It’s getting scary out there… Local governments are recommending social distancing, schools and universities are suspending classes, the NBA has cancelled its season, and this is just the start. With all the uncertainty, every business owner is wondering: How will this impact my business?
Here’s what we know:
Consumers are scared and being advised to stay away from public areas
Inevitably this will result in lower traffic to the taproom and impact taproom sales
Experts have no idea how long this pandemic will last or its true impact
By no means are we experts on risk mitigation, but the CraftCellr team decided put our heads together to create three common sense tactics to help you protect your business.
1. Take your taproom releases and sales online
This trend has already started and it’s a logical one for areas of the country that are seeing increased regulation. Online sales reduce the need for lines on release days and speed up the pick up process. For breweries who don’t have consistent can/bottle releases, offer draft beer via crowlers/growlers for pre-order and pick up in the taproom. Online sales will keep your customers and staff safer, while keeping your taproom sales flowing.
Here is an excerpt from Brewbound’s most recent article about COVID-19’s impact on the industry and how Rueben’s Brews in Seattle is handling the situation:
“At Seattle-based Reuben’s Brews, co-founder Adam Robbings said due to the King County Health Department’s recommendation to postpone or cancel large gatherings, some charity events at the brewery have been canceled. Reuben’s Brews also moved a bottle release for a barrel-aged barleywine/imperial stout blend scheduled for last weekend to an online sale in an effort to reduce the number of people in one place at the same time, Robbings said. In addition to moving that release to an online sale, Reuben’s postponed a festival around the release to a future date.”
**At CraftCellr, we’d like to try and do our part. For any new breweries, meaderies, or distilleries who want to protect their customers and staff, we are offering our pre-sales platform for free through the end of April.
Want to learn more? Schedule a free demo to see how we can help:
2. Sanitize your taproom like its your brewhouse
As craft beverage professionals, you are already masters of sterilization. Our recommendation is to have an all hands meeting of your staff and create a detailed plan of action for disinfecting the taproom. Take your institutional knowledge of keeping your brewhouse sterile and apply it to the taproom. We recommend you disinfect the taproom on an hourly basis. Write down your plan, print it out in the taproom, and make sure it is being implemented.
For your reference, we’ve also included the CDC’s recommendations for cleaning and disinfecting for Coronavirus.
3. Educate your customers on your Coronavirus action plan
You’ve got your action plan, now it’s time to let your customers know that you value their protection. Get the word out on all your social platforms, email, taproom, and on the website.
Here is an example of a post from one of our partners, Indiana City Brewing:
4. Create a strict policy on hand sanitization
Quite simply, you staff (and customers) need to be regularly washing their hands with SOAP for at least 20 seconds. Please remember, regular soap is being recommended over hand sanitizer or dish soap:
Implement a hand washing policy for staff members
Place extra soap in the taproom for general use
Place signage around the taproom encouraging customers to wash their hands regularly
What truly matters is keeping your team and customers safe. But first you need a clearly defined plan.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
― Benjamin Franklin
