Distributor Communication Strategy: How to Keep Your Beers Top of Mind

There’s a real connection between communication and how much beer you sell through a distributor. Regular, focused communication with your distributor is likely to improve reorder frequency. But don’t just communicate for its own sake - bring something useful to the table. Talk about performance metrics: sales velocity, reorder rates, follow-up ship dates. This positions you as a proactive partner and keeps your beer top of mind with the distributor and their retail accounts.

Building consistency with your distributor

Consistency builds trust, and trust builds placements. A strong relationship with your distributor leads to more reorders, more visibility, and better support for your brand. It all starts with clear, consistent communication.

How often should you check in?

That depends.

There's no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on your size, your distributor’s bandwidth, and how dynamic your portfolio is. If you're small and just getting started, daily check-ins are probably too much. But if you’re running a fast-moving lineup with seasonals and frequent rotations, weekly or monthly check-ins might make sense. For most breweries, monthly is a solid baseline. It gives both sides time to spot trends and react, without overwhelming anyone. At the very least, schedule quarterly meetings to review account performance and align on your next steps.

What should you talk about? Numbers. That’s the language of business. Start with sales velocity - how many bbl per week is each product moving per account? Use your Sales Velocity Tracker (linked below) to bring real numbers to the table.

Then look at reorder frequency. How often is each product restocking? Are any accounts slowing down or dropping off?

Review follow-up ship dates too, especially if you’re just estimating them. These help you lock in velocity calculations so the data doesn’t degrade over time.

When you show up with clear metrics and insights, backed by tools like your velocity tracker, you’ll stand out from breweries who only show up to shoot the breeze. You’re showing that you’re serious about your brand. That makes you a more valuable partner.

Tracking follow-ups, check-ins, and all other distributor communication

Strong distributor relationships don’t happen by accident. They happen because you’re consistent, organized, and easy to work with. A small thing that goes a long way: track your communication. Use the Sales Velocity Tracker to log last contact dates. You can add a dedicated column or just use the notes field to jot down when you last touched base and what was discussed.

Sales Velocity Tracker Worksheet

This isn’t about being pushy. It’s about staying on their radar. Even a simple note like “checked in, discussed seasonal launch plans” helps you remember your last touchpoint. If your spreadsheet skills allow, add conditional formatting to flag accounts you haven’t contacted in a while.

Again, this isn’t about hard selling, it’s about keeping the lines of communication alive. Ask how your beer is performing. See if they need support. Mention (casually) that you’ve got a seasonal coming up and would love to get it into the right placements.

Distributors juggle a lot. Bigger brands, louder voices, more volume. But if you are the one who communicates clearly, respects their time, and brings useful insights (like reorder history and velocity trends), you’ll stay top of mind. And that’s exactly where you want to be when it’s time for new placements, seasonal features, or tap handle rotations.

You don’t need fancy CRM software to make this work (though it wouldn’t hurt). What matters most is developing the habit of regular, intentional communication and tracking your follow-ups.

Be your distributor’s first call

If your distributor sees you as reliable, informed, and easy to work with - you’ll be the first one they think of when new opportunities open up. Opportunities such as a freed-up tap handle, a seasonal rotation, or a retailer looking to try something new.

Proactive communication helps you get ahead of missed opportunities. When you check in regularly and share your data - sales velocity, reorder rates, performance trends - you build trust. That trust makes you someone they want to do business with. And that keeps your beer flowing, your brand growing, and your name at the top of their call list.