Bud Light is a beer common to most Americans. I’m not American, nor do I drink alcohol. But there is something every business owner can learn from some recent events in the Bud Light story.
Bud Light put out a marketing campaign where they partnered with a transgender influencer, Dylan Mulvaney. In a very short period, sales of the beer dropped by an astonishing 17% [1]. Think about that. Nothing about the beer has changed. It still has the same recipe. It still costs the same. The only thing that has changed is the consumer’s perception of the brand.
Prior to the marketing campaign, if you were to ask Bud Light customers why they drink the beer they might have told you that it’s cheap and easy to get. These are good reasons to buy the product. But, the drop in sales demonstrates that this is not the real reason they buy Bud Light. If you have to ask them now why they do not want to drink Bud Light, they will cite this marketing campaign. They no longer identify with the brand.
Again, nothing about the beer itself has changed. The only thing that has changed is the image created by the marketing campaign.
This is something that small business owners often find hard to grasp and hard to apply. When people ask us about the product or service we sell, or when we are creating ad campaigns online, on the radio, or in print, our natural instinct is to talk about the benefits and features. It’s this price. It’s quick delivery. It’s this big. It has this many colours. It tastes like this. It feels like that. These may be good reasons to buy the product or service, but they are not the real reason people buy.
To get sales, you need to understand what is important to your intended customer at an emotional level and then show how your product or service satisfies that emotional desire. The shoes that you sell are not merely strong and durable. They build confidence, which is necessary for strong leadership and the accolades that follow. Your UPS doesn’t just last 4 hours. It keeps the dinner party going, allowing you to strengthen the relationships you have with the friends who came to visit.
Large companies understand this. This is why they are large, and this is why they put so many of us small companies out of business. There is a phrase that I heard recently: Sell the sizzle, not the steak. The sooner you learn to do that, the sooner you will be successful in business.
References:
[1] Yahoo Finance. “Bud Light sales have plunged an astonishing 17% after controversial collaboration, report says — 2 stocks that could gain from the big drop in business”. Online. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bud-light-sales-plunged-astonishing-224500212.html (Accessed 1 May 2023)
