At Cascadia Liquor Stores, employees refer to their clientele not as customers, but as guests. Staff, many of whom hold certification in wine and beer education, are justifiably known as “resident product experts”.
In the liquor industry, marketing has changed dramatically in the past five or so years. Small businesses used to simply place an ad in the yellow pages, put up signs, and then wait for customers to flow through the door.
However, today’s marketing is a quagmire of Google rankings, social media, blogging, e-newsletters and big data analytics. How on earth can a retailer make any sense of it?
Adding accessories to your product line will not only increase your average sale, it can attract new people into your store and offer them a better buying experience. Consider adding liquor-related items, such as flasks, decanters, glassware, non-food items used in cocktails, bottle openers, and corkscrews. Available from a wide variety of suppliers, these non-alcoholic items offer good margins and an appealing contribution to your bottom line.
It’s no secret that the competitive landscape for pubs and liquor stores in BC is becoming ever more challenging.
BC’s Liquor Control and Licensing Branch has announced changes to all-inclusive ticket pricing at tasting events, signage requirements, and catering authorizations for low-risk events.
A successful retail liquor store is not only a place to buy wine, beer or spirits – it can become a community where loyal clientele rub shoulders with engaged staff and one another. The hospitality industry is highly competitive, and while customer service, product knowledge, and a comfortable shopping environment will always contribute to success, a community centered around your store will cultivate a unique identity that helps you stand out.
Consider this: In the German city of Augsberg, officials have embedded traffic lights in the sidewalks so smartphone users don’t have to look up from their texting or tweeting as they walk. It’s just one more sign that we are increasingly living our lives on our smartphones, tablets and other handheld devices. For a liquor retailer, this is also a reminder that business is increasingly going mobile.
Finding a group of people to attract is all about identifying niches that haven’t been discovered or fully developed by competitors. Some clients are looking for a specific collection, and establishments that sell hard-to-find spirits, wine, and craft beer are perfect for setting up a niche market. Special deals and frequent buyer programs are abundant because customers like saving money, but more thought needs to go into developing a niche market.
If retailers have any lingering doubts about the dominance of online sales, Kelly Abbott is here to lay them to rest. “The last six months has been the biggest growth for us,” says the president of ParcelPal, a Vancouver-based on-demand delivery service. “It’s like a hockey stick. It’s just going up.”
A customer is planning a party and wants to know what cheese should be served along with some of their favourite wines and beers. There are hundreds of types of cheeses, and by arranging them into a few categories, pairing becomes a simpler process.
It’s an off-season Thursday night at the Park Distillery in Banff, and the joint is jumping as if it was a holiday weekend in the height of summer. Servers are slammed, getting samplers of craft vodka, gin and un-aged rye out to thirsty customers. Guests lean over to their neighbours’ tables, asking perfect strangers what they’re drinking.
You can buy almost anything online these days. As e-commerce continues to grow, liquor retailers looking to enter the online marketplace have to make some big decisions regarding cost, delivery, labour, delivery and shipping, inventory management and your competition’s strategy.
