Road to 20 Accounts
Since launching Summer West it has been a story of learning how to sell and where to sell.
The biggest lesson so far is that not every account wants your product. They’ve never heard of it before and trying to convince a buyer or business owner to risk their own dollars on something nobosy has heard of is not an easy task.
Luckily with the product being incredibly smooth with a sweet flavor profile, as well as some of the most unique packaging in the whiskey category, it has made that selling easier. I could only imagine how difficult it would be to sell a product that is not differentiated from the rest on the market. On top of that, the marketing materials we provide to accounts have been imperative for making the product stand out. I think the most effective form of marketing in the alcohol industry comes from meeting the consumer where they are. I see brands spending dollars on billboards and other signs, which is great for brand presence. But when they see your billboard and the closest liquor store is a 15 minute drive away, the ROI attached to those dollars are not there.
Our strategy is to maximize the number of touch points in EACH account. If a customer walks in and sees
A Poster (with Jerry the chameleon^)
An informational shelf talker beneath our product
A recommendation from the store worker
Our eye catching bottle
Nine times our of ten, our product will move better than a competitor that does zero of those things
As of today we are in 15 accounts across Denver and will continue this up-and-to-the-right trajectory. More lessons to come.
Cheers,
Noah