Summer Decor and Products

Summer weather inspries lifestyle changes in all of us. It's the sun really, and it starts making us act, feel, and do differently! We take more trips, play outdoors, wake up energized, go to ball games, cook different foods, and in general, relax a bit more. I have alwasy been slightly baffled by retailers who don't change their stores' offering even slightly to cater more towards summer activities.

Along with a little decoration that can go a really long way in making your store feel summer equipped, it is important to offer products that will compliment your customers' warm weather activities. Decorate a small section that caters towards the local crowd and what they might be doing this weekend (i.e. hiking the local mountain range, fishing at the lake an hour away, etc.).

For instance, sales of travel products like ice chests generally increase during this time. Have available products your customers might not have thought of such as our PlatyPreserve that serves as an ideal way to picnic/hike with wine. Or how about our new GoVino Acrylic Wine Glasses that are perfect for multiple use during barbecues. Or perhaps offer hiking or winery maps to inspire travel through America's wine growing regions in California, Oregon, and Washington.
Whatever products you suggest for the local getaways, it's important to make an effort to decorate and provide product suggestions that will make summer activities more fun and exciting.
 
Cheers!
True Fabrications

Newspapers and Flyers

Dear Retailers,

I arrived home today to find in my mailbox our local community newspaper, some bills, my netflix movies, and a handful of flyers. While flipping through all the flyers, I noticed that all them advertised a local restaurant. In all the time I have gotten flyers in the mail, I can't recall the last time one came from a local retail store. Yes, I often receive them from larger retail chains and grocery stores. But local retail shops haven't seemed to try this method of direct advertising to consumers homes. 

I immediately thought that if these flyers work well enough for local restaurants to advertise with, there must be untapped potential for a wine stores to do the same. Yes, there is a certain stigma attached to flyers (think pizza delivery), but like with all marketing pieces you can always design them to be different.  Imagine mailing out a flyer that has a food and wine pairing tip or a schedule of wine tastings they can post up on their refrigerator as a reminder. Direct marketing of this type is very affordable and very targeted. You can even partner with your local community paper to test out the effectiveness of the flyer.

I'm not sure it will work, but like all things in marketing, it's worth a try. Remember when testing a new marketing method, you always want to entice a customer to mention where they heard about your store through a direct/unique offer.. In the case of the flyer, give them a reason to bring the flyer into the store and keep a tally of how many are used.

I would love to know if anyone tries this out and I hope to see my local wine stores doing this the next time I come home and look in my mailbox.

Cheers!
True Fabrications