The world has changed quite a bit since we’ve put out one of these (#1, #2). In prior editions, our lists featured primarily engagement and environment based unique observations our Secret Hoppers made while visiting breweries coast to coast. We have since updated our feedback to include comments on COVID-19 related procedures – everything from questions on sanitation/cleanliness to food safety to social distancing. Upon review, I believe the word “safe” is the most noted term when describing a positive experience. Here are 10 observations made since the pandemic began.

Andrew CoplonSeptember 9, 2020craft beer, breweries, taproom, customer experience, COVID-19, unusual observations

How to Prepare Taprooms for Colder Weather

With summer being the prime months for most breweries, it can be easy to savor the moment and not think about the cooler months ahead. However, if you're not already planning for less ideal patio weather, then you're already behind. Creating a strategy to survive the rest of 2020, and beyond, is a necessity. While some brewers may be able to (unfortunately?) throw the kitchen sink in their next boil and see what happens, your business may not.

Reduced capacity in most cases has already reduced guests, reduced revenue, and reduced the ability to connect with your audience. Fall and Winter merely bring a new challenge and opportunity to once again pivot. Here are 10 potential strategies you can implement to be ready.

Andrew CoplonAugust 6, 2020craft beer, brewery, COVID-19, pandemic, winter, holiday

Hate Culture in Craft Beer

I’ve been wanting to write this article for quite some time, and in the wake of recent events, I believe now is the time. Black Lives Matter has brought to light a side of our beloved industry that has been silenced for too long. A side that can be uncomfortable to face or acknowledge, a side steeped in elitist views and uncouth beliefs.

While craft beer is often portrayed as hip and idealistic, like other industries, it has its flaws. First off, we won’t always agree. Sure, craft beer is built on collaboration, community, and positivity, but that doesn’t mean we all get along. We are unique individuals who are allowed to have unique and individual viewpoints. It is our differences that help us learn from one another and create a stronger craft beer community.

Replacing the Smile

Spiderman, Marvin the Martian, Ghostface from Scream. What do they all have in common? You can’t fully see their faces, yet somehow, they manage to pump a little joy (or fear!) into our lives. They are able to create emotion without using their mouths. COVID-19 has changed the way we experience beer. No longer can we easily and safely interact with strangers, customers, friends, and family - a huge part of the community created in a taproom. No longer can a bartender flash a quick smile as a welcoming gesture or a subtle way to thank a guest.

The smile is near impossible to replace; however, we will discuss methods you can use to recreate the power of a friendly face. So how can we make up for the feelings that the smile creates? We can do this by utilizing your ability to heighten your guests’ five senses.

Survey Results: What do taproom visitors expect once breweries start opening to the public?

Monday Night Brewing, out of Atlanta, Georgia, did a fantastic survey of 743 of their recent customers, where they answered questions about their expectations of taproom sanitation and changes to their expected visitation behavior.

I recreated their form with a couple additions and received submissions from 3377 brewery goers. It includes feedback from all states except Alaska. All data was collected April 28 to May 5, 2020.

10 Strategies to Maximize Your Taproom Customers' Experience and Revenue in the New Normal

There’s no need to state the crippling effect of COVID-19, we’ve all felt it. But in a time of uncertainty, we all must turn to innovation for hope. The craft brewing industry has had to completely pivot. Several breweries have begun shipping nationwide. Many are offering delivery, and nearly all breweries are encouraging curbside pickup.

From this crisis, the importance of having strong business acumen has risen even further to the forefront. No longer can you merely make quality beer. No longer can you merely put out a memorable taproom experience. You must now find unique ways to reach, engage, and deliver to your audience. Once we survive the current situation, those breweries that continue to invest in the business side of their operation will once again prosper and grow.

Here is a list of strategies your brewery should employ to maximize your guests’ “new normal” experience and your revenue during this tough time.

5 Tips to Create a Better Taproom Merch Display

Craft beer today is arguably just as much about branding as it is producing a high-quality product. Because of this, your brewery should aim to remain in your guests’ minds long after they take the last sip. This can be done via social media, mailing lists, and even encouraging your customers to proudly leave with a collection of bottles, cans, crowlers, and growlers. But don’t forget the merch.

Steve and Scott Schmidt of Promote The Brew are experts in helping breweries get the most of their merchandising. Here are 5 tips to maximize your merchandise sales.

Andrew CoplonMarch 8, 2020merch, swag, merchandise, brewery, craft beer, Promote The Brew, Market The Brew, Secret Hopper

Using Your Brewery as an Event Space

To say craft beer is just about the beer is a huge understatement in today’s competitive market. Craft beer is about engagement, education, and expanding your audience. The value of your brewery lies much deeper than just the beer you are producing. A great part of your value is in the space you occupy. Taprooms are social gathering places where every minute left empty can reduce your bottom line. You’ve got the space, utilize it. As a brewery owner or manager, create a plan to entertain and impress your guests with a unique variety of events.

10 Ways to Better Reach Breweries

Working in craft beer is cool. Plain and simple. But how can you make it profitable, scalable, and a long-term success? Craft beer today is not just about selling a service or product, but about building lasting relationships. Through my company Secret Hopper, I constantly preach the importance of a brewery educating and engaging with their guests. Representing a brand that works alongside craft beer is very similar. It should be your goal to not only provide a quality offering, but to create unique ways to educate your potential customers about the value. Here are 10 strategies to better reach breweries.

Andrew CoplonFebruary 6, 2020craft beer, suppliers, marketing

Want Another? How to Encourage Taproom Guests to Order a Second Beer

One of my favorite things to do is find how the little parts of a taproom experience impact the big picture. The value of a bartender offering their name? A tab that’s on average 20 percent higher. The extra spending that results from merely offering a physical menu? A whopping 35 percent bump versus visits without. The effect of encouraging guests to take some beer home? The average guest is 5 times more likely to make the final, added purchase. These seemingly simple touches can transform a guest’s experience from enjoyable to memorable. Equally as important, paying extra attention to the little things can make a guest’s visit more profitable for your brewery.

Andrew CoplonFebruary 5, 2020experience, craft beer, power of suggestion, customer service

Everything is an Experience

Is Star Wars a threat to craft beer? How about your local minor league baseball team? Does the new axe throwing place hurt your crowd? What about that trendy little craft beer bar a few blocks away? Even grocery stores are stepping up their experience game. From the movies to restaurants to any genre of entertainment, everything is an experience in competition with one another. For this analysis, we will use craft beer and the effect of the overwhelming selection of consumer experiences on the industry. “Craft beer” can easily be replaced with any specific business name, product, or service. The challenge is real and the need to create unique, memorable experiences is a must. We are not just in an economy where experience is a differentiator, but an economy where experience is a must.

Why Untappd Ratings Don't Matter

Beer quality matters. No longer can a brewery just make decent beer and expect to survive long term. While Untappd may be a great way to log your beer history, it is not a reliable data point to compare beer quality or a valuable predictor to how profitable a brewery will be. Beer quality is merely just one piece of the pie. Stop worrying about Untappd ratings and focus on what really matters – making craft beer memories that make guests crave to return. This is how to survive.

Andrew CoplonDecember 5, 2019Untappd, ratings, craft beer, customer experience

11 Ways to Sell More Brewery Swag

People love to talk about your beer. People love to come and enjoy your newest offerings. People also (typically) love to wear clothes in public. People rock their favorites shirts more than they enjoy their favorite beers. Here are 11 tips to help sell more merchandise.

Andrew CoplonNovember 6, 2019craft beer, merchandise, marketing

Spending by Party Size in Brewery Taprooms

We’ve conducted studies analyzing spending habits by age and gender. Remember that women spend slightly more than men? And 41 to 45-year olds spend the most. But what impact does the size of a party have on the amount a guest spends while visiting a brewery?

Andrew CoplonOctober 10, 2019craft beer, brewery, spending habits, party size

Attract New Guests

A well-crafted liquid is without a doubt the anchor of our industry. Take away quality beer and we’re nothing. Next, engagement serves a key role in creating relationships that will keep guests returning to your brewery. However, we often don’t spend enough time going over how to get from Point A to Point B. Sure, making great beer brings people, and once they’re in, put out a great experience, but how can you get new guests through your doors in the first place?

Andrew CoplonSeptember 19, 2019craft beer, brewery, marketing, promotion

A Wrongful Victim of Facebook's New Alcohol Policy

On July 25, I discovered that my Secret Hopper page had been switched from “published” to "unpublished." This came without warning and I was unsure why this occurred. I immediately appealed and was denied without any further explanation. Once our appeal was denied, we were given no option to re-appeal.

We were somehow a wrongful victim of a new Facebook policy.

Andrew CoplonAugust 29, 2019Facebook, craft beer, social media, alcohol

The "No" List: What Taproom Staff Should Not Do

At Secret Hopper, we aim to always stay positive and to look at things from the glass is half full perspective. We take this approach with every internal aspect of our business as well as our relationships with breweries. If we observe a brewery that has staff not interacting with guests, we don’t discipline that brewery and put them down for it, but rather look at this as a starting point with room to get better. With that said, there are certain that a guest should never experience while visiting your brewery. Here is an absolute list of 10 things your staff should never do.

Andrew CoplonAugust 16, 2019craft beer, brewery, customer service, customer experience

How Engagement At Your Brewery Affects Your Guests' Spending Habits Elsewhere

It should never be taken for granted that your tasting room is the epicenter of your brand. Whether your staff is serving a first-time guest, or a frequent visitor, their visit is not only impacted by the quality of your beer, but also the quality of their experience. With so many great drinking establishments readily available, you should strive that your guests enjoy their visit at your brewery, but also crave your beer when not there.

Andrew CoplonAugust 6, 2019craft beer, brewers association, nielsen, spending habits, engagement

The Secret to Selling More Beer To Go? Just Ask.

Through research collected through Secret Hopper, based on 5064 non-paid brewery visits, we discovered that brewery staff ask guests if they would like to purchase to go beer 18.6 percent of the time. When staff doesn’t ask this question, guests only purchase to go 9 percent of the time – this constitutes a purchase they decided to make on their own. When staff do ask this question, guests purchase beer to go 49.1 percent of the time.

Andrew CoplonAugust 6, 2019craft beer, brewery, growler, crowler, bottle, can

The 30 Second Conversation

Engagement is an essential factor in maximizing your guests’ experiences. Staff have a greater opportunity to build this relationship during slower times; however, even during the busiest shifts, a bartender or server can create a memorable connection with your guests. Here is a formula to maximize engagement during these times.

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