Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/51841
MANAGEMENT WINE WISE MARKETING C o n t i n u e d displays? How are you creating interest in the products you are selling? A can of paint works wonders. It can be a quick fix that makes regular customers see your winery through new eyes and first-time visitors appreciate the look and feel. Do some research into colors and how they affect people's will- ingness to buy. Leatice Eiseman, director of the Eiseman Center for Color Information & Training near Seattle, advises, "With so many products vying for the consumer's money and attention, the effec- tive use of color is one way to cap- ture their attention. Consumers are in an emotional mode when they shop. And when they are in an emotional mode, they are more visually attuned." Once you have your colors, think about adding a piece of furniture or a display to change the look of the tasting room. If you have tables and chairs, reconfigure them, and if you have a moveable bar, move it to another spot. It's amazing how a new piece or simply the movement of furniture will make a difference in the perception of visitors and customers. If you don't have the decorating gene, ask for help. Perhaps there are people on staff who have a real eye for design and decorating, so bring them into the planning. Not only will you have a more attractive tasting room, you also have more buy-in from the employees who helped. ADD SPARK TO DISPLAYS Keep things moving. Four times each year (more if you can manage it), rearrange wine and other mer- chandise in the tasting room. Some wineries change their tasting rooms with the seasons, bringing in timely decorations and gift items. Mov- ing furniture and changing the look of your tasting room will also alter the flow, taking visitors to different areas. Track how this affects buying patterns. Are items that were not big sellers being purchased more regularly now that they are in a dif- ferent part of the room or surround- ed by different products? If you have items you particularly want customers to notice, place something red in the vicinity of the items to draw customers' eyes in that direction. Another way to draw attention is to create clever ways to display items. I know of a winery that had purchased coffee mugs that didn't sell (the winery wasn't even sure why they had been pur- chased in the first place). The staff took a large galvanized metal tub and filled it full of coffee beans (using old beans that had been left outside until they no longer gave off any odor) and stuck the coffee mugs into the beans. The mugs 24 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT JAN - FEB 2012 WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM