s a point against that beer. Do you want to take than chance? The answer here is no. Don’t insult the highly intelligent human that she is with a poor product. And a bad product reflects negatively on the entire professional beer community.
Constancy to purpose is important to her, as it should be for every brewer who brews the same style of beer repeatedly. We’re not talking about subtleties that naturally occur with regular and normal aging. We’re talking the foundation of the flavors and quality.
Get that right – give her the smile every time via your beer – and you’ll both be successful.
31 Facets of Women & Beer: Facet #21
Dec 22, 2011 Beer, Education & Training, Marketing, Women and Beer Leave a comment
What’s the reward or incentive for women to engage in your beer?
Like it or not, everything we do has needs some sort of incentive or reward. We’re creatures of affinity – we want to do what we want to do. And when we do those things, we like to:
- Feel good about doing it
- Feel good about having done it
- Want recognition for it
- Want to repeat it
- Want to share it
- Want internal reinforcement to do it again (see #1)
- Want to get external reinforcement to do it again
…and the list goes on.
Rewards for supporters = Important
Women also like to share the whole deal forward – they want to tell everyone who they think cares about their reward and will want them to also enjoy it. Double whammy…exponential really when you consider she outpaces him in social media (which is HUGE when done right).
We’re human. And humans like positive reinforcement. So what do your beers and brands do for the woman who participates? The one who buys it every week and either does or doesn’t drink it (or drink much of it)? She needs to be rewarded somehow.
What of the woman who is so loyal to a brand, particular label or brewery that she’s a raving fan and provides the kind of grassroots marketing that you simple can’t hire anyone else to accomplish?
Reward women for participating in making your brand happen. Simple to complex, free, inexpensive or over the top. Just make sure she knows you want to reward here, that you actually do so, and then repeat the process. Over and over and over. That’s what brand building is all about. Successful repetition, with constant evaluation and tweaking.
31 Facets of Women & Beer: Facet #20
Dec 20, 2011 Beer, Education & Training, Marketing, Women and Beer Leave a comment
How do you present your beer to women? Bearing in mind that the experience and value are huge factors of women and their relationship with beer, let’s cover presentation for facet #20.
Here are some rules to follow:
1. All beers should be served in beer clean glassware. Unclean glassware negates the gorgeous (and education laden opportunity of ) lacing. Once you teach women about lacing, an indicator of healthy beer and clean glasses, they are looking for it.
2. All beers should be served in appropriate glassware. Please please please get rid of your tapered pints, don’t order more. If you’re a brewery or pub and you use them, while we understand economics factor in, do you skimp on quality of ingredients for the beer itself? Then don’t get crappy glassware. Plus it’s too heavy for many – some men as well as some women.
3. Appropriate glassware helps elevate beer to where it should be seen: with
A tulip glass suits this Grand Teton Holiday Ale
respect, high regard and no pretension. A beautiful beer poured well in a proper glass will make her night. And make you money.
4. If the glass has a logo or label of any kind, place the glass with the design facing her, gently set down so as to retain the head on the beer and greet her as such. If it’s your logo, you’ve paid for it to be on there, right? Then put it right in front of her every time to reinforce the brand.
5. Any spilled beer or dribbles need to be wiped up immediately with a clean towel. Careless spillage sends a bigger message than you think.
Presentation matters, especially to the more educated female beer consumer. You can easily meet and exceed her expectations with presentations done right.
Now, go find some women and practice.
31 Facets of Women & Beer: Facet #19
Dec 19, 2011 Beer, Education & Training, Women and Beer Leave a comment
What do you serve your beer in? This is applicable whether you are exclusively draft beer or open and pour from different containers.
The vessels you use, Facet #19, are important to women. First they should be important to the beer. Then you educate your consumers – the most powerful of them being women.
The bonus here? Women are excellent students. Offering Beer Glassware Class to women only wherein you have a litany of different glasses available to explore and taste from is an outstanding educational investment.
And it can be economical. You can have a full set of class glasses to utilize for this specific purpose. You can ask that each woman bring their favorite beer glass from home. That can be a great icebreaker and stepping off point. Heck, it could even guide the entire class. Going around the classroom with each women, finding out why she brought that glass, suspending judgement, using each for questions, learning and conversation would be fun and very effective.
And please – let’s bust the tapered pint in the you-know-what! It’s a bad glass for most beer. (Sidebar: I’ve always wondered why brewers, who are so intensely passionate about their beer, tolerate sub par glassware…and bad pub food as well…)
Ultimately it’s up to you as the host and instructor to have a full range of glassware to discuss and feature. There are several fine beer glassware makers and much of it is readily available through a variety of channels.
Know that the educated female is interested in knowing what glassware will be best for her beer. It isn’t about ridiculous off-based incorrect stereotyping women: thinking that they only want or like ‘pretty’ glasses. Seriously, don’t insult them that way.
Teach them what glassware means to a quality beer, tell them what to look for and some appropriate matches for glasses + beer styles.
Smart design developed in harmony with the beer experience is what it’s all about. Teach her that and you’ll greatly elevate beer while respecting the intelligent market share of women.
31 Facets of Women & Beer: Facet #18
Dec 18, 2011 Beer, Education & Training, Marketing, Women and Beer Leave a comment
Women like to partake of beer outdoors. Facet 18 will expound on this finding.
Maybe it’s a ‘duh’ for some brands, especially those who are in outdoor heavy areas of the world: Mountains, coasts, and other places automatically associated with the outdoors. If this idea evokes an ‘aha!’moment for you instead, then get to it.
The moniker of “great” per outdoors is no accident. So don’t make the accident of not figuring out a way for women to enjoy your beer out of doors.
Welcome them to Mother Nature with a simple patio – it doesn’t have to be fancy, it just has to be nice, clean and reasonably comfortable. Furniture that’s easy to sit in, a flat surface for solid footing, shade if the blazing sun is involved, sunshine if it’s a cool climate. What you’re doing here is facilitating the experience with a suitable venue for her.
A great many people who enjoy beer also enjoy the out of doors, in some capacity. Women are no exception here. Get your beer out of doors and women will happily enjoy it there. Leave it in and lessen your potential to cement positive experiences and therefore the memories of your brand with her life.
p.s. Canned beer is a growing part of getting your beer brand in her hand out of doors
31 Facets of Women & Beer: Facet #17
Dec 17, 2011 Beer, Education & Training, Marketing, Women and Beer Leave a comment
Do you know how to communicate with women? Communication is Facet 17 – although it should perhaps prioritarily be number one.
Do you know what women want? Communicate with them and find out.
Communication makes the world go round. It lubricates relationships, facilitates good deeds, and is directly tied to women and their relationship with beer.
Ask yourself and your brand, very specifically:
Do you know how the women who do or want to or who may have a potential drive to support your brand want to be communicated with?
If you don’t, start asking.
Talk with women, solicit information from them on this very thing. How, when, where, frequency and how much. Women will tell you how often, in what format, and with which vehicles they wish to hear from you and about your beers.
The old saw of not knowing what the heck women want is only true if you don’t ask them.
31 Facets of Women & Beer Series starts here
