What I didn’t know until I actually started talking to customers

Ribbon cutting on Sept. 17, 2018

A basic premise of marketing is to know your customer. That’s where the sales team comes into play. Sales’ role is to gather enough data about customers wants and needs then turn that information over to marketing to create the awareness and desire for whatever service or product is offered. I’ve always been a member of a marketing or design team in my employment years. Now I’m part of a small business along with my husband, Mike. We don’t have the luxury of a sales team. I soon realized my strategy had to change to become both sales and marketing.
 
For a long time I avoided working retail sales because I thought I wasn’t good at it. In the initial years of the Tasting Room in downtown Knoxville, Mike and I relied almost solely on a part-time employee. As our business grew, I realized I needed to become more involved. Necessity often dictates the role and I knew I had to expand my comfort zone.
 
Once I started to meet our customers I learned a few things.  First, sometimes you enjoy a different role more than you previously thought you would. Secondly, there’s no better way to know your customer than actual interaction with many people; customers, vendors, and industry associates. Some of what I’ve learned has come from surprising sources that earlier in my career I would have dismissed because of pre-conceived notions. Here are a few examples.
 
A man with a quirky personality and sometimes thought of as a nuisance is actually a very sincere person and has become one of our most frequent repeat customers. He’s also told friends about us.
 
A woman that shares a mutual friend between us reached out to me because she lives in an adjacent town and heard about our business. We are now working collaboratively on organizing events at the winery.
 
A retired man that works part-time in the wine business offered some of the best targeted marketing advice I’d ever received. He has no formal credentials in sales or marketing, but his experience has given him a lot of insight.
 
I find my expanded role to be both challenging and rewarding.  Mike and I are working hard to deliver the best customer experience we can to our patrons. We hope you can visit us in person soon.

---