Loyalty Lessons From A Microdistillery

Back in the 1980s a cottage industry started to grow into a mainstream industry. Restaurants and pubs started brewing their own beer, making just enough brew to serve their customer plus maybe a few barrels left over to sell to select local retailers. The term microbrewery, which has its roots in the U.K., was evolving from its original definition indicating the number of barrels brewed (fewer than 15,000 U.S. beer barrels annually) to describe a style of brewed beer. Another term that describes an even smaller version of a microbrewery is nanobrewery, a commercial brewing business that is run by an entrepreneur with small commercialization.

The concept of the microbrewery or craft brewing, another term that describes the commercialization of the small, local brewery, has become so popular that major brewers like Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors have moved into this sector of the beer industry.

This is really nothing new. The wine industry has vineyards that produce very small runs of bottles. These are typically expensive and only available through specialty retailers, many of them local, or through a club or subscription business model.

It was just a matter of time before the concept of microbrews and craft beer moved to spirits as well. We’re not talking about “hooch” or moonshine that could make you go blind. Small distilleries that brew single batches of whiskey, cognac, vodka and other alcohol-infused libations are creating some interesting and popular beverages that are satisfying the most discriminating tastes.

I had the opportunity to take a look behind the curtain, or should I say barrels, when I visited with David Weglarz, the owner of StilL 630 in St. Louis, Missouri. He is an example of the typical entrepreneur who has been drawn to this business, starting small but with the potential of going big.

I headed to downtown St. Louis, where Weglarz’s operation is located in a former Hardee’s restaurant. The only evidence of the fast-food restaurant is one set of orange chairs and a table still bolted to the floor. Otherwise, the place looks exactly the way you might imagine a distillery in a garage or small warehouse would look: a large stainless steel vat and racks of wooden barrels of aging spirts.

Weglarz is a businessman who has turned a hobby – a passion – into his livelihood. He gets to the distillery at the break of dawn and doesn’t leave until his wife calls to let him know that dinner is about to be served and his two sons are waiting.

And, he’s good at it. At the recent American Craft Spirits Association’s annual Spirts Competition in Chicago, judges tasted more than 600 different spirts and awarded medals to the best of the best. Six of those went to Weglarz’s creations. And the icing on the cake was when he won the coveted “Best in Class – Whiskey” award, which means he’s earned the title “Best Whiskey in America.”

I found the process of distilling whiskey to be fascinating. The first step is to brew beer. I had no idea that spirits start out as beer. But, this isn’t beer you would want to drink. It’s more like unfinished beer. Good beer takes longer to brew, going through additional steps to prepare and preserve it for consumption. This is distiller’s beer, and doesn’t really taste good at all.

The next step is to take the distiller’s beer and run it through a still, which is the stainless steel boiling kettle with a copper helmet and condenser attached. Weglarz runs his through twice. This usually takes two days.

From there, the good alcohol is separated from the mixture and put into barrels. By the way, some of the best barrels in the world are made in Missouri. Missouri white oak barrels are sold to distillers all over the world.

Now comes the part that takes patience. Once the alcohol is in the barrels, it just sits. And sits. And evaporates. And sits some more. This can be as short as a year for small barrels, or 18 months for larger barrels. Some whisky will sit in those barrels for more than 20 years! Weglarz has created a special blend that is aging in barrels until his kids’ 21st birthdays, and he also hopes his children will eventually join him in the distillery business.

This is all a great story, and as much as this article has been about microbrewing and microdistilling, it ultimately comes down to what customers want. Not just in the brewing or distilling business, but in all types of businesses.

What makes these microbrewed and microdistilled products successful are the same things that can make any specialty product successful. Here are five points to consider:

1. There is scarcity. It’s not available everywhere and has limited supply, which can positively impact demand.

2. There is “exclusive” access, which also ties into scarcity. With only a limited a supply, not everyone will have access to the product. Since it’s not as widely publicized and marketed as traditional, more mainstream products, not everyone knows about it. So in some sense, you’re giving your customers special or exclusive access, letting them in on a secret and making them feel special.

3. There is a higher level of loyalty. If the customer loves the product, the scarcity and exclusivity can increase their emotional ties to it. So when they obtain the product, they are proud of their purchase. Pride is an emotion that creates a bond between the customer and the product.

4. There is sense of membership. When customers have access to exclusive and scare products, they may feel as if they are part of a club. And, in some cases that may be true. Companies can create special clubs and groups that inform customers of new products as well as giving them the opportunity to buy before the general public.

5. There is comradery among smaller specialty businesses, local businesses and micro-product manufacturers. These specialty and small businesses that provide unique products will partner with others to provide special offers and events for their customers.

Whether you sell a mainstream product, or something somewhat exclusive or in smaller quantities, like the microdistilleries do, what are you doing to create the emotional hook that makes customers want your product more than a competitor’s? You don’t necessarily have to create scarcity or exclusivity, but you do have to create something that evokes an emotional response of some kind. Something that goes beyond a simple transaction and connects you, your company and your products or services with your customers.

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, keynote speaker and New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com.