If you’re a wine retailer today there are two key questions you have to ask:
- How do potential customers find me?
- How do I convey to them who we are and what we stand for?
Everything grows from those two questions.
How do potential customers find you?
Is your Google Business page up to date?
Does Google Maps and Apple Maps show the correct destination?
Do you look at your digital dashboards to see how many people find you via mobile app map applications? What are they searching for? How many people call you via those apps?
What photos and reviews of your store do people see when they happen upon you via their smartphones?
Is your phone number on those map app landing pages?
Is your Facebook Page up to date? (This doesn’t mean you have to be using it, just that the info is current and people can find you via Facebook.)
How are your store reviews? Can you do a blitz for a week to build new and relevant reviews?
Are you still using print ads in the local paper? Do you know the results of that money spent? Do you know what could happen with that same money spent in carefully targeted social media advertising? Have you done the homework, or are you simply hoping you don’t have to learn a new system?
How do you convey to them who you are and what you stand for?
Are there photos of your awesome employees on your social media, website, and other search results?
What photos of what wines end up on your Facebook and Instagram feed? What do those photos convey? Price? Availability? Rarity? Inventory? Quality? Knowledge?
Do you take pictures of every neighborhood dog that comes in and then tell the owner the photo will be on Facebook, be sure to like it? And by the way, we run a monthly “Dogs of the wine shop” contest and the photo with the most likes wins a bottle of wine!
Do you have a mission statement for your customers to see? “At House of Vino, we support the small, the overlooked, and the awesome wineries from all corners of the globe.” vs. “At Big Bob’s we buy big drops from big wineries and pass the big savings onto you.” Should you also print this, frame it, and hang it in the store? Print it on your reciepts?
Remember the two key questions above. How do potential customers find you, and what can they quickly learn about you? Everything emanates from those two questions.