If you’re going through the motions – in your inventory mix, in your customer interactions, in your marketing – your retail wine business is in trouble. Here’s why and how to avoid it. [level-members]
Over the weekend a promo landed in my inbox from Amazon Wine. Nothing newsworthy about that; they’re promoting pretty heavily now. But their Halloween promotion caught my eye.
It wasn’t the offering that stuck out, 10% off when you buy three or more bottles, but the whole idea. Halloween isn’t exactly a prime wine selling event for most.
Say what you will about the quality of their wines (it’s not great, from what we’ve seen) and about the fact that some might consider this just a rebadged existing promo (they regularly offer discounts for purchases of 3 bottles or more), but it’s pretty clever to create a promo around a holiday that is not typically thought of as wine friendly. It’s a kid’s holiday, for pete’s sake …
And while I really got a kick out of the wines they’re pushing – Zombie Zin, Chateau du Vampire Cabernet, and the trick or treat pair: Trick California Red Table Wine and Treat California White Table Wine among other ghoulish names – I’m not sure they’re necessarily a good fit for most of our shops.
But thinking about business opportunities with a fresh perspective is crucial to keeping your business sutainable. Forget the rules your competitors are playing by. Make up your own rules and you’ll have a lot less competition.
(BTW, those ridiculous wine names do add credence to our recent article about wine names and who they appeal to.)
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