As a business professional you are going to spend money in hopes of getting or keeping relationships that make you money. This is de rigueur for all businesses; however, what has never gone out of style is people doing business with people. Marketing collateral, skybox rentals, ad specialty items, and dinners—all are forms of making and keeping relationships. The professionally conducted wine event falls under “event marketing,” but it’s fresh and unique, which separates you from the pack.
Atlanta Wine School is in the business of evangelizing wine as a symbol of good living. We educate thousands of people annually on wine appreciation, but our private wine events are an important tool for our customers to build good will among their important clientele as well as prospective ones.
A VIBRANT MARKET
Looking at socio-demographics, wine is an interest among the top 20% wage-earners—an income bracket which represents a prospective client for most business. Quite simply, wine interest is at an all time high in the US. It is the number one alcoholic beverage of choice (Gallup Poll 2005), and consumption patterns have risen the last twelve years consecutively. More importantly for you is to understand the type of people who are being captivated by wine.
• 65% female
• 35+ years of age
• average Household Income $100k+
• cosmopolitan, culinary and self-care spending, and socially-driven
WHEN IN GREECE
Three millennia ago the Greek Symposiums (the greek verb sympotein means to drink together) used wine as a tool to increase creativity and lower inhibitions in their gatherings. The gatherings drew important leaders in commerce, and this was how relationships were built, and business transacted. Today, for the very same reasons, we help business professionals provide memorable and effective “experiential” events. With wine as the lure, we engage subjects, and entertain them like they’ve ever experienced. Our customers reap the good mojo from having happy, entertained guests.
Rather than bore them with perfunctory wine data and the “predictable wine purveyor spiel”, we paint a picture of wine as fine living. As their wine docent, we take them on an exploration of the senses. How we do it is science and art. Allow me to share some best practices honed over time.
Here are our 7 Must-Do’s for Effective & Memorable Wine Events:
1. You had me at Hello.
I owned a staffing company in a prior life and we noticed that when we put the staffer through a thorough orientation at their new corporate environment, their effectiveness, satisfaction and retention were unparalled. How we first engage someone is pivotal. Take the time and the financial resources to generate invitations that make a statement. There are individuals (freelancers) who will do hand-made invitations, and address them with calligraphy for a small fee. Remember that all of your targeted clientele are getting the same BLAH invitations from everyone. Look different—stand out!
2. Another Wine Dinner?
“Please join XYZ Financial for another staid wine dinner at Ruth Jone’s Steakhouse.” Unfortunately, larger company marketing departments have blindly issued edicts “do wine stuff, it’s chic, savoir-fair and attracts the affluent.” Yes, that’s true. However, the ubiquitous wine dinner is beat to death, and the seated environment makes it challenging to interface with all of your guests. Instead, invite them to a hot gallery which you have rented out, with excellent catered cuisine, high-class stemware, fine wines, and a conversational wine expert (and/or Chef) to entertain the guests.
3. Less is More.
I’ve had customers with a group size of 40 gain 2-3 appointments from prospects in a single evening. However, they were not even able to meet and engage half of the attendees as the group size was too large! So they threw a free party for 20 people—it would have made more sense to send those twenty a piece of junk mail.
4. My time is valuable.
No matter how nice the function sounds that your client/prospect is being invited to, they KNOW what this is, and WHY you are doing it, and they are sensitive about when and how long. Make the location geographically centric to them, start it after work, and consider primarily Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
5. Liability.
Yes, it is a part of any party, professional or personal, where alcohol is being served. But it is a part of our lives, and it doesn’t mean we hide in a cave to avoid it. Incorporate an unobtrusive awareness about your guests.
How Much? A wine tasting will afford “tastings” (1.5 – 2.0 oz) which if guests consume all six, will still only provide the equivalent of 2 glasses of wine (2 x 5 oz).
How Long? We limit our events to 2.5 hours, from start to finish. 9pm is normally our strike time, which is usually a departure time for mid-week events anyway. If you allow guests to join you AFTER they are already inebriated, or if it can be shown that your bartender/wine expert served them to excess, then you might as well hand over your liquid assets to me.
6. It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It.
Just because you know this Chef or this wine guy who really knows their stuff doesn’t mean you should position them in front of 40 strangers and expect them to perform. While your guests may be impressed with an accomplished Chef and credentialed wine expert, what they will remember is how this person made them feel. You will separate yourself by having a persuasive entertainer who employs style and charisma in their delivery. I have many colleagues who employ encyclopedic skills in wine—however, they would be disasters if they were expected to entertain people for a length of time.
7. Little Things Mean a Lot.
Some of our customers will provide custom-made boxes of Belgian chocolates (which we have produced and labeled with their logos) for guests to take home. For many of our events, we employ a photographer (you don’t need to pay more than $200 for a 2-hour evening) who will grab shots of guests having fun. Delivery of the pics is a good excuse to touch them after the event. Even a quality corkscrew with logo/name can be purchased in bulk for $4 each. Clients have kept ours for years.
I hope these pointers will stimulate and guide you in producing memorable, effective events!
