Distiller magazine

fall 2020 | 37 Drive Real Sales with Relatively Low Effort Whether or not you're currently set up for online sales and shipping, when done correctly virtual experiences can and will drive real sales, often with lower effort and cost than it would take to drive that same number of sales with in-person or other marketing tactics. From driving tasting room pick-up sales, to partnering with retailers to cross-promote and drive sales through them, to making mini sample-size bottles available, to creating a barrel sales program, to setting up new online sales distribution channels specifically to help support your virtual experiences: Where there's a will, there's a way. And the payoff can be big, so it's worth the up-front investment (and currently looser guidelines in some states) to figure it out now. At one of e Crafty Cask's recent weekly virtual tasting experiences, where we feature two craft makers centered around a theme, one of our makers sold over $1,700 in bottles from participating in that one 90-minute tasting alone. And then there's the maker we previously mentioned who's pre-selling up to four full barrels of whiskey per week with their private barrel selection virtual experiences. If driving sales is your goal, virtual experiences can help you do just that with a little up-front infrastructure investment and good promotions. And if you're treating virtual experiences as a serious marketing tactic that will stand the test of time, as you should, the work is well worth it. Grow Your Audience & Efficiently Increase Brand Awareness Now, even if you're driving sales with your virtual experiences, it's also important that you are con- tinuing to grow your brand awareness and audience. Luckily, virtual experiences are a slam dunk for this objective as well. ink about it… would you rather get 10 new followers on Instagram or 10 new fans who you've interacted with face-to-face and who are now on your mailing list? It's a no-brainer. If you're putting effort into growing your audience and brand awareness, virtual tasting experiences are a high- er-touch, more immersive, personal and lasting way to do just that. To make the most of this audience-growth strategy, promote your events widely and often. Remember to target specific Facebook groups around that event's topic to find enthusiasts and offer them a great event to attend. en, require registration to attend the event. is is the benefit over using services like Zoom vs. Facebook or Instagram Live alone. By requiring registration, you capture their email addresses (make sure to include a disclaimer on the registration page that they will be added to your mailing list and can opt out at any time) so you can add them to your mailing list and continue to deepen your new fans' relationship with your brand. And don't forget, this works great for securing new trade accounts as well. Offer private virtual tasting demos and drop off a tasting pack with bottles, tasting note booklets, branded materials and more. We see more and more craft makers doing this and from everyone we've talked to, they've indicated that they're seeing better results with securing accounts virtually than they ever did with the standard in-person approach. Change can be scary, but it can also be much needed and very beneficial. Engage with Your Existing Audience More Frequently For many craft distillers, unless you're able to offer cocktails in your tasting room, it can be hard to encourage frequent repeat visits — especially since many consumers take months to drink through one bottle at home. By providing regularly engaging virtual experiences, you can encourage them to engage with you and your brand more frequently from the comfort of home, all while teaching and encouraging them to enjoy your spirits in new ways so they either need a new bottle faster or want to get their hands on additional spirits they haven't previously purchased. Cocktail classes are perfect for this, as are home scavenger hunts, trivia and meet-the-maker events. Private virtual tastings are also an easy way to "visit" frequently with the people who already know and love your brand. ey also allow you to deepen your relationship in a meaningful way since there are no other guests or tasting room activities to distract you from their experience. In this instance, it's entirely appropriate to charge a tasting fee and/or require bottle purchases for the experience — great for things like birthday celebrations, family gatherings, holiday parties and more. is is also where you can consider a single barrel selection experience if you have a consumer or trade-facing barrel sales program. 2 1 3

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