How well do you know your customers? The more you understand about them, their preferences, and their buying patterns, the better you can provide them with a seamless experience with your winery.
In our busy world, customers are more distracted than ever, so make it easier for them by knowing what they want before they do! Selling to customer preference allows you to tailor your service to each individual, leaving your customers with a high level of confidence and a positive, lasting impression. By using your customer data, you can learn what – and when – your customer is likely to make a purchase.
Take advantage of this goldmine of information, and be proactive with recommendations and sales. Make sure your employees have access to your customers’ key points as well. They’ll be more productive and drive better sales results. Here are 5 areas of customer preferences you can leverage to improve your customer experience:
Preferred purchase method
Knowing how your customers prefer to make purchases allows you to accommodate them better. Some wineries may have a lot of in-person purchases; others may have a customer base that prefers to make purchases online or through email.
If you have a lot of customers who pay by phone, for example, make sure you have plenty of staff available to answer phone calls throughout the day, and train them to have excellent phone etiquette and customer service. Once you’ve identified how your customers like to shop, refine those methods so every purchasing experience is convenient and streamlined.
Identify customer’s wine preferences
Looking at your customer’s purchase history gives you actionable insights into their wine preferences. You can make better recommendations and offer more effective promotions. For example, if your customer is a fan of Chardonnay, let them know about the promotion you have running at the end of the month for that particular wine.
You can also segment out your email list to market promotions only to the customers who are most likely to be interested, or use their purchase history to recommend vintages with similar flavor profiles.
Purchase frequency and spending level
By looking at how frequently your customers make purchases and the amount they typically spend each time, you can identify when someone is likely to make a purchase and a projected purchase amount. Identify your big spenders versus small spenders. Someone who makes small purchases, like lower-priced vintages or a bottle at a time, is less likely to be interested in a big-ticket wine or purchasing wines in bulk.
So, offer recommendations or promotions that are in line with what they typically buy. The sale will be more successful and your customer will appreciate that it fits within their spending habits. Likewise, if you have customers that only shop near the holidays, you can send them special promotions or recommendations around those times.
Customer lifestyle
The more you know about your customers’ lifestyle, the more opportunity you have to make sales. Note in your CRM things like whether they’re married, have children, pets, when their anniversaries or birthdays are, if they take vacations, and their wine budget.
If you know a customer’s wedding anniversary is on the way, you can tell them about a promotion you’re running or suggest a limited vintage for the special occasion. Does your customer have a baby on the way? They likely won’t be thinking about buying wine for a while! However, you can keep track of when the baby is due and schedule promotional emails to go out soon after.
Preferred communication method
Companies from all industries communicate with their customers in many ways these days. Email, phone, and text messages are common methods, but not everyone welcomes the same form of communication. Make sure your communication is as effective as possible by noting how each customer prefers to be contacted.
These are just a few ways you can use your customer’s preferences to increase sales, improve customer service, and truly stand out from your competitors. Knowing your customers gives them the best possible experience, with services and promotions completely tailored to them!