“There’s an app for that” is true for just about everything these days, but there’s even an app for you, wine shop owner. [level-members]
At least, you better being doing what this app does, or you’re putting your shop in danger of being irrelevant.
NextGlass is an app that helps consumers figure out whether they will like a wine or beer before they’ve tried it.
It’s actually pretty cool in that it recognizes labels and has created a library of beers and wines. It also encourages (and kind of requires) that you rate the beer and wine you drink so that the app can create a taste profile for you.
Definitely a high novelty factor here, and the social aspect of this is appealing.
Still, the main thing that can differentiate you from your local competition and separate you from the price competition online and elsewhere, is personalized service. So if you’re not already keeping tabs on what your best customers like, you’re on the road to irrelevancy.
You can keep profiles in your head (which is most impressive for your clients) or you can keep a notebook with their past purchases and whether they’ve repeated those purchases.
Don’t forget that you can use this info not just to personalize your service for each individual customer; you can use it the same way NextGlass does: if one customer who likes wine A also likes wine B, perhaps another customer who has tried and liked wine A will enjoy B. That’s a good recommendation to make.
We’re fans of keeping it in your head and using a notebook or computer. The “it’s all up here” method is great when folks walk into the shop. The computer profiles make it easier to put together personalized promotions for top customers.
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