The Merchant23 Blog

Before qualifying a buyer, make sure to know your buyer persona - and if not, figure that out before reading this!

FACT: Every business needs buyer personas. Unfortunately, not every business has a buyer persona - 50% don't have one.

If you've followed the alcohol industry for any length of time, you know that large distributors are continuing to consolidate every year. In the past, consolidations led to small producers getting dropped, independent retailers having less diversity to choose from, and consumers becoming frustrated by the lack of options. Now, for the first time in history, the little guys have reason to be hopeful.

With the wholesale environment shifting towards Winery-Direct and Direct-to-Trade sales, wineries are moving away from distributor-centric sales and instead are taking on the job themselves. For many people, this is an exciting yet daunting task. Where to begin? Who do you talk to? How do you get a Buyer to purchase your products? Thankfully, we have answers for you.

The retail landscape is rapidly evolving as more consumers seek new and convenient ways to make purchases. On the other hand, how most retailers buy wholesale wine hasn't changed since 1933...until recently.

When a company launches a new product, they hire a PR firm. When a corporation wants to redesign their headquarters, they hire an architect. When a wine business wants to gain competitive advantage, they hire Cathy Huyghe. As the Founder of Enolytics, Cathy and her team have perfected something most people haven't even attempted; making wine data useful.

The article concentrates on wine trade, but the concepts are universal, and can quickly be applied to any person or business wishing to increase profitability over time.

Wine Sells, but Who's Buying?  

Have you ever had trouble selling wine? Before selling any wine  the most important concept to understand is exactly who you are pitching to.  Make sure your wine is going to the person most likely to buy it: Are you making high end, premium, one of a kind, small lot wine? Do you deal in bulk juice? Is this a shiner project? Figure out your niche. Each of these commodities command a certain buyer persona and price, so make sure you are prospecting the right buyer persona to begin with. A fancy pants wine bar in Marin County wants something that commands scores, respect, fantastic winemaker, etc. At a casual pants Bevmo, you can sell your bulk juice/shiner projects to. Whatever it may be, focus your effots towards the persona who is most likely going to buy your unique product. 

The wine industry has an annual $220 billion economic impact in the United States. The Big Data Analytics Market is worth $203 billion. Yet the terms "big data" and "wine industry" are rarely used in the same paragraphs, let alone the same sentences. Why is that? This is the question that Don White and John Lawlor set out to answer when they founded Label Analytics. In just three short years they've done something seemingly impossible; brought big data to wine.

In the alcohol industry, new and innovative companies are popping up daily. From brilliant apps, to smarter software programs, and game-changing websites, there's never been a more exciting time for the industry. Below are seven companies shaking up the way we learn about, purchase, and consume alcohol!