The Consumer Experience Matters

You Create the Customer Experience

Have you ever heard people talk about the great wine that they had on their vacation? It goes something like this: “We had the best wine ever in this little cafe in Tuscany. We were in a cute little town, whose name I can’t remember. It came in a carafe, not even in a bottle. The cafe looked over a vineyard. We ordered the special of the day. I’ll never forget it.”

If you’ve heard some variation of this you may have thought: “Are they really saying that the best wine they ever tasted was an inexpensive house wine?” No, that’s not really what they are saying.  What they are describing is an experience and wine was at the center of that experience. Why is this important? Because, people experience wine! 

At its core wine is something you experience visually, through its smell and through its flavor. It hits at least three senses. But, the experience starts well before a consumer has the wine in their glass.

You don’t just drink wine, you experience it.  

Your consumers experience starts well before they have your wine in their glass. It starts with their first introduction to your winery and is influenced by every interaction with your brand. That means that your marketing, your packaging, the wine label, your social media, the tasting room…every interaction fuels the experience.

Why is the consumer experience important?

The consumers experience is influenced by you, good or bad. Even when you don’t mean too. You create an expectation through everything the consumer comes in contact with that has to do with your winery. So, you need to know what you want the consumer to experience so that you can create that experience. This is a first step that should be based on your vision for your winery business.

Describe the consumer experience?

Once you decide what you want the consumer to experience, think about how that is conveyed. What words would you use to describe it? Are there colors that express it? What about music? Write down all of the expressions for all of the senses as possible to describe the experience.

Now comes the hard part, this is how I help.

Now that you know what you want the consumer to experience and you’ve written down some descriptors, it’s time to put it into action. This is not easy. That’s why I’m here. I have years of experience helping wineries apply the experience they want to create to their brand.

Because, once you have good descriptors it’s time to apply them to:

• Your winery name
• The brand, logo and label
• Wine varieties you produce
• Retail prices
• Wine packaging
• Look of your website
• The tasting room

To do this, think about what the consumer should experience when they: see your winery name, see your logo and see your label. What type of packaging is consistent with this experience?  How does this relate to the type of wine you make and the pricing of your wine?  What does your website convey, what about your tasting room?

When all of the pieces of the consumer experience are well thought out and consistent ,you create a brand that consumers will remember, relate too and continue to purchase. And, let’s face it, sales are the key to a winery that is successful for years to come.

Thank you for reading. If you have comments, want help, or have a request for future posts, please contact me.

Below are links to my recent blog posts.

• How Wineries Create ValueMay 9, 2023
  January 2023 discussion with Ed Mysolgland of How to Sell a Business podcast. How wineries create value, what to look for in purchasing a winery and how to make a winery sales ready.
• Crafting the Winery Vision StatementMay 1, 2023
  Before you dive into the business of making and selling wine, start with creating your winery vision statement. It’s critical for you to have a firm understanding of what you do, who you are and why you want to start a wine business. This starts with a vision for your winery.   Start by answering theseContinue reading “Crafting the Winery Vision Statement”