Leeann Froese
While many companies have finally been allowed to shift back to in-person events, visitor season is quiet with the cold weather.
As in-person visitor traffic stagnates for hospitality businesses, attention moves to how to maintain or stimulate sales in other channels. It’s important to think about taking your offline experience back online.
A transition from in-person to online can be a challenge to navigate for brick-and-mortar brands, but if done successfully and strategically the opportunity is there to reach a vast customer base.
In the last two years most businesses had to pivot, wineries for example, have adjusted the way that they welcome visitors: reservation-only sit-down tastings have largely replaced the “belly up to the bar” approach, and allow for a deeper connection to customers.
Another approach was to shift from a quick pitstop to guided personalized visits. These unrushed tasting experiences provide an opportunity to learn more about your customers and their preferences while teaching them and turning them on to your brand. Your in-person experience can be curated and deep, and now you should work to bring that curated in-person connection online.
Remember it is important not to neglect creating impactful online experiences, too. After all, community building happens on-screen and off. Here we share a few ways to get your customers from the wine shop to the internet.
Online Memberships
Wine clubs are an article of their own, and it’s well known that most wineries, cideries and distilleries have a customer club or contact list of some kind. A database of fans that buy via email or online from your business when you are closed is a great way to create a recurring source of revenue. Aside from this, consumer wine clubs are springing up everywhere, as pandemic-challenged sommeliers seek something different for employment and aim to bring a curated list of wines straight to the public.
What your membership looks like can vary, but whatever the method, online memberships offer an opportunity to make your customers feel like VIPs while creating ongoing income for your brand.
For example, hold club-only events and provide exclusive merchandise for members of your club, incentivising members to pay an annual subscription to get access. Special releases, behind-the-scenes information, and front-of-line access all make your members feel important.
Create an At-Home Experience
Creating an at-home kit for your customers to “DIY” can be another source of revenue for your brand.
For example, creating a wine and food pairing kit with ingredients and recipes delivered to your customer’s doorstep is a great way to stay connected with those who are now back to evenings at home. With a little creativity in repackaging your products and services, you can offer the best of both worlds to a wide range of customers.
Consider creating a theme like “movie night” and add popcorn, or add a gift card for groceries and an instruction card for the perfect plant-based snack board.
Carry on the Virtual Tastings
We saw how the COVID-19 pandemic prompted brands to find new, creative ways to bring their communities together and while it’s true that in-person events are a solid tool for building community, virtual events provided a new way to connect with and educate people. Many wineries and businesses held virtual guided tastings and now that the visitor season is ending these tastings can return.
Remember to revisit the tips we shared in a previous article including to make sure your internet connection is strong, and your light and sound are working well for the format.
Go Live
Going Live on social media is a way to directly connect with your followers and answer real-time questions and comments when you can’t be together in person. Also, once the Live event is finished you can save the video on Facebook, or your Instagram Live to IGTV once you’re done. This makes the Live do double duty for you: first connecting your customers and then once done, making it a valuable piece of content that can be accessed by those who could not tune in.
When it comes to going live, Facebook and Instagram are not the only platforms. Brands are increasingly going live on You Tube or TikTok with influencer takeovers and encouraging their followers to join in too.
Stay on Brand and Be Strategic
It is important to keep in mind your online experience needs to match what is offered on site in person, and reflect your brand authentically.
Some strategies to be consistent might be to use the same branding on your website and social media channels, offer known expert advice and customer service to your wine club members via phone and through email, or use the same spokespeople for online webinars or virtual tastings that your visiting customers would meet in your tasting room.
The main goal is to focus on learning about your customers preferences and meeting them in an innovative way. A loyal client will support your business even when they can’t come through the door.
Leeann Froese owns Town Hall Brands – a marketing and graphic design agency that specializes in branding and promoting in the areas of beverage alcohol, food, and hospitality. See more at townhallbrands.com or on social @townhallbrands
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