Pace of Change Cements Need for Better Tech Tools
Continuing the trend after a banner year for all liquor sales, the beverage alcohol industry is expected to continue to exhibit growth. However, part of that growth is due to a diversification and the emergence of new, products taking the industry by storm. Here’s some evidence of where the new trends are heading within the beverage industry and some corresponding perspective on how beverage selling technologies will grow even more important to suppliers seeking to participate in the ongoing growth.
Plenty of ink has been spilled in industry media talking about the rise of craft beers as a category. While the craft brew segment continues to exhibit strength, hard ciders are beginning to outperform the craft beer segment according to Time magazine. Helping consumers find newer products, like the proliferating ranks of hard ciders that are still not carried ubiquitously as some of their more well-entrenched craft-brew competitors, is key to driving the trend. With consumers increasingly turning to apps and websites to find the products they love, features like GreatVines’ Product Locator Maps are a great tool. While Product Locator Maps are used by sales organizations to better visualize their distribution footprints, the tool is also easily embedded on suppliers’ websites, helping consumers find the products they desire.
Using the sales execution and measurement features of GreatVines, some tequila producers are able to better identify and address markets where tequila’s smoky cousin, Mezcal, is likely to outperform. Adweek notes, “mezcal has cultivated a ‘sexier’ or ‘more refined’ identity through word-of-mouth buzz from bartenders and industry insiders” and “the premiumization of tequila likely paved the way for consumers to consider trying various mezcals.” “Visibility into where premium tequila has fared well can be an indicator that mezcal may also be a winning category. While the trend is undeniable, suppliers can still rely on hard, empirical data, using GreatVines survey tools to collect highly relevant data to be used in the active improvement of account execution.
In another fascinating and surprising trend, hard sodas and alcoholic seltzers are taking a bite out of beer sales, similar to how the bottled water category took a bite out of the soda market. Are boozy soft drinks poised to capture market share from craft brewers? Business Insider thinks they are. But, if you’re a craft brewer, you needn’t wait until depletion reporting confirms the trend affecting your bottom line. Take more proactive steps to protect market share specifically in the locations where you’ve exhibited the greatest strength in the past.
Rigorous management of trade promotion spend on activities like tastings, agency activity, distributor incentives, POS/promotional materials production and others, helps ensure efforts are focused on the areas where the best return is produced on the investment. With tools to accurately plan, budget, execute and audit all promotional spend and tie results back to relevant metrics like sales, a supplier can ensure they protect their niche in an ever-expanding competitive environment while minimizing wasted efforts.
The pace of change may vary, but change itself is a constant. In order to ensure the constancy of your efforts as a beverage alcohol supplier, it makes sense to engage the best tech tools available to assure you stay in tune with market changes.
