Drinking wine is a personal sensory experience that elicits an emotional response. With a little time and effort you can set the stage for engaged customers. As opposed to ordinary repeat customers engaged customers will talk about you, recommend you, and bring their friends to you.Matthew R. Helmsteadt, president of Vidalco Wine Distributors of New York & New Jersey has these great tips for increasing your sales by engaging your staff and customers.1) Drink with your staffYour customers may not be the only ones who may feel intimidated about the vastness in the world of wine. You do not need an entire staff of sommeliers, just find time to have staff tastings of your wines. When they enjoy a wine and have a personal reference to it they will be feel more confident in recommending it. If they can recommend the wine with some trivia about the wine (“It’s Organic” or “This is a great boutique winery”) they will make the wine personal to your customers.2) Quiz your customersIt makes no sense to recommend a “great” wine to your customers if they are not going to like it. Ask these 5 fast facts:1) Are you in the mood for Red, White, Rosé or Sparkling wine?2) What wine do you normally drink?3) Do you like complex or straightforward wines?4) Do you want more fruit or mineral in your wine?5) Do you prefer dry or sweet wine?Taking this brief time to learn about your customers shows them that your recommendation is personalized to their taste. With this information you can present a wine that they are in the mood to enjoy and stylistically resemble what they regularly.3) Date your customers, don’t be just a booty callWhen you first start dating someone everything is exciting and new. Think of your best dining experiences... they were probably your first or second time at the restaurant. Good manners and charm go from appreciated to expected as a relationship progresses. Regulars come to expect your quality service more than be surprised by it. Give them something new to spark their excitement and keep them wanting more of you, if you can’t offer that they will stray.In a restaurant, recommend a new wine that fits your customers’ style preferences with their favorite meal or recommend entrees that pair well with their favorite wine. In retail, guide your customer to a new wine that fits their style preference in addition to their favorite wine. Most people will try something new if they still have something familiar to accompany it.4) Life is better in pairs, Be a MatchmakerWe have all stared blankly at a wall of wine or the encyclopedia-sized wine lists. People are intimidated by things they do not know. Do not intimidate your customers. Make some pairing suggestions on your menu or wine list. Make some shelf talkers that say, “I go great with...” If you lead most people will follow, if you lead them into great experiences they will always follow.Like what you see? Visit our blog at http://vidalcowine.com/blog/
