Who actually are your customers?

If its not broke don't fix it 

Price 

If you take a trip to your local supermarket then you can find wine from all over the world and at a range of prices. In my local Supermarket you can find wine as cheap as £2.99 a bottle all the way upto the £50 mark.

So lets put some of the wine into categories

£2.99 - £5 - Everyday drinking Wine- 

So from a product point of view this is a low prices stable seller that sells in large quantity

£5-10 - Premium everyday drinking Wine

This is still a everyday product but it's aimed at a different demographic the customer is who will be buying this will have more disposable money.

£10-20 - Special occasions Wine

As we start moving up the price bracket the type of buyer changes again this product is not a bought for a special occasion maybe for a family occasion or a dinner party

£20+ Collectable Wine

The target market is collectors and investors so this once again will have a very different demographic and rate of sales

With Wine there are many different types and price points, before you can sell your product you need to be able to understand where you fit in and does your product match your price bracket. Understanding where you are pricing your product will allow you to understand what volumes you need to sell and also who your competition is selling to.

Location

Where are you selling your product?

If we look at our 4 types of wine where would be the ideal places to sell them?

£2.99 - £5 - Everyday drinking Wine- 

This is ideal in the everyday shop with high footfall and also would be seen as house wine in many restaurants and Bars.

£5-10 - Premium everyday drinking Wine

Do you know that supermarkets decide there prices and products based on what their customer demographics are so you would fine wine at this price in specialist shops supermarkets that are in more upmarket areas.

£10-20 - Special occasions Wine

This is where you need to be selling the product from a specialist outlet

£20+ Collectable Wine

Once again you will find this type of wine in a specialist store and also this can be classed as investment grade wine so will be sold by investment companies and never actually leave the bonded warehouse.

So where is your product being sold at the moment? is it an everyday product or a niche product? Being able to identify how your competitors take their product to market is vital when doing your research. Once you know where similar products are being sold then you can use that information to start forming a picture of your customer.

Join me for part 2 when I discuss about needs and wants. Labels: Business Planning, Social Media