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+--- Thread: Best Promotional Idea (/thread-13634.html)
- n144mann - 11-02-1999
OK Guys, help me with some of your experience....... I have scheduled a wine sale at the store for the first weekend in December. What I am looking for is a new and interesting/fun sale promotion. I know some of you are not in the retail end of things....but you all have bought your share of wine, and spent time in stores. Any ideas?? Any promotions that stand out in your minds as particularly effective or interesting and fun for the customers?? We regularly do tasting events and that type of thing for our customers....so I am looking more for a purely unique promotional idea. At this point I am completely open to ideas. I just want something unique, that will spark the interest of our older established customers, as well as bring in potential new customers.
Any ideas....new or old, tried or untried are welcome.
Thanks in advance!
Nancy
- Jerry D Mead - 11-03-1999
I assume your state has the usual restriction on premiums, freebies and other so-called "inducements to buy"? If noit there's all kinds of gimmicks, tie-ins etc that can be done.
- Thomas - 11-03-1999
Nancy, how about an art show of local artists, especially if you can get wine/vineyard related art. Another idea that I am involved in is a book signing at a wine shop--the book is about wine and food, of course.
- n144mann - 11-04-1999
Hey, I like the book signing idea....that is just the kind of thing that would appeal to a lot of our clients as well!
The art show is also a possibility...we have art on display in the store from local artists all the time, but really like the book idea, and I do not think it has been done here, at least not recently.
Thanks for the ideas!
Nancy
- Thomas - 11-04-1999
Nancy, if my publisher really releases my book this spring, as promised, I will come and do one up your way.
- Jerry D Mead - 11-04-1999
Are you allowed to sell foodstuffs in your store? If not, can you sample foods when you're doing wine tastings.
You said you did in-store tastings all the time...but how about a food/wine tasting...featuring either products you sell in the store (even more sales possibilities...and you should be able to get suppliers to kick in with some cost sharing) or get local merchants to partipate...have a local cheese shop sample some cheese...a local bakery showcase its baguettes, a meat specialty shop some smoked fish or turkey or ham. Do you have local caviar? With each food sampling you sample them on an ideally matched wine...two sales not one!
- n144mann - 11-04-1999
Curmy, no, we are not allowed to sell foodstuffs out of the store. (other than very minimal items....lemons and limes, etc.) What we have done in the past to get around that is organize an event, say at the civic center, and sell tickets to it. We then invite other vendors to bring in their products, food etc. We had our annual Octoberfest ( we featured beers from all over the world )last weekend and had 1200 people show up. For $8 dollars, you could basically eat and drink all night, much as you wish. It went really well. It does not allow for direct sales at the event, but it does create a fair bit of interest, and it does introduce customers to things that they may not normally try. In store, we do offer food with our small scale wine tastings on the weekends, usually something rather simple, but now through the holidays are looking to spice it up a bit.....but as I said before, we are not allowed to sell any food items out of the store. Our annual wine tastings, which we hold in two towns (have three stores...two in one town and one in the other) as a customer appreciation event..no charge at all to them, are coming up also on the 10th and the 17th. We also offer food at these events, but again, it is not a direct sale opportunity, like it is in the store, but again its effective in getting to customers that are reluctant to try things unfamiliar to them.
Thanks for the ideas guys!! I do appreciate the help! Foodie....I will keep your offer in mind. Let me know when/if your get your book released okay?
Nancy
- Jerry D Mead - 11-05-1999
Nancy...So you can't sell the food in-store. But you can taste wine in-store. Obviously you're not stopped from giving food away. So! How about getting Hickory Farms or whatever food merchants you have in town to agree to come into your store and sample product (what's to keep them from taking orders?...they aren't licensees...and you wouldn't be selling any food). Even though you wouldn't profit from the food sales...people would naturally buy more wine and your fellow merchants would love you and return the favor by sending you customers when possible. JDM
- Thomas - 11-05-1999
Incidentally Nancy, whenever you do an off-premise tasting and promotion event, take along pre-printed order forms. I'll bet the laws do not prevent you from taking orders and then filling them later by delivery or pick up.
I worked with a wine shop in NY (a truly retail restrictive state) that did quarterly food and wine events in a local restaurant. The people attending were there explicity to evaluate new products and to place advance orders. The wine shop invited distributors and producers to present the wines. The orders were filled within the coming weeks.
- n144mann - 11-05-1999
Curmy, your idea is a good one, and I would love to try that. There are some really nice specialty food stores in town that may be interested. I shall look into that.
As for the promotional flyers...we always take things like that along to present at our functions. AFter all....sales is the bottom line reason for doing them. The flyer is usually set up in a way to allow for tasting notes....then with the regular price, and a promotional price. Enclosed is an order form which can be turned in anytime in the next week or so, and the orders are filled. Has worked well for us in the past.
I am finding the idea of having the other vendors instore interesting....will have to send out some feelers and see what kind of interest I can round up.
Nancy
We have also started doing some in-home tastings with a local caterer...these are fun things!! Not sure it is a real money maker...but it is good PR, and the people always really seem to enjoy it.