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Lieb Behind the Scenes

Lieb Behind The Scenes – December 2016: Looking Back & Ahead to 2017

December 28, 2016

Lieb Behind The Scenes – December 2016: Looking Back & Ahead to 2017

Last blog post of the year for me, and I’m feeling … boy, a lot of things. Our business was up 16% overall this year. For a company that’s 2 years into a re-brand and operating in a highly competitive, saturated marketplace, that’s a big number … and I’m proud of us. But growth didn’t come easy this year. We weren’t handed it. We hustled for every dollar. In each of our main sales channels, we identified opportunities for improvement and implemented them. We tried things. We kept what worked, we re-jiggered what didn’t. We kept doing better. And in the end, now sitting here the last week of the year, I can say with confidence that it was good year. Great even.

So, what worked? And where do we go from here in 2017? Let’s review.

In our Lieb Cellars Tasting Room – TABLE SERVICE. Prior to this year, every guest who came to the tasting room had to force their way through a sometimes 3 person deep bar crowd to order a glass or flight, and then fight for an open table or area to enjoy them. This year, we implemented table service. We seated each of our guests, assigned them a server and brought the wine to them. Even on our busiest fall Saturdays, table service allowed us to control the crowds and provide an intimate, friendly, calm experience. We could educate and share tips and stories. We could provide the type of top notch service that our staff is trained on. Of course, it meant turning some people away (large groups in particular) and we certainly weren’t able to please everyone, but overall, our guest experience was VASTLY improved. And our tasting room sales increase reflected that.

With wine club – RECRUITING AND RETENTION. We restructured our wine club in 2014 and spent that year communicating our club changes to members. Last year, we grew our club but unfortunately had about as many existing members cancel their memberships as new members joined. It was a wash. This year, we set specific recruiting and retention goals and got back to basics. Our wine club manager, Dana, worked weekends in the tasting room so that she could spend time with our members and make sure they were being treated like VIP’s. We stepped up our game and delivered special, exclusive pick-up parties and awesome events. And we tried to make every member feel appreciated and important. As a result, we signed up more members and lost a lot less. At our library wine dinner event last month, I had several members come up to me and tell me that they belong to several clubs out here and ours is now the best. Amen. They noticed.

In our wholesale channel, EXPANSION AND FOCUS. We expanded our distributor footprint to Virginia and DC this year and exceeded our sales goals in each. And, with a focus on by-the-glass programs and pricing for our lead Lieb and Bridge Lane wines, we opened a ton of new restaurant accounts in our existing markets. Our wholesale channel was up 40% this year. 40%! Lieb and Bridge Lane are officially no longer just a local brand. We’re multi-regional. And that’s pretty damn cool.

In e-commerce, SOCIAL MEDIA. In 2014, we tried running a digital advertising campaign. We ran banner ads on relevant food & wine websites with the goal of driving visitors to our websites for online sales. It didn’t work. No one wanted to be told that our wine was good and that they should buy it online. They wanted to learn about us, hear our story, engage in conversation and feel connected to our brand. They want to KNOW us before they invested. So this year, we scrapped all traditional digital media and paid-for social media and just went straight-up, free social. We focused on producing good, original content that our fans and followers were interested in, and it worked. We now have a great social community who follow us, post about us and act as ambassadors … and as a bonus, they also buy wine online. Win.

As with every year though, we learned a lot. We worked hard, hustled and did a lot of things right. We earned our success this year. And next year, we have to earn it again.

So, what’s the plan? How to we keep improvement, growing, adapting, reinventing? Here’s what we’ve got up our sleeves:
1) OUTDOOR SPACE UPGRADE AT BRIDGE LANE TASTING ROOM. Right now, we have some picnic tables laid out on the lawn to the side of the tasting room. It’s spacious and functional and a great spot for a picnic (which we allow). But, it could use a bit of a facelift. A dose of Bridge Lane color and personality, if you will. We’ll be working on that this spring.
2) MORE WHOLESALE EXPANSION. We spent some time this year researching the Southeast and trying to identify and connect some potential distributors down there. We think we’ve found our partner. It’s a small-mid sized distributor operating in NC, SC and GA with a progressive, fun team focused on small batch, lesser known, good value domestic producers. They’re excited about NY wines and about our Bridge Lane wines in particular. They think our rosé is going to kill it. We launch with them April 1. Wish us luck!
3) BRIDGE LANE SAUVIGNON BLANC. It’s taken our winemaker, Russell, 3 years, but he finally found a local vineyard source for more high-quality Sauvignon Blanc. So, good bye White Blend and hello Bridge Lane Sauvignon Blanc! In bottle, box and keg! We’re making about 2,000 cases worth in total. Sauvignon Blanc is a personal favorite of mine, and I’ve tasted initial samples. You guys are going to have to fight me for it!
4) SPECIAL WINE CLUB BOTTLING. I could tell you what it is but then I’d have to kill you. JK. All you have to do is join the wine club to find out, and to get your hands on some. It’s a new special blend that Russell is working on. Only 80 cases will be bottled, and it’ll be fully allocated to our wine club members next spring.
5) SOCIAL SOCIAL SOCIAL. We do a lot on social media but should be doing more. I’m attending a 2-day “social media marketing” training course in NYC next month to get some formal education on how businesses can utilize social as part of their marketing mixes. We’re also looking to hire a digital/social expert to help us hone our skills next year. Not an agency to take over our social media and lose our authenticity, but a fun, social media “geek” to join our team, contribute to our content and take us to the next level. We have about 7K followers on Instagram between the 2 brands. If we could get to 10 or even 20K, we could do some real selling online and start to pave a path toward becoming national brands. Eek!
6) CANNED WINE. My favorite of the 6 goals for next year. We teased it on social media. I’ve mentioned it on this blog. Bridge Lane is an alternative formats wine company. And cans are the next big format. So yes, we’re going there. It’s going to require tweaking our Bridge Lane logo and branding and a TON of research on the format (so that we do it right). But barring any major issues, we should be introducing a small test batch this summer and then rolling out a full canned line in all 5 Bridge Lane varieties in 2018. BOOM.
So, that’s it. A recap of this year and a list of some big things to look forward to in 2017. It’s been a PLEASURE these past few years working with our talented team and helping to steer these brands to where they are today. We’re still young and small, but we’re growing and hungry. THANK YOU so much for supporting us in our journey.

Happy New Year!

Cheers,
Ami Opisso
General Manager & Certified Sommelier

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