What is the best way to reach local brewers?

I work for a SoCal homebrew shop and we are looking for ideas on the best way to reach out to local brewers. We are fairly new and are searching for ideas.

1. Reach out to local homebrew clubs. Maybe even give them an introductory deal, $5 off orders of $25+ or something.

2. Does your city/region do a Beer Week? Offer a few intro to homebrewing classes during that week, and get them registered as official Beer Week events. You'll probably have to pay to get your events included, but given you'll be getting yourself in front of exactly the hipster-bespectacled eyes you're looking for, it'll be money well spent.

3. Send me some hops and grain. Heck, maybe even yeast, should be fine with a cold pack on the short trip up to San Francisco. This will get your products in front of at least one more brewer.

You could also think about offering a Groupon for $5-$10 off classes or supplies. But, and this is important, make sure you won't be overwhelmed and/or bankrupted if every offer you sell gets redeemed on the day it expires. Their sales team will try to goad you into "going big or going home," but they get paid on commission, they'd be happy to bankrupt you by moving 10x more groupons than you can handle on your first deal (they get all their cash right away no matter what happens to you) rather than working with you to do ten sustainable deals (and only getting paid over the course of a couple years). Run your own numbers and stick to your guns, and if they tell you they'll walk if you don't go in for more, tell them not to bother lacing up their shoes because you're already out the door.

By "reach out" I assume you mean spread awareness of your shop. Throw tasting events, brewing events, and lots of contests. Host classes taught by great local brewers and/or your staff. If you know how to do the following right, or know someone who can help you, be aggressive and intentional on Facebook and do promoted (paid) posts on there - the targeting options are robust and will help you reach exactly who you want to reach for low cost. Google Adwords can be effective at local brand awareness for surprisingly cheap.

Identify the most prolific local brewers and home brewers, develop relationships with them and ask them to advocate for you.

Make sure you're connected to any brewers guilds or associations, be active there, keep your eyes open for opportunities.

Most importantly, make sure that your product is great, that your staff knows what they're talking about and that they add value to the shop experience.

There is no secret way, you just have to advertise locally and try to get noticed.

feinbera said:

You could also think about offering a Groupon for $5-$10 off classes or supplies. But, and this is important, make sure you won't be overwhelmed and/or bankrupted if every offer you sell gets redeemed on the day it expires. Their sales team will try to goad you into "going big or going home," but they get paid on commission, they'd be happy to bankrupt you by moving 10x more groupons than you can handle on your first deal (they get all their cash right away no matter what happens to you) rather than working with you to do ten sustainable deals (and only getting paid over the course of a couple years). Run your own numbers and stick to your guns, and if they tell you they'll walk if you don't go in for more, tell them not to bother lacing up their shoes because you're already out the door.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the advice. I will add the ideas to our list. Cant promise we will be sending you any yeast or hops though.