Klaviyo success story · Craft brewery with taprooms and an online store

How Stone Brewing grew flow revenue 62.8% by turning taproom guests into online customers.

Name: Overtop Media Digital Marketing
Address: 933 Louise Ave Suite 101-18, Charlotte, NC, 28204, US
Telephone: (704) 237-0707
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Guests who join the list at a Stone Brewing taproom now get a welcome series with an offer on online merch. Sign-ups from the taprooms and from event tickets flow into one place, and the brewery uses that data to fill its events and reward its biggest fans.

Business: Stone Brewing
Market: California taprooms and US online store
Goal: Turn taproom guests into online buyers

Bartender chatting with two guests across a taproom bar

The results.

Flow results compare year to date through September 2023 with the same period a year earlier. The event result covers May through August 2023.

62.8%year-over-year growth in revenue from Klaviyo flows
60%year-over-year growth in placed order rate on Klaviyo flows
25.8%of Eventbrite ticket revenue attributed to Klaviyo

Year to date through September 2023 for flows; May through August 2023 for event tickets. Klaviyo-attributed results as published by Klaviyo. Klaviyo does not state the attribution window or method.

The challenge.

Stone Brewing started in San Marcos, California more than 25 years ago and now runs 7 taprooms and breweries, 6 of them in California, alongside an online store and retailers in all 50 states and more than 40 countries. Its online beer and merch store was missing its revenue targets, and the team could not tell why.

The old email tool could not reliably tie online sales to specific sends. It was not connected to the restaurant ordering system used in the taprooms or to the ticketing platform used for big events, so the email lead spent about four hours a month uploading new subscribers by hand, and taproom guests were never invited to shop online.

Klaviyo email template library with promotional and new subscriber designs

What they did.

Email flows · Restaurant point of sale integration · Event ticketing integration · Segments

One home for customer data: The brewery moved its online store to Shopify and its marketing and customer data to Klaviyo, connected to the taproom ordering system and to Eventbrite. Manual uploads dropped to zero.
A welcome flow for diners: When a guest signs up for emails at a taproom, a welcome flow starts automatically, with a discount on merch from the online store.
Event lists built from real behavior: For each event, a segment pulls together past diners at that venue, online shoppers who live nearby and previous ticket buyers.
Rewards for the true fans: Every two weeks a small batch of archival beer goes on sale to subscribers and sells out within the day. Guests who buy the drops and also visit the taprooms are singled out for unique rewards.
Attribution down to the product: Store data and Klaviyo reporting show which items people buy after clicking an email, so the team can see what each send is worth.

Why it worked.

Our read on the decisions behind the numbers, and what any business can take from them.

The taproom becomes a sign-up desk: Every guest who joins the list in person becomes a potential online customer, and the welcome offer gives them a reason to visit the store that week.
Cross-selling what guests already love: Someone who just enjoyed a pint at the brewery is the easiest person to sell a glass, a shirt or a case to. The flow reaches them while the visit is fresh.
Invites go to likely guests: Event emails go to people who have already shown up, shopped nearby or bought tickets, so the list is small, warm and likely to buy.
Connected data saves hours: Automatic syncing freed a one-person email team from manual uploads and gave it numbers it could act on.

How we would run this play for your business.

You do not need a national budget to use the same ideas. This is how Overtop Media Digital Marketing puts them to work in our Klaviyo email and SMS management.

Capture guests at the table: We connect your point of sale, reservations or Wi-Fi sign-ups to your list, so every in-person guest can be welcomed by email or text the same day.
Write the welcome series: A short, on-brand welcome series with the right offer, built and run through our Klaviyo email and SMS management.
Fill your events from your own list: Event invites go to past guests, nearby customers and previous ticket buyers first, before a dollar is spent on ads.
Own the hungry search: People decide where to eat and drink on their phones. Our Google Ads management and local search work put you in front of them at that moment.