Archive for the ‘Business Tips for Wine Shop Owners’ Category

You may feel you don’t stand a chance in an era of online behemoths, but there are advantages to being small, nimble and personal. [level-members] First, you have to think strategically. You’re not going to beat a bigger opponent at their own game. You need to concentrate on the areas where they are weak. Location […]

Your initial reaction to Amazon Go might be fear and/or loathing. But it may actually be good news. [level-members] Amazon Go, which you can learn about here among other places, is a new experiment by Amazon in which retail employees are not needed for checkout. That sounds as if they’re trying to make retail employees obsolete. […]

Regardless of where you sit on the political spectrum – left, right or center – I think we can all agree that there’s real harm being done by politicians who cater to special interests and their campaign contributions. The wine industry is no stranger to the advantages or disadvantages (depending on which side of an […]

This report from Meininger, from about a month ago, has some interesting predictions for where the wine industry is headed. Some are trends that independent wine shop owners should simply be aware of. Others are opportunities to grab a competitive advantage if not fundamentally change your business. [level-members] Top of the list is a fascinating […]

Are local wine shop owners in the crosshairs of technological innovation? Are our livelihoods under pressure from outsourcing and other “advancements?” Could be according to this recent report from Bloomberg. [level-members] Last week, Bloomberg reported on a new way to buy wine that relies on an algorithm to help determine whether a wine you’ve never […]

Your phone isn’t just magic for you as a consumer. It can be magic for your wine shop, too.[level-members] Geofencing is a technology that allows you to detect when your customers are near your store and send them messages on their phone. They need to opt in to the service, so this isn’t a technology […]

An article I saw recently on the Eater site about wine labels and their affect on consumer perception reminded me that we all need to look at things through our customers’ eyes more frequently. [level-members] This is particularly true of our shop where we go blind to the little details that sound petty even to […]

Of course you want folks to think of you as the destination for wine in your town – and the next town over, too – but you can help your bottom line by viewing your opportunities a bit more broadly. [level-members] This came to mind over the weekend when I was visiting a friend in his […]

It may not be fair, but it’s true. Get 99% of everything right, and people will focus on the 1% you missed. Just ask Bill Buckner (sorry non-baseball fans).[level-members] You should keep this in mind as you run your business, both in the day-to-day operations and in long-term planning. Your shop might be clean enough […]

For most small wine shops, there are a couple of way to approach hiring help for the shop. How you think about those hires will influence the kind of help you get. [level-members] Among the approaches we see commonly are: Hire cheap and easy. A local kid. After all, you’re the one your regulars are […]