We all know that creating a sustainable and successful bar or retail premise demands not just an excellent product (the experience), excellent range (the tools) but also innovative strategies to sell it proficiently. The mechanics of selling are too often forgotten.
Which is strange when you consider that even at the best of times, operating any bar or specialist retailer is hard work. Profitability is not a given.
In this article, we delve into the possibilities that can aid venue owners and managers increase whisky sales in their venues. Read from a different perspective, it’ll also help founders and distillery owners understand how they can better support trade partners…
Increase whisky sales by starting with the easy wins
There is no silver bullet to increasing the rate of sale of any category. But there are fundamentals that apply to every operation, anywhere in the world.
Investing in staff training, crafting unforgettable experiences through tastings and signature cocktails are good start points. So is leveraging strategic upselling techniques.
By embracing these, you can not only enhance your whisky sales but also build a venue that resonates with quality. Here’s more on each –
Staff training: building the knowledge foundation
Whisky education
Equip your team with comprehensive knowledge about the various types of whiskies, their distinctive features, and serving methods. Even if it’s just one thing about each.
Easier said than done? absolutely. No one has time for training until you realise that it’s the best time you will ever spend. Managers and owners need to make the time. Well-informed staff can steer customers towards making satisfying choices, fostering trust and enhancing customer loyalty. The return on investment is systematic.
Training also has other positive effects on staff morale because they feel more empowered and valued. The subsequent knock effect is retention. Furthering someone’s knowledge is something many people value and businesses with great training schemes often retain staff at higher rates than elsewhere.
Don’t just get nerd details – storytelling is key
Train your team to weave captivating narratives around each bottle. Emphasise the craftsmanship, the heritage, the people and the unique flavours that make the whiskies being sold stand out.
Crafting unforgettable experiences
Guided tastings
Organise guided whisky tastings, where customers can savour a curated selection of whiskies, guided by an expert. In a shop environment, ‘try before you buy’ is one of the oldest techniques to facilitate sales in the book.
From an on-trade perspective – the obvious win is that it provides extra value and can drive footfall on a quieter night. But it doesn’t stop there – regulars might not be familiar with what you list or might avoid ordering as they don’t know whether they’ll like some of the more esoteric offerings. Tastings can break the ice between the consumer and the category being tasted, as well as with the team.
It’s a great way to build dialogue, build trust and through doing it regularly, it re-enforces relationships and confidence (both sides of the bar).
Whisky distillers, brand owners and ambassadors are often eager to help with these (and sample stock).
Whisky flights
If a tasting is too much one-on-one time with guests or monopolises the space in an impossible way – why not introduce whisky flights, allowing customers to explore a range of whiskies in their own time.
It can foster curiosity, and encourage guests to trade up to premium choices.
The benefit of flights is that it requires less hands-on guidance. It allows guests to go at their own pace and can be deployed even on busier nights.
Food pairings
If you are a venue that serves food, add whisky to the food menu as a pairing suggestion, just as you might with certain wines!
Curate your suggestions to complement and enhance the flavour profiles of different whiskies, creating a gourmet experience that tantalises the palate.
Simply adding the suggestion direct on desert menus typically increase whisky sales. Making it a default and pricing the pairing can also be an interesting option for venues with higher spends.
Seasonal cocktails
Incorporate whisky into seasonal cocktails that creates a dynamic and exciting cocktail menu that encourages repeat visits. Whisky is hugely versatile and for most drinkers who are hesitant about a neat dram – it provides the perfect excuse to try something different.
Next season, why not make a riff off one of these classics all bartenders will / should already know? 10 Must know Whisky Cocktails
Increasing whisky sales through collaboration and curiosity
Reading the customer
Train your staff to gauge customer preferences adeptly, steering them towards whiskies that align with their tastes and encouraging them to explore new offerings. This will dramatically diversify your rate of sale across the range you stock compared to a stock answer / memorised prompt line up-sell.
Reading customers should never be about STEREOTYPING customers. Don’t be that person. You’ll be far more successful if you read the occasion / mood rather than the individual.
Be curious about them. Base it off flavour preferences, brand preferences and a positive conversation around what they enjoy in a whisky – never base it on assumed preference based on gender or age.
Keep going back on this over and over as it’s a very effective way to sell more variety and increase whisky sales, but many biases are subconscious ones…
Price escalators and defined shelf presence
Have you looked at your offering and differentiated what you have on the shelf?
You should have something to cater to all tastes, as well as all price points. Look at how you are positioning your premium selections. How you are encouraging customers to indulge in high-end choices?
Upselling where appropriate might be a great way to increase margin, but cross-selling is a great way to turn over your inventory, and ultimately, better at increase overall whisky sales.
Building “buy-in” from patrons
Encourage your staff to build relationships with regular patrons, fostering a community of whisky enthusiasts who are keen to explore your offerings regularly.
Reps and distilleries often have bottles you could use for sampling – ask if people like it and that you’re considering stocking it. Get the regulars to be a part of the process, so that when they see it in, they know they like it and care.
Continue that process on and establish a robust feedback loop, encouraging customers to share their experiences and using the insights to continually refine your offerings and service.
Presenting whisky in a thoughtful and detailed manner can significantly enhance the customer experience. An alphabetised list of names is not good enough. It’s time we all do better and relegate the A-Z to the 90’s. A geographically sorted list of names is better, but still dull.
There are better ways to increase whisky sales and be more creative at the same time.
Here are three ways to better present whisky in a menu. While it’s intended for those in the on-trade – all of this can also be brought to life on shop shelves, via cards, prints and signposting too.
Present flavour profiles
Break down the individual flavour notes that a guest can expect from each whisky. Make it easy for them to understand what to expect!
Examples could be highlighting notes such as fruity, spicy, smoky, or woody, along with more detailed descriptions. Give a vivid impression of the whisky’s character before it’s even ordered.
Make the ageing time / process relevant
Ages don’t equate to flavour. A list of that separates whiskies based on age is actively unhelpful.
What works better is explaining the details about the ageing process and why that matters to the guest experience. How has time / cask / finish affected flavour? Why should the consumer care?
What can you expect from the type of barrels used, (be they American oak, sherry, or otherwise)? If it is an age statement – try to give a preview of the whisky’s maturity through how its influenced flavour. Focus on why, not what.
Tell the distillery story
Attach a short narrative or fun fact about the distillery where the whisky comes from.
If someone has no idea about what they are ordering and the whisky is already grouped by flavour type anyway – sharing a bit of the history or the philosophy of the makers can offer a good talking point.
Potentially, it makes the whisky more attractive to customers interested in the narrative behind the bottling. If not, it’s a good way to add humour and humanise it all. Make it less scary. Make it more accessible.
Go rogue to build more whisky sales!
Those of in the drinks industry always assume people are as interested in process or flavour as we are. We assume they know their preferences.
It’s often not the case. At all. When faced with a question, those unfamiliar with a category might be apprehensive as to where to start.
Time to get creative! Bring them into it by taking whisky into their world rather than coaxing them into ours. Think sideways…
Make abstract connections between whisky and something they might be familiar with / that’s on-brand for your venue.
Into music? This whisky is like jazz / pop… Into Architecture? This whisky is more like brutalist, this one more Art Deco etc. Film, Literature, Art – there are so many connections that guests might instantly get that you can play off to make a recommendation and so many creative ways to bring those to life on a menu.
For example drawing parallels between familiar desserts and the flavour profiles of different whiskies can be an approachable way for newbies to decide on what they like.
Pastry and spice notes – Whiskies with a rich profile of pastry, cinnamon, or nutmeg notes can be compared to desserts like apple pie or cinnamon rolls.
Chocolatey notes – For whiskies that carry a deep, chocolate-like profile, align them with desserts such as chocolate fondants or brownies.
Creamy and vanilla notes – Whiskies featuring creamy and vanilla notes can be compared with desserts such as crème brûlée or vanilla panna cotta.
Increasing whisky sales, ultimately, comes down to how it’s presented. There are easy wins to make in how you train your teams, engage guests and present the category via written format.
Inject a bit of effort and enthusiasm into the process and you’ll see an upswing in no time!
