When the Going Gets Tough Don’t Just Turn to the Bottle!
Irwen Martin, Managing Director of Wine Corner, offers some valuable suggestions on how to weather the ‘Brexit’ Storm.
“Without a doubt, the endless ‘Brexit’ speculation and the inability of UK politicians to work together to formulate an agreement, is having an impact on UK businesses and wine merchants are no exception (as indicated by the feature in the March 2019 issue of ‘The Wine Merchant,’ entitled ‘These are frightening times.’)
Are there things that wine merchants can consider to alleviate the impact?
The answer of course is yes; there is always something that can be done, given enough thought; it’s very much a matter of thinking differently. For the moment, times have changed and therefore, wine merchants who are feeling the impact need to adapt.
It’s time to re-think the business approach, levels of service and of course, what you’re offering.
Think – If customers, whether they’re the general public or trade, are buying less wine or cheaper varieties, how can you, as a wine merchant, extend your service and add value to your sales. Discounts and sales aren’t necessarily the answer; such things might increase sales short term, but they can impact both on the profitability and the credibility of your business
Look beyond the bottle
One answer might well be to look beyond bottle sales to how your customers store, preserve and display the wines you sell. This is of particular relevance to restaurants, bars and supermarkets sailing the same stormy waters. Helping your commercial customers to not only protect their wine stock investment, but also, to sell more wines by enabling them to display and promote wines in a visually appealing way will lead to an increase in performance for your business made up of wine and wine storage / display equipment.
It’s well proven that if retail customers – whether they be in a supermarket, artisan shop or fine dining restaurant – are shown a visually appealing display that showcases premium wines, that they’re more likely to ‘up spend’ as opposed to choosing what they feel they can afford from a list or from a jumbled up selection of bottles on a shelf. Furthermore, those of your trade customers who do not store wine correctly, will most likely experience a degree of wastage which when added up, over a year, will be a surprisingly significant.
Offering them the right storage and preservation equipment will allow them the opportunity of long-term savings as well as eliminating the potential for them to disappoint their customers.
Lead by Example
To promote the messages of wine preservation, correct storage and the impact that attractive POS wine display systems can have, you need to ‘practice what you preach’. This will involve a degree of re-investment; the very essence of effective marketing that ultimately leads to increased sales. Take a good look at your showroom(s), are they appealing enough to tip the balance of purchasing power in your favour? If you know that improvements are needed the next step is to call us, you’ll see the potential of premium storage and POS systems that will encourage your customers to purchase and re-order. Call me, Irwen Martin, on 033333 702 589 to help you concentrate on the future.
Why not take a look at these winewall cabinet systems?
