Business is exceptionally difficult right now, and almost all spirits brands are a part of this hit that the industry has taken due to the pandemic. We’re all aware of sales dropping due to the closure of on-premise establishments - and there isn’t much that we can do about that right now. However, the one thing spirits brands and distilleries need to focus on right now is their audience. Let’s be honest, without an audience, a brand wouldn’t sell. During the times of a crisis, much like the one we’re going through, customers want to hear from the brands that they buy. The question is, what do they want to hear? And how are you going to communicate that to them?

Why do I need to communicate with my audience?

This is a question that arises within a lot of brand owners and teams. You must be wondering, do our customers really need to know what’s going on? We’re not selling much right now, so what’s the point? Well, that’s exactly the point.

Since you’re not selling much right now, there’s a high possibility that your customers might forget about you as they wouldn’t be hearing from you. Whether you’re selling right now or not, you need to speak to your audience. They need to know that you’re still there, and they need to feel like a part of your journey.

Communicating with your audience will ensure their trust in you, with which you can build your brand’s credibility - and this way your customers won’t forget about you. So even if you’re doing a little bit of selling right now, by communicating with them you will drive them towards your products, and once things are back to normal, they’ll still remember you. Keep in mind, it’s important for your customers to remember you and your spirits because we don’t know how long the crisis will last. We can only hope for it to get over as soon as possible.

The main part of communicating with your audience is that you need to communicate with them effectively. Putting out random information out there isn’t going to help. You need to connect with them according to what they want to hear.

Let’s take a look at a couple of things your audience wants to hear from you, and ways you can connect with your audience effectively.

1. Be a news outlet for your audience

Everyone is going to be looking for news right now, especially customers, and especially those in your area. Be a credible source of news for your audience. Tell them what is open in your area, give them the latest updates on your distillery, and what’s going on in your area. They don’t want to know the general numbers, they have the news channels for that - tell them what is going on specifically in their areas. What grocery stores are open, what is going to be open next, who is delivering. Basically, give your audience information that they might be in need of right now. If your local grocery store has just stocked up, tell your audience that.

2. Ensure the safety of your distillery and workspace

You’re probably delivering and selling through retail stores, but to make sure people pick your products off the shelves and order them online, you need to show them that you’re being safe. Everyone is worried about how businesses are producing right now. Tell your audience your distillery’s safety protocols. Share the way you’re producing. Show them your sanitization ways, your protection put in place, and how your staff is working. When customers see that you’re being careful about things, then you’ll gain their trust, and they’ll be more inclined to order your spirits or pick them off of shelves.

3. Tell them your story

Your origin story is what most people will end up resonating with. People like to feel a part of your journey, and the way in which you can do this is by sharing your story with your customers. Tell them how you started, talk to them about some of your failures, tell them your success stories. In fact, tell them about your current struggles and how you’re overcoming them. Make them meet your team. Let your audience feel like they are a part of you. This will build an emotional connection, which always helps when it comes to customers.

4. Tell them where you’re at right now

Are you delivering? Are you in retail stores? Are you online? Are websites like Drizly delivering your spirits? Your customers need to know. People want to buy your spirits, of course, they do, but how are they going to buy them if they don’t know-how. Tell your customers all the details about where you’re selling, how you’re selling, what you’re selling. If you have any deals and discounts going on, then tell your customers how to avail them. This way, they will be inclined to purchase your spirits, and will also spread the word about you.

I know what they want, now how do I communicate?

You’ve gone through what customers want to hear, now how are you going to scream it out to them? Here are a few ways in which you can effectively communicate your message to your customers.

• Leverage social media. Create videos and images telling your customers what they want to hear, like we mentioned above. You can go live on social media platforms and interact with them directly. Hold a Q&A so they have the freedom to ask you what they want.

• Create blogs and post them on your website. A lot of people are reading right now, and they would love to know what you’re on about in detail. Make blog posts about everything we spoke about above, and share it with your audience.

• Send out newsletters and make them personal. Send out an email to all your customers, stating everything we’ve spoken about. Let them know that you’re personally sending it out and you care about them enough to let them know of everything happening.

• Partner with local businesses. If you want customers to know about you and your products, partner with local businesses and ask if you can put up leaflets and ads around. You can also do a social media barter with them where you promote their business and they promote yours. It’s a win-win situation for both of you.

So now you know what your customers want to hear, and how to communicate with them. What are you waiting for? Go talk to your customers, they’re waiting for you.