Placement Analysis Program

Most beverage brands know when they lose a placement. Very few know why.

We go directly to the buyers making placement decisions — and capture what they actually think. Not your rep's interpretation. The real answer.

The Cost of Not Knowing

Losing a single on-premise placement can cost tens of thousands in annual revenue. Losing a chain authorization can cost multiples of that. Yet most brands never learn the real reason they lost.

Your sales team hears vague feedback — "they went another direction," "budget was tight," "the buyer liked something else." These aren't lies. They're the version of the truth buyers are willing to share with someone who has a stake in the answer.

Research shows buyers tell salespeople the real reason they passed only 40% of the time. That means most of your placement strategy is built on incomplete information.

That gap — between what buyers actually think and what your team hears — is where placements are lost and strategy goes wrong. It's also exactly where Global Glass Insights operates.

What We Do

Global Glass Insights applies proven win-loss methodology to beverage alcohol, combining competitive intelligence expertise with deep industry knowledge.

We conduct in-depth interviews directly with the buyers, bar directors, chain purchasers, and retail decision-makers who made the call — on-premise and off-premise. Not your rep's interpretation of what happened. Not the polite version they gave your distributor. The real answer, delivered to you as a structured brief with clear recommendations.

Buyer voice is the product. It's what brands can't get on their own — and it's what every placement decision should be built on.

What Clients Learn

Our buyer interviews consistently surface findings that never make it back through the sales rep or distributor. Common discoveries include:

• Distributor rep deprioritization — your brand isn't being walked into accounts

• Pricing misalignment — positioned wrong for the channel or account tier

• Portfolio overcrowding — the buyer already has a brand that fills your slot

• Weak staff advocacy and floor knowledge — no one can sell what they don't understand

• Buyer perception gaps — how your brand reads versus how you intend it

• Insufficient marketing or activation support — buyers need to see you investing

• Packaging or label concerns — first impression before the liquid matters

• Competitive incentives — a competitor offered something your team didn't know about

• Poor menu or occasion fit — the brand didn't solve a programming problem for the buyer

Most brands are losing placements for reasons their sales team will never volunteer. That's what buyer interviews uncover.

Why It Works

Buyer voice is the product We go directly to the people making placement decisions — not to reps or internal teams who filter what they heard. The insight is only as good as the source.

Beverage-fluent conversations Questions are built around three-tier dynamics, on-premise buying behavior, and portfolio prioritization. Buyers talk differently to someone who speaks their language — and share more.

Third-party neutrality Buyers share things with an independent researcher they would never say to your sales rep or distributor. The independence isn't a formality — it's how you get the truth.

Wins and losses together We interview accounts you kept alongside accounts you lost, so findings show contrast, not just complaint. Understanding why you win is as important as understanding why you lose.

The Programs

• Rapid Assessment — One-time engagement. 4–5 buyer interviews around a specific loss event or new market challenge. Short findings brief with key buyer insights and 2–3 prioritized recommendations. Ideal for a first engagement.

• Placement Analysis — One-time engagement. The full diagnostic: 6–10 buyer interviews across wins and losses, a competitive displacement analysis, and a findings brief with prioritized recommendations. Includes a 60-minute debrief with your leadership team. Optional add-on: competitive snapshot of the top 3 competing brands in your target accounts for an additional $1,500.

• Placement Growth Program — Ongoing quarterly buyer research: 8–12 interviews per quarter, a quarterly findings report, competitive monitoring, a 90-minute strategic debrief, and a living Buyer Voice tracker that shows how buyer perceptions and objections shift over time.

Most clients begin with the Placement Analysis. The Growth Program answers the questions it raises — and builds the longitudinal buyer intelligence that makes every sales and positioning decision sharper.

The Process

• Discovery We define the loss event, target account types, and competitive context. You brief us on the brand, the sales motion, and what you already know.

• Buyer Interviews We conduct in-depth interviews with buyers, bar directors, and purchasers — direct, neutral, and off the record. They tell us things they'd never tell your rep.

• Analysis We synthesize findings across interviews — separating patterns from noise, identifying competitive displacement factors, and mapping what's actually driving decisions.

• Findings Brief You receive a clear brief — what buyers said, what it means, and what to do about it. Followed by a debrief session with your leadership team.