WISE Bites
Measure what matters
How do you know if your tasting room team is winning or losing? Are you keeping score? What numbers do you monitor on a regular basis? Because, guess what? People respect what you inspect. So these are the numbers—the ones you poke at—that your team will be sure to focus on if you do. Make sure you are inspecting the metrics that really matter.

 Most winery executives know their DTC sales numbers...and probably their tasting room traffic count, size of their wine club and/or their dollars per tasting room visitor. All this information is interesting, but it is not actionable. Knowing that in 2007 you sold $82 per visitor and this year you are only selling $61 per visitor is worrisome, but these metrics do not tell you how to improve tasting room sales. And, you may mistakenly brush off deteriorating metrics as just another indicator of a challenged economy when, really, your team just isn’t asking for the order enough.

The triple score
In addition to dollar sales, traffic counts and club membership numbers, WISE wineries actively track the “triple score,” which are three critical conversion rates:

1. What percentage of people who come in your door do you sell wine to?

2. What percentage do you sell wine club memberships to?

3. What percentage do you capture contact data from?

Add the average order value and you have the complete sales picture and know where to focus for improvements. Monitor progress, post results for your whole team to see and celebrate progress. What’s your score?
Source: WISE Academy

Tasting Room Trends
You are a retail outlet, so act like one
That’s the common sense advice, retail consultants agree. A way to boost sales is by visiting other local wineries to see what they are selling. You don’t want to carry the same items—customers are savvy to that. When visitors see the same things sold in a number of wineries, they can compare prices. If they already purchased the item and then see it at their next stop (say, on a wine trail) for a lower price, they can feel taken advantage of, and the winery’s reputation takes a hit.

Above all else, stock your retail room with only items that reflect your winery, the image and message it strives to represent. Adding merchandise twice a year is advisable. Moving merchandise around the retail room should be done quarterly so customers who may not have seen items on their first visit see them in their new location. This also helps with traffic flow throughout the room; good lighting helps items stand out instead of hide in dark corners.

While wine accessories are always consistent sellers, the products selected for sale depend so much on the winery location. Wineries in California and North Carolina are, of course, as different as the customers they draw. While logo products such as stemware, tiles and apparel will suit any winery, non-logo items can move well if tied to how the winery presents its image to the public.

Source: Wine Business Monthly