The marketing platform for wine products and wineries is not the same as those used for marketing other commercial products. The so-called three-tier distribution system is likely to downplay or overlook independent, small wineries in favor of the more well-established, more substantial brands.
For these reasons, your marketing strategies must be more customer-focused and creative to create a steady and stable customer base. That being said, let’s get you started and convert your visitors into loyal customers and your tasting room into a full house.
We’re going to fill up your glass with great marketing ideas that you can incorporate or add to your wine marketing strategies.
Table of Contents
Offer a Different Tasting Event
Wine aficionados are used to good old traditional wine tasting. Now, if you want to stand out among the rest, don’t be afraid to offer something different to your customers. Organize a unique tasting event that you think wine lovers will surely enjoy. After all, a visitor will come for the experience. It doesn’t matter if it’s a traditional tasting set up or one with a modern twist.
Your wine tasting event must offer winery tours, good food, live music, and booths that showcase your products, say, Conti wines and other fine wine brands there are. Train your staff to educate and tell a story to the customers about wine. Make sure also to interact with your guests and give them a winery-only promotion to enhance your sales.
Learn to Adapt
The 21st century is all about showcasing individuality. Most people now want to be at the center and want the highest form of personalization possible. As such, creating unique products according to the desires and needs of the customers is a must.
You need to become more consumer-centric to funnel more customers. Those winemakers who have already adapted to the trend now offers bottles of wine with customer’s identity on the label.
Customer Service
Excellent customer relationship is vital for any business, but it’s even more essential to your winery. You need to establish an impeccable relationship with your customers since you cannot fully count on a distributor, the middle tier between the retailer and you, to help promote your wine products.
Make a profile about your best customers and think about how you can search for more people like them. You also need to create and maintain a database of your customers’ profile, including their interests, personal information such as birthdays, family member, automobiles they drive, and how frequently they purchase wines.
Acknowledge the important dates with a discount card and emails. Besides the usual regional wine-judging contests, you can also facilitate a competition where your customers can make their choices.
Give Thanks to Your Loyal Customers
Offer exciting giveaways for your current customer bases, such as free wine tastings, wine tours, or free passes to your next wine tasting event. But don’t apply this idea to your social media followers. It should be only applicable to your current customers who are also active members of your email wine club. These people are genuine patrons.
You can utilize social media platforms to motivate your followers to use these giveaways and join your club. You can also set up a point system and identify what your wine club can offer to its members.
In addition, you can host exclusive events and give early bird presale ordering for wine club members only.
Merchandise
Apart from the wine that you sell, remember too that people like to purchase accessories. Besides glasses, wine racks, and corkscrews, you can sell seasonal gifts too.
Various holidays call for different gifts, a patriotic-themed gift in July, or chocolate-covered strawberries for Valentine’s Day, or a Christmas tree ornament. Your customers are sure to enjoy gift baskets that they can also give to their clients.
Be Instant
Consumers, in general, tend to be impatient and want everything to be given to them right away. The same thing applies when delivering items ordered online. Purchasing products through mobile applications and online stores are growing year by year which only encourages consumers to demand faster and more efficient online service and delivery.
If you have a winery, let the consumers purchase wine through an online shop and be prompt with the delivery if possible. Also, consider adjusting your web page for mobile phone browsing and allow purchasing wine online via mobile applications.
Further, utilize mobile applications that streamline wine purchases according to preferences, consumers needs, meals, and occasions.
Use Your Winery as a Wedding Venue
Weddings are sure to bring in the dough because they are expensive. Also, a lot of people now want to hold their weddings at a winery. If you have a restaurant within your winery, you can maximize your profit by opening it for wedding venues. You don’t just host the ceremony, you can also cover the reception, both of which means more income for you.
Research regional and local websites that list down wineries who host weddings, then contact them to get listed. Find out how much your competitors charge and determine prices. You can also consider hiring a wedding planner to work for your winery.
Takeaway
Marketing wines and wineries are not easy. Now more than ever, you have to master marketing and determine consumption trends to increase sales. The competition of different wineries across the globe is becoming stringent, while the needs and preferences of consumers are evolving. In such a case, you need to inject some marketing “tricks” to stay on top of new consumer trends. Take your cue from the following examples above.
