The Grapevine

What’s Your Wine Shop Mission?

May 2nd, 2018

If it’s just to sell more wine, you’re probably not going to attract a lot of of customers who are shopping for anything other than price and convenience. [level-members]

But if you have a deeper story to tell, you can create an emotional connection with your potential customers that will not only draw them into your shop, but make them more loyal and perhaps also turn them into advocates for you.

This came to mind as I read a recent Seven Fifty post about a restaurant with a mission-driven wine list.

Obviously, there are differences between a restaurant wine list and the wines a stock my choose to carry, but there are parallels, too. So, what do you choose to carry? Is there a theme that connects the wines in your shop, even across regions and varietals, and price points?

If so, you may want to focus some of your marketing or at least just your anecdotes on that story because it’s much more interesting than, “we stock this because we get a good deal on it from the distributor and it’s really not much different from wine x.”

I wouldn’t recommend that most shops go so far as to specialize only in Italian wines or Burgundies, though we know shops who do specialize that way. Instead, make it more personal but keep the stock broader. You’ll make the emotional connection and have the wines that meet more people’s needs.

Most importantly, you’ll have a story, which is really what a good brand is all about.

[/level-members]