New Belgium Brewing Company Case Study

Small businesses success is dependent on the perceptions they create within their communities. A business trying to get established in their market depends on their local economy for support in order to get their name out there. If a business is not operating ethically or showing social responsibility to their community, they close those doors to the support they need in order to grow. Small businesses can have the greatest impact on a community by creating jobs and providing good and services for customers in smaller markets that larger corporations are often not interested in serving (Ferrell & Hartline, 2011).

It is vital for New Belgium Brewing Company to incorporate ethics and social responsibility into their business model. They

have built a brand with the assumption they are environmentally friendly and care about the consumer and their products footprint on the planet. In order for them to grow they need to maintain that close relationship with the community. Consumer’s word of mouth is what grew the NBB business and it’s that word of mouth that the organization depends on in order to stay competitive. But a company cannot survive on word of mouth alone and must rely on a strategic marketing plan to move into other markets. For the NBB their idea is different, they feel quality of life is also important and it is that idea that has kept them from looking at aggressive marketing (Wann, n.d.).

Relying on their strong ethics and social responsibility has been not only a blessing for the growth of the business; it has also hindered their ability to move to the next level in their market.

The pros of their core values which rely heavily on strong ethics and social responsibility have managed to take their product from garage brewing company to building established distribution in many states across the US. They have shown the consumer they are conscience about their carbon footprint and support their community by giving back. But by relying on those assets has hindered their ability to develop a strong marketing strategy that can appeal to other markets. Although they are proud of the name they have built, they must understand they need to past their idea of not messing with a good thing. For years, they have thrived on word-of-mouth communication to sell the brand and have had a marketing strategy that consists of relational marketing (Ferrell & Hartline, 2011). With their competitive advantage being enhanced by their strong ethics and social responsibilities they show to their community, they must understand they cannot rely on their historical word of mouth marketing to strive in their business. They must find a way to bring the two concepts together in order to strengthen their business and excel above their

competition.

Resources:

Ferrell, O.C. & Hartline, M. (2011). Marketing Strategy, (5th ed.). South-Western/Cengage Learning.

Wann, D. (n.d.). Brewing a Sustainable Industry. Retrieved October 11, 2014, from http://www.terrain.org/articles/9/wann.htm