Response and Clarification
Nov 12, 2010 Assumptions & Myth Busting, Education & Training, Something To Think About
I love lively conversation and there’s room for all of it. It’s one thing I love about WEB and the reactions and talk it generates. Conversation makes the wheels of progress move, whichever way they will…In that vein…
Instead of a lengthy and sometimes edited response, I wanted to offer up some clarity to this post on my own blog.
Refresher: Women Enjoying Beer is about just that – enjoying. It’s also about learning, education, the experience, the why, the voice of the every woman represented and so much more. Focus groups, events, knowledge sharing, on site research. It’s about opportunity and enlightenment. It just happens to encompass 50.9% of the population segmented by gender.
Cicerone = another great education format
What WEB is not about: Drinking. Please get your facts straight when you publish material. Per the cited post, Jennifer and I have never spoken, and had one email exchange which occurred June of 2009. Since then I have not heard anything from her or had her contact me requesting accurate information. Here’s her mistake: “And while Women Drinking Beer’s Ginger Johnson is…”
Part of the post: “A couple of months ago, female-facing beer marketing consultant and Women Enjoying Beer blog author Ginger Johnson took our group to task for the use of the word “Girl” in our name. “Women are not ‘Girls,’” she admonished in a post on “dos” and “don’ts” of marketing to women. But while this pretty traditional feminist line surely resonates for some ladies, for people in my group, it’s just way too serious and PC of a consideration.”
People that take time and take more than a superficial look find that the info that WEB shares and offers is based on hundreds of women speaking up across America when given the opportunity. Women aged 21 to over 80 years old, of all kinds of demographic and psychographic slices of the American pie. It’s not about me, personally. It’s the voice of the women.
Also know – I did indeed comment to the GPO post and got a welcome response from Magen Peters specifically, inviting her to talk about it and providing my phone number so she could call me. I neither got an email reply nor a phone call. Your court. We can only swing at the ball when it’s returned.
From that email from Magen: “I don’t think our name has stopped women from coming to our events or learning about craft beer.” Hmmm….I’m confused. Why use ‘women’ here and ‘girls’ there? Which way do you want it?
And I’d still ask – is using an even slightly questionable label for a group that (a large majority) doesn’t want worth it? There are lots of ways to be creative, appropriate and clever without any ‘backlash’. Is the group about women or about you personally?
“Admonished” – fine. Use whatever word you want even though it’s inaccurate – it’s your right to freedom of speech. I simply brought up the fact that 100′s of women have universally and unanimously told WEB that a girl is under 12. If you don’t want to hear part of the conversation, don’t eavesdrop or ask what they’re talking about. P.S. – most women don’t like being called “ladies” either – but you obviously don’t want to hear it.
Feminist – as defined by Dictionary.com =
fem·i·nism
/ˈfɛm
əˌnɪzəm/ Show Spelled[fem-uh-niz-uhm] Show IPA –noun
1. the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.
Last time I checked then, feminism is a good word. Labels based in uneducated stereotypes or inflammatory definition are never useful. Leave labels for packages.
Next, look at market segments as just that – segments. Women, men, red heads, dog lovers, Jeep drivers. Step out of the gender and into the segmentation – a reality of marketing.
WEB is about bringing beer to life
And next – this snippet: “Johnson asserts that her own focus groups have shown the word to trend badly. But I have evidence to the contrary: The term resonates, especially in the foodservice industry. The Melting Pot, for example, ran a smashingly successful “Girls Night Out” promo in 2009, a time when most casual-priced restaurants like it were suffering. It resulted in a sales uptick that gave the brand a little reprieve from dropping numbers.”
Great and so be it. Good for the Melting Pot. It may resonate, but so does an out of tune violin. Was it a sustainable uptick or a one time deal? Did the “girls” come back? Was it a 1% uptick or a 25% uptick? Did they do a “Boys Night Out” too? Do you work for melting Pot – is that how you know this and what is the specific number to this evidence please? Do you carefully chart and track this information or is it casually handed off by a source? I’m not saying it’s incredible, I’m saying back it up. Tell the women of the world this is what they should expect and be happy with it – to be called an underaged girl and to be happy with it.
Is the supposed food industry support of the implied uneducated sexism the reason why so many restaurants and bars have the women wear low cut shirts, push up bras and the men are allowed to have pants that hang to the knees and shirts all buttoned to the top of their throat? (Why is there a Hooters but no ‘Dick’s’ or ‘Woody’s with himbo’s? Is that the equality you want?) Is that success? Just because of one successful event, does that make the whole picture painted with the same brush? Why don’t you ask the women.
You can call yourself a girl all you want. What women tell Women Enjoying Beer is that they don’t want that kind of label given to them by others. There is a clear difference. It matters not what you think of your title; what matters to the greater whole of global society is the impression the chosen titles and labels (!) are perceived by everyone else. Get out of yourself and your own thinking to that of the population of which you speak – in this case, women.
Up next, this snippet: “But I can bet Johnson would have some choice criticism.” How much do you in fact want to bet? This smells like rotten bait. Don’t assume you know what I or the hundreds of women who answer the call to speak up think. That’s arrogant. And arrogance is never attractive. If you’d ask me, I’d tell you. WEB is not about my personal feelings (again I’ll repeat
Turn your own ideas around and listen to others
this), it’s about 100′s of women being invited to converse and sharing what they think.
And by the way, I know Cathy in Houston and talked with her recently about the success she is pushing for all beer enthusiasts (which is also a core of WEB).
Appropriate humor in good taste is genderless, clever is good. Sexism in any form for any gender is never appropriate in civilized society.
And lastly, I’d point you towards the well respected and highly knowledgeable marketing to women expert, Marti Barletta. We had a wonderful illuminating (for both of us) lunch just over a month ago. Get her book, read it, then get out of your selfish self and listen to what thousands of women have offered. Here’s a link to her book, Marketing To Women: How to Increase Your Share of the World’s Largest Market.
So, thanks Jennifer. I enjoyed the post and wish you all the best. Keep enjoying (not necessarily drinking) beer.
Tags: accuracy, clarity, girls, inaccurate information, labels, misquote, women
Giant Oak Market Share
Jun 18, 2010 Assumptions & Myth Busting, Education & Training, Something To Think About
- Who’s your target market?
- Who’s your primary buyer?
- Are they one in the same?
- Do you seek new market share?
WEB started small...now we're up to 24+ at each monthly meeting
If you’re a brewery, brewer or brewpub and are searching for ways to get more beer in more glasses of educated consumers, look at the mighty oak idea.
Joel Salatin puts it this way in his book Holy Cows and Hog Heaven.
“Giant oak trees do not propagate themselves by dropping 20 ft. babies out of their tops. They propagate tiny acorns, because that is the smallest viable structure of the parent….Its size is its strength.”
To paraphrase for WEB purposes and beer, you have to start entering a market with tiny efforts. The efforts take water, light, food and attention to grow.
- If you think marketing to women is a novelty or ‘small’ market share, think again. Think big.
- If you think by starting small, where economy of efforts isn’t where you think you want it to be (read – it may be more of an investment than you think you want to afford), know that it will payoff. Period.
Women make up the majority of the entire human population. Hmmm. Isn’t that worth courting?
When you court a market share authentically and accurately, you WILL grow some mighty oaks. Mighty can be pockets of fans, groups far or near of enthusiasts that continue to sneeze and every kind and size of group in between.
Start small. Every idea starts that way no matter how lofty the goal may be.
Tags: accuracy, authenticity, female market share, reap rewards, start small
More On BitterSweet
Mar 23, 2010 Something To Think About
I don’t know…what do you think?
When you read the entire article it makes you wonder. Did the reporter get all the information right? Is the leadership of the BSP misguided?
It needs to be about education. For All. Period.
Capture the data via focus groups etc. then apply that information. Make sure you are asking the proper sources for the information that will propel your cause forward.
I really want to believe they are trying yet the information on their site and from articles like this (which are in all fairness slightly out of their control) leaves the question mark dangling.
‘Managing director Kirsty Derry of BitterSweet Partnership said: “We’re looking forward to the day when beer becomes an aspirational choice for women. The industry has for too long ignored women – our job is to redress this balance.
BitterSweet Partnership is here, first and foremost to listen to women, to dispel the many myths associated with beer, to develop products designed with the female palate in mind, and to change the buying and drinking experiences for them.”
Tags: accuracy, authentic information, BitterSweet Partnership
606
Oct 25, 2009 Assumptions & Myth Busting, Something To Think About, Unbelievable
Is this right?
5% – seriously?? How can that really be appropriate?
It took me by surprise and I find it disturbing. And misleading. And inaccurate. And incorrect.
5% is still 5%. Without it, 95% is not 100%.
The public should demand 100% accuracy in this case.
Listen To The Market Share (#2 of Series)
Aug 5, 2009 Assumptions & Myth Busting
You know what I love about kids? They don’t have what my friend Mike Wagner calls a crap filter. Indeed. Ask them a question and generally you get a straight forward answer.
Point today – ask your market segment directly you are after for their input, opinions, and insights. Don’t ask someone else who THINKS they know what that other person is invariably thinking. Regardless how well one person knows another, they are still not that person.
The same thing has happened in traditionally marketing beers. Some companies still think they know what the female consumer wants. Pray tell – how do they come to this conclusion??
Focus group participants let it rip – they tell me point blank they have no idea why companies simply do not ask them.
Who out there has a regular focus group program? Set up to listen (not just hear or assume they are listening) to their female patrons to find out what they really want, what they really like?
If you do not have an ongoing market development segment of your business there are lots of ways to go about it.
- Partner with other companies in the same industry. Craft brewers are a great example of an industry that wants to help the whole. Go with that comraderie. Share costs.
- Work with your female patrons – ask them what they like, what they don’t like, why and follow all sorts of thinking trails to get this information. Then act on it.
- Hire a facilitator, a moderator that knows how to get the best information for you to grow and develop your business. I guarantee you it will be well worth the time, effort and investment. And it is an investment – you will get it back in $$.
Listen to the market share.
Tags: accuracy, listening, market share
Know Thy Market (#1 of Series)
Aug 4, 2009 Brain Stew
This may seem like stating the over obvious. However I wouldn’t be specializing in marketing beer to women if there weren’t a need.
Knowing the market you are after, BEFORE you introduce your product to market, is a true basic of marketing. Like the word (marketing ) or not, it’s what you are doing – trying to sell something to the market that will buy your goods.
- Did you spend time on the front end, prior to opening your brewery, in deciding and identifying your market?
- If so, what is that market share?
- Do you pursue them accurately and authentically?
If you answered yes, please continue to read for enjoyment and reinforcement.
If you said no to any one of these inquiries, keep reading. You must know your market – it cannot be incidental – to survive and thrive. To make beer just because you love beer – if you are hoping to make it a successful business – is foolish (unless you’re independently wealthy).
Women tell me over and over in focus groups they feel like (most) beer companies aren’t even trying to reach them. T & A of days past, too young ‘girl’ type females, and all the surrounding traditional advertising is not applicable. Why should a segment (women) listen when they aren’t even trying to be accurately reached?
Be passionate by all means. Be smart about knowing your market. Market research is pretty straight forward stuff. Hire the right person to help you develop and address it properly. it
Know Thy Market.
Tags: accuracy, authenticity, know your market
What Women Want
Jul 14, 2009 Education & Training
Since my speciality is authentically and accurately marketing beer to women, I get
Minneapolis Focus Group, May 2009
asked over and over “What do women want?”.
While I am unable to answer that question on the big scale, I am able to offer some insight on the female consumer beer front.
- Well, here’s one thing.
- Here’s another.
- And here’s yet another.
So far, I’ve identified over 30 categories, specifically (and growing) that women are talking about in relation to beer. Everything from health & beer (needs a ton of enlightenment) to where women drink to flavor & taste issues.
Get in touch when you want to find out how to better reach the 50.9% of the population that happens to be female.
There’s potential coming out your mash tun.
Tags: accuracy, authenticity, Education & Training, Marketing, what women want, women & beer
Follow Up From Yesterday
Jun 27, 2009 Brain Stew
One more thing from yesterday’s idea stream…
When you train staff, employees, associates, distributors, whoever – make sure you compare in a reasonable way.
Example: do you compare a lager your have on tap that less people may be familiar with with Budweiser? If it’s accurate, fine. If is not, not fine.
Let me ask you this on that note – would you compare your ground beef burger to McDonald’s?
Bad and inaccurate comparisons are damaging all around.
Message: Make sure comparisons are accurate. Better yet – learn and teach how to describe each beer at it stands on its own. Describe flavors, foods it goes well with and the why.
VOILA!! Give your beers the respect they deserve. Give your customers good education by properly educating your staff first.
Tags: accuracy, Education & Training, training
