Fair Teri
Apr 30, 2010 Education & Training
Here’s a nice article to read involving some great descriptions of the beers in the piece.
Regardless of who brewed them, in this case all women, it’s a bundle of useful information on describing styles. I’d encourage you to pass it forward to those you know who want to learn more about beer styles and descriptions of those styles.
Well done to Noah and our friends at Draft for a solid educational (and tantalizing) piece.
Cheers -
Tags: beer styles, definitions, desrciptions, Draft
What Does 'Local' Mean (#4 of 4 Series)
Aug 7, 2009 Education & Training
When you think in terms of local and regional goods, what do you think of?
What does it mean to be “local”? What about “regional”?
In focus groups, women say that buying local, more and more, matters to them. When pressed for what local means to them, we do an interesting dance.
- “What does local mean to you”
- “That it comes from close by.”
- “So is an egg produced by a chicken within 50 miles local?”
- “(usually) Yes.”
- “Farther than 50 miles??”
- “No.”
- “What about your beer – how close is local?”
- (Run through similar questioning)
At the same time, because the conversation invariably turns to the fact that say hops is grown in limited areas of the world, then the definition is stretched to accommodate. And, knowing that, it’s perfectly fine with them.
They are telling us that local is a balance to strike – like everything else. Yes, they’d love it if all the ingredients were sourced locally, yet they realize that the crops are not necessarily available – so that is factored in.
Regional, well, that extends the definition even farther. If they want, say, a Midwest beer – wow! They’ve got a warehouse full of great choices. California? Same drill. Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota? It gets dicey simply due to sheer numbers.
So pay attention to how you advertise your ingredients. It can be a big plus – when a component is sourced close by. Just as importantly balanced out as buying organic. These are all conversations with your consumers and supporters you know. Talk it up.
Find out what it means to your patrons.
Photo courtesy of Flickr by Adrian Midgley
Tags: balance, consumer education, definitions, local, regional
Good Example
Jul 6, 2009 Beer, Education & Training
Here’s a good example of a definition in a website format.
Wrapped Full Sale Session Lager bottles
Most women in the focus groups I conduct (and I find it’s true with many men as well in conversation) are unfamiliar or unsure of what specific industry terms mean. “Craft”, “microbrewery”, “brew pub” – they all need constant further clarification for the average consumer.
This is not a gender issue - it’s an expert mentality issue. Don’t use jargon. Get out of your expert mentality – you’re selling a product to the average consumer. And like any averages, there are more knowledgeable and less knowledgeable people…aim for the average where definitions are concerned. You’ll never insult someone by offering a definition that is non-condescending. They’ll either confirm they know (which solidifies their enthusiasm) or learn.
Definitions could be used for a solid pre-shift, a fun piece of wall art, or a basis of a contest – “how many can you inform?!”.
Just be sure you do something about it.
Define, educate, improve the customer experience. Everyone reaps the benefits.
Tags: definitions, easy, Education & Training, effective, redundancy
