As the owner of a boutique wine shop I understand the risks and rewards of owning a small business. Wine shops, in particular, are very community oriented. Most customer come from a localized area whereas large shopping destinations like malls or big box stores (Best Buy, Home Depot, etc.) attract people from a much wider radius.
As a result smaller stores need to be very savvy in the way they compete. There is a smaller community of potential customers, which makes any advantage worth pursuing.
As a former Public Relations professional I knew coming in that PR and marketing were key factors in the success or failure of my shop. Now this doesn't mean I don't make mistakes. I spent alot of money in initial advertising that turned out t be a waste. I also, however, utilized my background to look at free marketing ideas.
Getting local articles in the paper, Appearing on a local cable access TV show and making myself available to local media for interviews or wine suggestions when their writing called for it can help get your name out.
One of the best free items recently has been the onslaught of social media . Facebook, Google+ and Twitter (amongst others) are great ways to get the word out for free.
Used in combination with traditional marketing and advertising social media can help the small business compete with the big guys..at least in the virtual world.
Google, for example recently started their interior "streetview" campaign. A photography team come inside your store and uses their streetview 360-degree photographic technology to completely recreate your store on Google.
Now when someone Google's my store the can take a virtual tour of the interior..it's like being right there.
I imbedded this into my web site..so take a look and let me know what you think.
www.vino100whiteplains.com
What new technologies and ideas will come down the road? Who knows? But whn it does you know I'll check it out.
Cheers
As a result smaller stores need to be very savvy in the way they compete. There is a smaller community of potential customers, which makes any advantage worth pursuing.
As a former Public Relations professional I knew coming in that PR and marketing were key factors in the success or failure of my shop. Now this doesn't mean I don't make mistakes. I spent alot of money in initial advertising that turned out t be a waste. I also, however, utilized my background to look at free marketing ideas.
Getting local articles in the paper, Appearing on a local cable access TV show and making myself available to local media for interviews or wine suggestions when their writing called for it can help get your name out.
One of the best free items recently has been the onslaught of social media . Facebook, Google+ and Twitter (amongst others) are great ways to get the word out for free.
Used in combination with traditional marketing and advertising social media can help the small business compete with the big guys..at least in the virtual world.
Google, for example recently started their interior "streetview" campaign. A photography team come inside your store and uses their streetview 360-degree photographic technology to completely recreate your store on Google.
Now when someone Google's my store the can take a virtual tour of the interior..it's like being right there.
I imbedded this into my web site..so take a look and let me know what you think.
www.vino100whiteplains.com
What new technologies and ideas will come down the road? Who knows? But whn it does you know I'll check it out.
Cheers