Looking for ways to bring more customers through your wine store’s doors? As a wine mart owner, you're no doubt aware of how difficult it can be to promote your business… and the many regulations within the wine industry don’t help.
To distance yourself from your competition and drum up enthusiasm for your store among potential customers, you have to get creative.
From special promotional events to novelty features for your store, read on for four enticing ways to attract customers to your wine mart.
1. Host Wine Tasting Events
You can’t go wrong with fun events and free samples! A tasting event gives new customers a chance to sample your products and acquaint themselves with your brand. Consider holding themed tasting events for whichever holiday is around the corner, and give your samplers an opportunity to celebrate.
First things first, check local and state regulatory agencies before you plan your tasting event. In many states, it’s illegal to give away free alcohol. But in others, it’s legal to offer a small sample of alcohol (1 oz or less), for a lesser price.
Make sure to keep portion sizes small and to limit each customer to one sample, in order to protect your store’s bottom line and your customers from intoxication on-premises. Also, make sure you’re checking IDs regularly — as fun as these events may be, they’re still limited to those 21 and up.
And remember, for this “try before you buy” event, it’s essential to assign your most upbeat and engaging salespeople to the tastings’ promotional table, to ensure that samples turn into sales.
2. Ramp Up Your Customer Loyalty Program
A customer loyalty program will attract new customers and keep them coming back for more. Less than 35 percent of small business owners have one, so it’s an amazing way to set yourself apart from your competition.
Loyalty programs are a win-win — your customers will access discounts, point rewards, money back, and refer-a-friend bonuses, and you’ll gain the invaluable asset repeat customers represent. After all, consulting firm Bain reports that repeat customers spend 67 percent more than their one-time counterparts. In fact, a five percent increase in customer retention can provide up to a 95 percent boost in wine mart profits.
Worried about implementing a loyalty program through your wine store’s software? A modern day point of sale system can help. Many, such as Bottle POS, come with a baked-in customer loyalty program that easily integrates with your store's current systems.
3. Wine Pairing Night
A wine pairing night is another fun event that’s sure to attract new customers to your store! Selling snacks to accompany your bottles is a great way to lead your customers toward a multi-item purchase.
This kind of event gives you a lot of creative flexibility. Everyone’s aware of the classic crackers, cheese, or nuts and wine combos — but a wine pairing night gives you the opportunity to be imaginative. Wine and Cheetos? Wine and nachos? Go wild!
A wine pairing night is also a great opportunity to team up with local community partners. For example, wine and cheesecake is a famous pairing — consider partnering with a local bakery to give your customers an event they won’t soon forget.
4. Sell Wine Online
Looking to bring new customers to your wine mart without them having to pass through your front door? Opening an online store allows you to connect with a much wider variety of customers than a physical storefront could attract. With a virtual storefront, any time someone searches for your store online, they’ll have the option of ordering a few bottles of their choice from the comfort of their couch. This convenience is a major draw, and is guaranteed to convert a potential customer to a return one with the click of a mouse.
Modern POS systems can remove the hassle of creating a web store by yourself. For example, Bottle POS comes with its own integrated e-store, BottleZoo, which enables your in-stock products to appear on Google when customers search your wine store. Once customers choose their reds and check out, your store will receive the order through your POS software, and you can fulfill the order via delivery or customer pickup. BottleZoo’s third-party delivery service integrations, such as DoorDash, will drop off your customers’ bottles directly at their front door.
Attract Customers With a POS System Designed for Your Wine Mart
These ideas may sound intimidating to implement, but a new POS system can simplify the process. The right POS software for your store will come with a baked-in customer loyalty program, e-store, and so much more — and it’ll consolidate these features and centralize your store management. And when these ideas successfully bring in waves of new customers, a POS system will allow you to easily manage your expanded customer base, streamlining your store management to ensure an efficient checkout process.
Bottle POS allows you to do all of the above, and much more. If you’re ready to boost your customer base and take your wine store to the next level, schedule a free demo with our team today!
