What Activities and Events Might Drive Customers to Your Tasting Room? Part 1

By Dr Kathy Kelley--Professor of Horticultural Marketing and Business Management, Abigail Miller-- Master's student in the Penn State Plant Sciences Department, and Dana Ollendyke-- Extension Associate


In 2014, researchers at Penn State, Rutgers, Cornell, and New York University collaborated on a wine marketing study funded by the USDA. Data were collected through a 15-minute Internet survey (22-24 October 2014). Participants residing in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania were screened for not being a member of the wine industry, being at least 21 years old, and for having purchased and drank wine at least once within the previous year. A total of 977 participants qualified and completed the survey.

With approximately “81% of [Pennsylvania wine] sold directly from wineries” (http://bit.ly/1LygxFl), one of the issues we investigated in last year’s survey was what a winery could offer to encourage winery tasting room visits and increase the frequency of these visits.  While, in some cases, we investigated broad categories and factors, we have plans to delve deeper in an upcoming survey to see what could motivate consumers to visit a winery tasting room and barriers survey participants feel prevents them from visiting.

Interest in winery activities and events

Today’s visitors do much more than just taste the wine at a tasting room; rather, there are opportunities to tour the vineyard and the wine-making facility, participate in classes, attend festivals, and much more (http://bit.ly/1JtOEHK).

But should a winery go through the process of planning, implementing, and evaluating an event or activity?

Data from a study conducted by researchers at Texas A&M University and Sam Houston University showed that, for Texas wineries, there was “a positive correlation between wineries that offer services such as tasting rooms and tours and gross sales… [thus] the more tourism services a winery offers, the higher their potential for gross sales” (http://bit.ly/1NSBgRx),

OK, so, with all that could be offered – what activities and/or events might garner the greatest consumer interest?

Though not an exhaustive list, we focused on activities and events that were more commonly found when we investigated wineries online and also based on popular press articles. As an example, an event that has been offered at some wineries and restaurants is a “Paint Nite,” during which attendees paint a certain picture by following an instructor while enjoying wine or other alcoholic beverages (for example, https://www.paintnite.com/). We were interested in learning if this activity appealed to our participants, and, if so, how much. Below is a table with data pertaining to the level of interest our participants expressed based on the seven activities/events that we tested.




As you can see, “tasting events,” “tour of the winery and vineyard,” and “food vendors from local restaurants,” were the three activities that had the highest level of interest (86.3%, 83.0%, and 78.9%, respectively), and are often interdependent of each other.

It makes sense that if someone is going to visit a winery tasting room that they would be interested in tasting the wine, but there are opportunities to offer “tasting events” that go a beyond the norm – perhaps they could be based on a theme, focus on your new release, be an exclusive tasting with limited seating, or your winery tasting room could be one of the stops on a local food tour.

And, although separate categories in our survey, winery tastings and tours are a natural pairing. Most likely you already offer a tour and subsequent tasting, but can you take your standard tour and split it up into several? The goal of this strategy would be to encourage even more frequent visits.

Château Élan Winery & Resort located in Atlanta, GA offers six different tour options, five are private and one is offered on a regular basis. While all six tours end in a tasting, each is unique with a different focus (http://www.chateauelan.com). The private tours focuses on each of the following: 1) the vat room, 2) the wine making process, 3) the vineyard, 4) an experience with the wine maker, and 5) a session on other Georgia food products.





More data on winery activities and events will be discussed in part 2 of this series.




Additional Research and Thesis Advisory Team Members:


• Jeffrey Hyde, Professor, Agricultural Economics, The Pennsylvania State University


• Denise Gardener, Extension Enologist, Department of Food Science, The Pennsylvania State University


• Brad Rickard, Assistant Professor, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University


• Ramu Govindasamy, Professor, Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Rutgers University


• Karl Storchmann, Clinical Professor, Economics Department, New York University; Managing Editor, Journal of Wine Economics


• Rob Crassweller, Professor, Professor of Tree Fruit, The Pennsylvania State


University



The project “Developing Wine Marketing Strategies for the Mid-Atlantic Region” (GRANT 11091317) is being funded by a USDA Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program grant, whose goal is “to assist in exploring new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products and to encourage research and innovation aimed at improving the efficiency and performance of the marketing system.” For more information about the program, visit http://www.ams.usda.gov.

Count Foot Traffic When Hosting an Event at Your Business

The number of shopping days until the fall and winter holidays are dwindling; and most likely you will host an open house or event to draw consumers to your retail outlet to do some holiday shopping.  In the past, we have offered some insight into hosting events (Events – Know When and How to Host Them and Cross Promotion: Partnering With Other Business to Better Serve Your Customers, Part III), and as a result a question you might be asking, “How will I know if the event was a success?” 

Certainly calculating gross and net sales is important but it is also important to document foot traffic – the number of people who attended the event.  It is key to know your customer counts so that you can determine if the event encouraged more consumers to visit than during an average day, or if the event needs to be redesigned to be more appealing.  Foot traffic counts also help retailers understand whether the event attracted more consumers than past events held during the same period. 

Obtaining foot traffic counts can be accomplished by: 

• Distributing invitations that attendees bring to the event to be admitted or requiring attendees to RSVP
• Counting attendees as they arrive at the event by either assigning an employee to manually count customers or installing an electronic sensor that tabulates the number of customers who pass through a particular doorway
• Asking customers to sign up for a mailing list or loyalty program
• Giving each attendee a raffle ticket and keeping track of the number handed out  

Each system has its advantages and disadvantage. 

• If invitations or RSVPs are expected you will also need decide if “walk-ins” will be admitted and how to capture this number
• Not all customers will sign up for your mailing list or loyalty program, or they may already be members unless you are launching these programs during the event 
• If attendees are counted as they enter a doorway—it is possible that they could be counted more than once if they exit the store and then reenter.  It is also possible that the person counting attendees could be distracted if others ask questions or for assistance.  You will also need to determine how you will “count” attendees.  Will you count all adults or will you count families (with two or more adults) and couples as one attendee?  It will also be important to “subtract” any employees, who enter the store through the same entrance, from these counts.  

Foot traffic can also help with planning for next year’s event.  Consider counting the number of customers who visit based on the time of the day and, if it is a multi-day event, the day they visit. These numbers can help with scheduling staff as well as adjusting the hours that the event could be held in future years. Additionally, if you invite other vendors to showcase their goods and services or schedule a special entertainer to perform, use these counts to schedule their appearances when foot traffic is favorable for all involved.  

Having entertainment at your event is a great idea to set the tone.
Just be certain to schedule performers during periods when you expect high foot traffic counts

Record not only foot traffic but also the number of visitors who access your website during and after the event. Also, ask customers to participate in an online survey and ask them if they are interested in attending the event (or if they did attend), what additional vendors or attractions they would be like to see, and how they heard about the event or if they first learned about it when visiting your site.
 

Agritainment Offers Opportunity to Diversify and Increase Income

By Michelle Kowalewski, Extension Educator, Susquehanna Co.

Zembrzycki's have diversified their dairy farm enterprise to
include a roadside farm market and now a corn maze.

(All photos from Zembrzycki's Corn Maze
located in Herrick Center, Susquehanna Co.)

Farmers have learned that diversity in agriculture is a must; and agritainment presents a rising opportunity for agriculture in Pennsylvania.  "Agritainment" is simply providing an opportunity for entertainment in an agricultural setting.  Visitors, or customers, can supply a wide range of revenue-generating opportunities for farms.  Agritainment creates opportunities to entice visitors to your farm, provide education about agriculture, and increase your overall profits.  Examples of agritainment enterprises include pick-your-own fruits and vegetables, farm markets, festivals/fairs, interactive animal displays, corn-maze enterprises, for-fee fishing, bed and breakfasts, and farm-stay vacations.  Many agritainment enterprises have an educational component to teach consumers about 'where their food comes from.'

The first step of considering an agritainment enterprise should be to check whether your proposed land use conforms to your local zoning regulations.  As with any new venture or enterprise, developing a business plan is an important next step.  If you currently have a business plan, revision will be necessary to consider the impact of the new enterprise.  Having a written business plan helps ensure that you have considered all issues pertaining to operating an agritainment enterprise and can help in obtaining financing.  The business plan will also highlight your marketing plan and marketing is a key component to your business's success!


When marketing and advertising your agritainment enterprise, it's important to thing about what will attract customers.  Your agritainment operation needs to be eye-appealing, easy to navigate, and above all - safe.  The first impression will be the customer's last impression and should be positive.  Providing information and attractive signs for guidance will enhance the experience of the customer.  Signs help keep customers within designated areas, well-maintained pathways also provide guidance and safety.

Remember, you are inviting customers to your operation.  Provide a variety of entertainment to encourage return visits.  Listen to your customers and provide them with what they need and you will have a successful entertainment business and add to your income and business story.

Information from this blog post provided from Agricultural Alternatives: Agritainment

Penn State Extension offers some great resources for entrepreneurs looking to expand their horizons in the agritainment industry.