Being different is all you've got - so be it!
How do you stand out, not just to consumers, but buyers? And who are some of the great brands doing it well?
Consumers have never had so much choice. The drinks market is crowded, cluttered and junked up with brands vying for our attention. And the fact is, none of the flavours, ingredients, colours – drinks – are particularly new. Just the way they present.
So how do you get brand differentiation? How do you stand out, not just to consumers, but buyers? And who are some of the great brands doing it well?
The big brands are doing you a favour
Far from thinking, as an independent drinks brand owner, you can’t match up to the big brands, the opposite can be true. Because you don’t need to match up, you just need to be different. Well-known brands give you a starting point for difference. Depart from them and you’re already going your own way. Small independent brands have a wealth of opportunity.
Personal touch eradicates business hurdles
Over and above the actual liquid, how you do business is also a crucial part of your USP. Business is challenging, so create opportunities for you to be memorable by being incredibly easy to do business with.
Can you provide low minimum order quantities, short lead times and be customer-service-led in a way that a big brand can’t? When a buyer calls you, do you pick up the phone? Be available, be accessible. Talk to your buyers, understand their environment and issues so you can respond in their favour.
We all want the path of least resistance and a buyer is more likely to come back if you remove as many hurdles as possible, instead of being a jobsworth who just quotes terms and conditions.
You can be flexible and fleet-of-foot; by demonstrating your willingness to be so, you’re setting yourself apart.
Differentiation for consumers
We always say it takes more than passion to build a brand. It takes deep, dedicated research, gathering and understanding of data, testing and talking to people. But let’s just go back to passion a minute. What do you stand for? How can you be these attributes, in a way your target customers appreciate?
Au Vodka and Avallen – brands that differentiate
Au Vodka is a great example of a brand going its own way. Deemed the fastest-growing online brand during one of the toughest times in retail, they’ve taken the luxury vodka market by storm. A collection of friends from South Wales have brought this loud, brightly coloured, flavoured vodka brand into being, utilising a route to their consumer and successfully nailing their target demographic by embodying what’s fun and exciting to their tribe.
Similarly, with Avallen. Everything about their brand is routed in sustainability, renewables, and the reduced carbon footprint – all attributes which are hugely important to them and to their target consumers.
Interpret the world around you
Understand your liquid is not just a drink to be poured into a glass. It’s part of the wider world. Trends, music, fashion, what’s going on in social media. Be on those trends, actively looking and listening so you can respond or reflect the mood.
Whatever the macro and micro trends are – they are potentially part of the nucleus for your brand proposition.
Recognising that the world is constantly changing and learning to spot where your brand has the ability to traverse, reflect and provide what consumers want is crucial.
‘But not being different is my difference!’
There’s a place for ‘challenge brands’. And if your point of difference is being near-as-damn-it the same as a well-known brand and gets you on the shelves of Aldi or Lidl, and consumers buying with confidence, then you’ve cracked it – that’s your point of difference.
Again, this is where the big brands help smaller brands. The supermarkets and big drinks brands are already their own brands, providing consumer reassurance – so use them. Small producers can scoop up market share this way, and why not?
All been done before, but not by you
After 30 years in the drinks industry, I can honestly say I’ve seen it all. But it’s brands that create the difference - the feeling, the movement, the buzz. Brand owners have the power to encourage consumers to venture their way and engage, to build those positive consumer communities.
Summing up the sweet spot
If you can identify how you differentiate yourself for consumers and, in business, differentiate yourself with your customers, magic can happen. It’s the crossing of the two best worlds and where growth opportunity exists.
No one has the definitive answer about where your difference is. It has to come from you; a you that’s immersed in the data, the industry and the world.