Many companies are fighting for a space in the wine industry. If your business is just there and is not taking any measures to be competitive, your wine bottles will gather dust on retail shelves. And retail stores will not buy your products again because they are not selling. So it is upon your winery to focus on other things, not just the wine taste and quality.
To make a difference in the wine business, you must do things creatively and uniquely. You don’t have to copy other business strategies or rely on the law of demand and supply to make sales. Existing winery businesses overlook many things, and that has cost them along the way. Keep reading to learn these overlooked things that can make your business competitive.
Market Research
Most wineries don’t do proper market research before they create new products or releases new product to the market. This is a costly mistake as you may create a product that will not attract the target customers. You need to do market research to know which flavors customers want and are scarce in the market.
Additionally, market research can help you create affordable wine products based on the purchasing power of the target customers. The research helps you to understand many things about your target customers, including their financial power. So when you develop a product that most of the target customers can afford, that will be an advantage to your business.
Proper market research will also help you identify the target areas where you will distribute your products, says BigCommerce. Please note that selling the wine at your winery is a good thing, but many retailers will likely not come to the store due to the cost of transport or maybe lack of time. So use market research to know areas where your products will be easily accepted.
You can do the marketing research on your own. Alternatively, you can hire a market research firm. Hiring a research firm is better. They will collect data and process it and give a satisfactory report which you will use to make your business decisions.
Wine Labels
Most wineries are focusing too much on wine taste and quality and forget about packaging and labeling. So you will find that they design or order low-quality pressure sensitive labels. And they don’t know that will affect their business sales in the long term. With poorly designed labels, it will be hard for interested customers to spot your products on the shelves. A few customers or none will be interested to know more about the product if it is poorly packaged and labeled.
So to be on the safe side, you should invest in designing high-quality and impactful pressure sensitive labels for your wine bottles. The labels should have bold and bright colors, creative typography and should come in a unique shape, not the usual rectangle shape. Most importantly, the wine labels should have essential information that will make a customer get interested in buying it. Also, ensures that the pressure sensitive labels are legible from a distance.
Social Media
Most big winery companies have the financial power to advertise on TV and in print media. And it is hard to compete with them. But you need to know that you can utilize other marketing channels to compete with the big companies. You should use social media, which is always overlooked by many winery businesses.
You should create accounts on different social media platforms. The account’s name should be your brand name, and details you update there, like images and special offers, should be consistent on all the channels. You should have an account on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other channels that can help you market and sell your products.
You can go a step further and work with social media influencers, says NFI. You need to pay them to post information about your products and business. Influencers have a huge following, and there are high chances of getting customers from their following. Just note that social media is a powerful tool that can help you to take your winery to the next level.
Wine Tasting Day
When they launch a new product, most wineries don’t invite their target customer for wine tasting. Some consider it expensive and don’t see it necessary. However, wine tasting can help you win the hearts of many customers. Those who taste the wine can even become your brand ambassadors preaching the good news about your new products. And that means more sales to your businesses.
So if you run a winery business, you should have wine-tasting days once in a while. But you should not give out all your manufactured wines to please those invited. Just a few bottles, and the message will be out there about your new wine. Remember to sell the wines to those invited at a discounted price. You will likely make more sales in just a single day.
Offer Discounts Once in a While
Although discounts are considered for the big wine companies, you can also offer discounts once in a while to boost your sales. At times it is better to focus on the quantities you sell instead of the profit per unit. With a discount, you will likely sell more wine bottles. Although the profit per bottle will be minimal, that will be compensated by the many bottles you sell.
But before you decide on the discount, it is better to sit down and brainstorm with your team to offer a discount that will not ruin your business. Some discounts can be crazy and can bring significant losses. So ensure it is a calculated move that won’t damage or bring losses to your business.
You can also come up with special offers where you sell two or three wine bottles at a reduced price. This strategy will help you sell more units and can give you a competitive edge over your rivals. If the wine tastes good, those customers will return for more but will now buy the bottles at the regular price.