1. The wine list
To get the wine list right, you need to first understand your customers. You need to know what they like, their potential spend level and what scope exists for attracting new customers by developing your wine offering. When considering how many to stock, think about how much storage space you have and how extensive your food offer is.
It is up to you how you group wines but current trends group certain styles together such as light and crisp or full-bodied. It's smart to steer clear of wines that are big in the supermarkets to avoid cost comparisons, and avoid putting your cheapest wines at the top so they are noticed first. Freshen up the list whenever possible and if your customers are keen on, say, rosé wines, a current area of growth, then put a few varieties on the list. Your supplier can help put a wine list together and help print it.
2. House wine
It may be a good idea to ditch the house wine altogether. This is because it is generally a cheap and lower-quality wine than others on the list, leaving you with less profit. Customers will assume that you recommend the house wine and if they are unsure of which wine to choose will often plump for the house, which may leave them dissatisfied. It's also a missed opportunity for trading up. If you do have a house wine, make sure it is a good one.
3. Training
Knowledge is crucial to selling wine. Even just a little knowledge can sell a lot of wine. It is the drinks category that most confuses customers and they will look to you and your staff for guidance. There are a range of training options open, from in-house tastings to outside tutoring and e-learning. Most wines come with information about their taste and style, which can be digested in minutes by staff. They need to know at least the basics such as country of origin, flavours of the wine and the variety of grape, and how to serve and look after wine. Wine suppliers will be more than willing to pay a visit to the pub for tasting and educational sessions with staff. Tutored training will help boost staff confidence and some one-day courses with certificates are available. If time and resources are limited then
interactive training CDs are available from firms such as Vintellect.
ESP - www.diageo-esp.com 0121 472 9020
Wine Spirit and Education Trust - www.wset.co.uk 0207 089 3800
BII - www.bii.org 01276 684449
Vintellect - www.vintellect.co.uk 01372 371 093
4. Incentives
Your staff can be great wine sellers. Once you've invested in training, it is a good idea to offer incentives that will encourage them to use their newly-acquired skills and remain motivated. Most staff will prefer cash incentives but it could be more cost-effective to offer gifts, especially ones donated by suppliers. Staff could be rewarded for hitting sales
targets on a monthly, quarterly or even annual basis. Alternatively, a mystery-customer programme could reward staff for excellent service and product knowledge. Staff armed with the necessary skills and motivation should set sales soaring. When someone asks for a glass of red, staff are now much more likely to say "the house red or the Shiraz?" If half the customers take the Shiraz you are already making a bigger profit.
5. Pricing
Price is a delicate issue and you need to get the balance right. If you go too high, people feel ripped off, but on the flip side they may be suspicious of the quality of a bottle of wine that costs £6. Some pubs are moving away from the idea of adding a percentage mark-up on wines, and are looking to make a set amount per bottle, say £5. This represents better value for more expensive wines and can encourage trading up - resulting in an enhanced reputation for the pub. While you might make less percentage per bottle, you've moved more stock and are banking more profit. The only thing you can put in the bank is cash, not
margin.
6. Tasting notes
Use tasting notes to give customers a helping hand. You could simply summarise the notes on the back label of the wine but people often enjoy reading a more personal view of what the wine is like. You don't have to be clever with what you write - a witty and down-to-earth style usually works better in a pub than wordy descriptions of nose and palate. A visit to an Oddbins store could give great inspiration on coming up with tasting notes.
One key way to drive sales is to recommend certain wines to match your food dishes. This can be done on either the wine or food menu. Once again, your wine supplier should be able to help you out.
7. By the glass
Offer more wines by the glass as it will tempt drinkers to be more adventurous and trade up. You could stock some by the half-
bottle as these may be popular at lunch times when people don't want a whole one. Offer
samples to taste and invest in a Verre de Vin -
the system that removes oxygen to help pre-
serve wines - so you can sell all your stock
by the glass.
8. Display
Wine is often the most ignored product at the bar. The draught beers have the fonts, the PPLs occupy the fridge and the spirits command the back bar, leaving little room for wine. Even PoS material for wines is hard to come by compared to beer. But one thing is for sure, if customers don't know it is there, it won't sell. A blackboard listing products is a cheap
and effective option as is leaving a few wine lists on the bar for customers. Alternatively, if you have the space, a wine rack display can make a nice feature for your pub and help push the wine.
9. Tastings
Inviting your key customers down for a tasting is a good way of getting them to try new and different wines. The events must be properly structured or there could be a free-for-all once wind of some free booze gets around.
The event should also provide a good dose of PR for your pub. Try teaming up with your wine supplier or maybe your local wine society - a smart move that could help enhance your reputation.
10. Promotions
The "buy two glasses, get the rest of the bottle free" days have been thrown out with the dawn of a new responsible retailing era. But promotions can revolve around more than just price - and anyway, slashing the price may serve to devalue the product. A wine of the month is a good offer to have. Pubs strong on food could consider making a wine list the central feature of a themed evening, for example Spanish
tapas and Spanish wines. Other ideas could be quizzes and competitions with bottles of wine as prizes.
A loyalty card or passport scheme where customers collect a stamp for every new wine they try and then enter a prize draw can be good fun and get people to be more adventurous. Promotions like this must be run over a period of a few months to ensure they are responsible.
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