At some point it’s necessary to get a first hand view on your product from a source other than your friends and family - this feels like the tricky bit to me.
Whilst we’d regard ourselves as a sociable couple, I don’t relish the prospect of networking through a room of strangers when you know your mission is to sell. It’s probably borne out of my own reticence to want to be "sold to" and so it’s something I’ve naturally shied away from. This is where we perfectly compliment each other because Amanda relishes this kind of environment - a match made in heaven!
Our first formal start here was to follow up with the Coach House healing and well being centre. At first glance it would seem like a tough gig to sell alcohol to a well being centre. However, we did our research and set our template for client discussions.
The essence of our approach is to firstly, research the oompany and their general proposition, then we look at social media and see what customers are saying about them. Next group the main themes together and start to develop some working assumptions about what the gin should comprise to bring out the clients best attributes.
In the case of the Coach House this lead us amongst other things, to reinforce the sense of refreshment that clients felt after their treatments, to bring out the sweetness projected from staff to customers by their warm and friendly approach etc. We then gather feedback with the client, test a few prototypes and chat as we refine a bespoke recipe to meet their needs and match the needs of their customers. We were blown away with the positive feedback we received on our first visit- oh and our first order 😁
Next up was a networking event (on my own!) with the "All About Oldham" lunchtime gathering. We decided to sign up with Richard and his enthusiastic gang to support my Taekwondo school in the local community but the opportunity to pitch Kin Spirits to the owner of the Old Bill in Oldham was too good to pass up and so I was kindly introduced to Paulo and received really encouraging feedback and a follow up meeting is in process.
Even more recently I attended a marketing business networking event and found myself discussing Kin Spirits across the room. It didn’t take long for an approach from a local restaurant owner delegate, asking for more details.
It’s early days and the real success will depend upon repeat orders but early feedback on our bespoke gin for local licensees is very exciting 👍
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