Do Your Customers Have Holes In Their Wine Lists?

I am a pop-culture junkie so it should be no surprise that Reality TV and I are on a first-name basis. Last night I was curling up with some Vanderpump Rules on Bravo when an interesting thing happened, my reality and their reality collided! Let me explain...

Vanderpump Rules is set at SUR, a high-end restaurant and hot spot in Beverly Hills. One of the owners is restaurateur Lisa Vanderpump. She is also a Real Housewife of Beverly Hills, and interesting enough to warrant her own spin-off considering the staff at SUR is a hot group of HOT MESSES, serving up plenty of drama along with the daily specials. Last night before the appetizers starting rolling out of the kitchen, she had a meeting with a Wine Rep, and this is where it got interesting.

Knowing that Mrs. Vanderpump is a seasoned and successful professional, the Wine Rep took the time to review her wine list, and found holes in it. These holes weren’t gaping, like the complete absence of white wine, but very subtle holes that would add value to the list, provide more options for her customers, and ultimately generate revenue for her business.

I hit pause to let this brilliant approach take hold. Let’s review...

Knowing that Mrs. Vanderpump was almost certainly solicited by every Wine Rep on the West Coast and beyond, this gentleman found a way in the door by engaging her curiosity on what she might be missing out on.

Without wasting her time to try and sell her wines she already has from Reps she already works with—even if presented at a lower cost, faster delivery, or better quality—he focused on what she didn’t have.

By researching her existing wine list he was able to provide solutions to enhance and elevate her offerings, solve a vinous problem she wasn’t aware she had, and by working as a partner rather than a vendor, he created a customer.