What is data?

As a former aerospace engineer, I am no stranger to data. I’ve analyzed stress data for a satellite structure under launch conditions or a jet engine blade on takeoff. This data is great if you enjoy satellite TV or ever fly in an airplane, but data can also help inform what’s the best way to market a brewery or what band to bring in to play tonight.

First, it’s important to understand what data is. Think of a data point like a puzzle piece. Each piece of data offers a little bit; some blue with a touch of green. Put enough of these together, you can see the picture is of a lake. When you have all the pieces in place, you see some fine details, such as the fact that this lake is in the mountains and has a swimming flock of ducks. Looking at a specific data point, you can’t really see much. Knowing there’s 40 people in your taproom at 8:17 PM isn’t very useful, but if you have data on the whole night, you’re putting the puzzle together. With more information you could see that you’re busiest between 8 and 9 and that an individual stays for 45 minutes on average.

Why is data helpful?

Unfortunately, in the real world, data isn’t exactly like a puzzle. There’s no photo on the box showing you what the completed puzzle should look like. In the example of number of people in the taproom, multiple data points throughout the night helps you build a picture of how long people stay. When you combine this with how many drinks were ordered, you can start to make specific business decisions. For example, if your bar is busiest from 8-9pm as the example above, you can use this to make staffing decisions.

That’s fairly simple, but what if parties of 2+ order more beers per person than single parties? This data can be used to design a promotion that attracts groups such as a cornhole tournament that requires teams of 2. Similarly, knowing that customers find you on online is useful, but finding out if they’re discovering your brewery through Google or Instagram can inform whether you spend money upgrading your website or creating a great photo spot in your taproom.

The goal is to make informed decisions. Every time you change something in your brewery, bar, taproom, recipe, packaging, etc. you’re running an experiment. People are seeing (or not seeing) the change, and making a purchasing decision based off of it. The data gives you a measurement of if the experiment was successful. If bringing in that band increased sales enough to offset their fee, if changing your can art increased sales, if advertising on Facebook actually lead to more young professionals discovering your brewery, etc.

How to get data?

If you’re a small brewery owner, you may be thinking data is too expensive or complicated to get. The good news is you have a ton of data already. If you’re at your taproom regularly, you see who walks through the door. You know how much beer is flowing. You know what kegs are selling, and what isn’t. This is all a great start. Taking some notes on how many people are stopping in on a given night can help you track whether a can release increases the taproom traffic or not.

Similarly, asking multiple customers the same questions can provide a good qualitative view across different groups. When a server asks if it’s anyone’s first time, they can follow up with “how did you hear about us?”

If you have a membership program, you can survey these members or invite them to comment on any changes you’re considering. These members are often your most committed customers and can have some great feedback. These are your unpaid brand ambassadors, and if they’re happy, they’ll carry your brewery’s flag amongst their friends and colleagues.

Finally, if your brewery has even more resources, you could always do some more formal data collection. This collection can include surveys, specific research, taste testing, focus groups, or customer profile tracking. It’s also possible your local brewers guild is collecting data or conducting research, so make sure to get involved with that.

Have questions, comments, or just not sure how this applies to your brewery? Reach out: ethan.siegler.2019@marshall.usc.edu