How often has a drinks manufacturer come in with a bottle of their latest product and asked us to stock it? They ask us to sample it and, if we like the concept, we order some in to try and sell them.
If we do, the sales representative will usually organise some point of sale (POS) material and maybe some free stock to help things get going.
Mind you, I have even known for none of this to happen. We order some and no POS turns up.
If the manufacturer or supplier has their wits about them they will organise a sampling team to come around but, because of the costs involved, this is happening less and less. More often, they will offer us some free stock so we can do it ourselves.
I like sampling. It gets the product before the customer and onto their lips but it also allows the sampling team to interact and quickly build up a rapport with my customer; this works especially well with outside teams coming in rather than using my own staff.
It is all about getting the customer to try and then buy - it is not about a free drink between rounds, so the campaign has to be carefully thought out. Some managers get difficult about sampling and say it takes sales away from the bar but that is not my experience if the sampling is carefully thought through. What it can do is to retain customers for a longer period than they originally planned!
The worst case scenario is the big multiples whose head office direct their venues to "must stock" new lines without any POS or promotion. It just appears on shelves and then the manufacturer wonders why there is no repeat order - it's because it hasn't sold! And that is because there was no promotion!
My advice? Use sampling and use it well. Play games like the Corky's team are doing in the photo above - make the experience fun, maybe give away some badges or tee-shirts. Get the DJ to join in the fun and hype it up. Whatever it takes to get the product off your shelves in a way in which customers enjoy the experience and come back to your venue for more!
