Where Women Drink Beer (#3 of Series)
Aug 6, 2009 Focus Group Information
It seems that many people, regardless of gender, like to drink beer outside. Why is that?
Well, part of it seems to be regionally related. Said another way, people and definitely women in the focus groups, like to sit outside as weather permits.
Why? (feels like a 3 year old line of questioning)
Jennifer & Deidre enjoying a tasty beer outside
Because in some areas of the globe weather is not always ‘nice’. Nice being conducive to sitting outside. I’m not talking about the enthusiasts who will drink anywhere, under any atmospheric condition.
I’m addressing the average consumer female beer drinker. They like to sit out of doors, or be outside, to enjoy their beer.
Why? Because beer is a social beverage and generally when you’re sitting outside, you’re with company. And the social element is a really really big part of drinking beer for women.
That’s why.
In areas where you can sit outside most the year round, well, it’s still important. Perhaps not as amplified as those who live in different climates – including those who sit indoors due to really hot weather just as much as those who sit indoors because of really cold weather.
So when you think about where women can and will drink your beer, think about context of location, time of year and where they can do just that – sit outside, drinking beer.
Tags: drinking beer out of doors, location, relaxing, social element
Listen To The Market Share (#2 of Series)
Aug 5, 2009 Assumptions, Focus Group Information
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 Focus Group Information
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
Focus Group Information Series
Aug 3, 2009 Focus Group Information, education
This week I’ll offer insights per specific focus group input.
Let me first say, by now I’ve conducted numerous focus groups, all women (men are next), age ranges from 21 – 80+. The majority of those who have attended focus groups so far have seemed to be in their 30’s to early 50’s. The data I collect is qualitative psycho graphic – meaning the information is based in how people
Focus Group Beer Samplers await
feel, what they value and so forth.
Beer is an emotional “thing.” It evokes strong feelings – both of enthusiasm and otherwise. Qualitative data WEB collects is reflective of how people, specifically women, react to beer and interact with it.
If you want numbers, I can give them to you as well. For now, I’ll use words such as majority, minority, most, fewer, etc.
Judith Langer, The Mirrored Window, sums it up well. Paraphrased she tells us qualitative information goes way beyond demographics, attitude and behaviors. It involves body language, voice variations, emotions. It’s about how people live, what they think, how they live, what they value.
Why Women Enjoying Beer?
- Because of the people involved in the beer industry. They are, almost without exception, engaged, progressive, thoughtful, fun, intelligent people. That makes me want to contribute to their further success.
- Because I am the poster child of who your market is (I was there 7 years ago) so I can speak to the journey of beer discovery and therefore am a good resource to help grow the female market share.
- Because the consumer angle needs attention. It needs to come right from the consumer, not from industry experts”, pure unadulterated information. The female consumer, at 50.9% of the population, will and does significantly impact beer sales.
- Because it’s about opportunity. Females able to enjoy beer and grow their knowledge and therefore their patronage, breweries to accurately and authentically develop that segment of the market. Gender is incidental in many ways – and still needs to be addressed.
So tune in this week, share it forward. There’s way more where this comes from.
Cheers~
Tags: focus group research, input, Judith Langer, pschyo graphic data, qualitative data