Tuesday, July 2nd, 2024
How to Master Key Account Selection for Spirits Sales & Marketing Initiatives
By Dante Maciel
It goes without saying that in the beverage industry, crafting an effective field sales and marketing strategy is key to significantly influencing a brand's market presence and profitability. An important but often overlooked component of a great strategy is the thoughtful targeting of key accounts that are aligned with a well-defined consumer profile. Here’s why and how you should focus on selecting the right key accounts for your sales and marketing activities.
Understanding Your Target Consumer
Who is your target consumer? Where do they live, work and play? What are their hobbies? The foundation of any successful marketing strategy in the spirits sector begins with an in-depth understanding of your consumer profile. Consumer preferences in our industry vary so much based on demographics, psychographics, and buying behaviors, and are constantly influenced by trends, cultural elements, and even regulatory changes. Identifying who your consumers are, what they value, and how they make purchasing decisions is crucial - and it’s safe to say you would be hard-pressed to run a compelling field sales or marketing strategy – or any truly impactful brand activation without doing this important work.
This knowledge enables brands to tailor their messaging, product development, and marketing strategies to meet the specific needs and desires of their target audience. At TMS, we see tons of promising brands with a quality product and a great brand story who still haven’t taken a deep-dive to answer this all important question.
The Power of Targeting Key Accounts
Once you have a clear picture of your targeted consumer, the next step is to identify and target key accounts that best reach and serve your demographic. Key accounts—be they large retail chains, influential bars and restaurants, or exclusive clubs—are pivotal access points to your desired consumers. Here's how properly targeting these accounts can amplify your field sales and marketing efforts:
1. Enhanced Brand Visibility: The right key accounts will have significant customer foot traffic and a broad reach of the types of consumers who will resonate with your brand. Making sure your products are featured prominently in these venues and providing account support with the right mix of staff educations and promotional activation increase brand exposure and reinforce brand recognition. Targeting accounts with the right demographic also means increased opportunities for social media and influencer engagement with your brand.
2 . Optimized Resource Allocation: By focusing on accounts that promise the highest return on investment, you can allocate your marketing resources more efficiently. This ensures that efforts and budgets are not diluted across less impactful accounts.
3. Stronger Relationships: Developing close partnerships with these key accounts allows for collaborative marketing efforts. This can include exclusive launches, tailored promotions, and specialized training for staff on your product portfolio, which in turn enhances the overall customer experience and increases conversion.
Implementing a Targeted Strategy
Here’s how to implement a targeted account strategy effectively:
- Align your brand objectives: If you’re positioned as a super-premium tequila, for example, consider focusing on high-end, influential accounts in the on-premise. On the other hand, If you’re a value whiskey, look to get into local off-premise accounts or in the well at a local neighborhood bar. Consider accounts that will be receptive to setting up tastings or other activation opportunities to encourage trial of your product.
- Conduct Market Research: Utilize data analytics and consumer research to define your ideal consumer profiles and understand their preferences and behaviors. Lean into your local market manager teams for guidance as profiles can shift greatly across different markets. E.g., the ultra-premium tequila consumer for your brand in Miami is likely very different than the same consumer type in Columbus, OH.
- Identify Potential Key Accounts: Based on your target consumer, identify which accounts are most likely to influence and reach this group.
- Develop a tailored approach: Customize your pitches for each key account to highlight how your products meet the specific needs of their customers and enhance their business objectives.
- Monitor and Adapt: On a quarterly basis, analyze the performance of your targeted accounts and the feedback from key account managers to adapt and optimize your approach.
In Summary
Identifying and strategically targeting key accounts that align with your consumer profile is more than just a tactical approach—it's a cornerstone of a competitive field sales and marketing strategy. By focusing on where your products can make the most significant impact, you’ll ensure not only increased sales and visibility but also greater efficiency and effectiveness in your field sales and marketing efforts.
The team at TMS Agency are experts at developing sales and marketing campaigns that resonate with your targeted consumer, elevate brand awareness and increase distribution and sales. Connect with us to explore how we can partner to create a dynamic and comprehensive field sales or marketing strategy for your brand.
Author: Dante Maciel
Transformative Marketing Services
With over twelve years of experience in ground-up development and operational oversight of beverage industry-leading national field sales and marketing programs for globally recognized brands, Dante is known for strategic thinking, identifying inefficiencies and striving for continuous improvement.
