First Impressions, Lasting Impact
From the warmth of the welcome to what they carry home, every detail can help turn distillery visitors into brand ambassadors. Yes, even lapel pins.
Distillery visitor centres come in all shapes and sizes. Each leaving its own impression (for better or worse). We’ve both been to our fair share and had a wide range of experiences (again, for better or worse!).
First impressions are everything and the audience can be varied. From punters with hitlists (seasoned enthusiasts!) to those simply exploring, happy with whatever they stumble upon and everything in between. Many wander in undecided - tour or not to tour? Just a tasting or walk in and out?
Whisky tourism has value and a massive opportunity for growth (particularly with the locals). It comes with its challenges though. A lot of visitors don’t fully realise the rural nature of Scotland (as guides we have given punters a lift back to town after our last tour plenty of times! Helping folks thinking they could hail a cab in the middle of the Cairngorms!). Accessibility is a tough one to solve and requires support at council level beyond.
But one thing distilleries can control is the first impression. I can tell you right now the atmosphere you walk into—and its impact in those first few seconds can mean the difference between an awkward “wander around the shop” and leave, or a conversation leading to ideally, a tour, a tasting and a new ambassador for the brand.
For some VCs, the experience of walking through the door and what’s presented to the punter can feel like an afterthought and its effect is tangible.
This is a shame as it’s such a missed opportunity. Granted, in some cases the energy of the host can manage a lot of heavy lifting here (and does! In most cases the host can make or break the entire experience - shoutout to the passionate guides!) but when the atmosphere doesn’t come close to matching that, it’s a true shame and a valuable opportunity missed.
You’d think everyone would have it nailed to some degree. From our perspective and experience that’s far from the truth.
Creating an amazing environment doesn’t always equate to expensive or grandiose (although some are and are jaw dropping). Some absolutely nail it in the smallest of spaces, thoughtfully curated and steeped in the art of Coorie.
Others may be more grandiose but don’t quite get the right balance between luxurious and welcoming. Which is the difference between you doing a loop of the shop and leaving after a few quick snaps of a gallery wall or slowly meandering around and looking at your watch hoping you can spend more time there for a tasting and sacrifice time elsewhere (gold dust!).
There will, however, still be the staunchest of fans who will visit and engage regardless. The experience attached to that is up to the distillery, the host, the atmosphere created…. And what they leave with (ideally a wonderful memory and something from the brand in their luggage!).
2 of the most frequently uttered questions from punters in the four distilleries we’ve worked at are:
“Do you do miniatures/half bottles?”
“Do you sell pin badges?”
There’s additional challenges around whisky tourism when it’s an international audience and even for weekend warriors. Luggage space is tight (as are international rules on traveling with alcohol) but these folks still want a piece of the brand to take with them. It’s surprising how many walked away empty handed.
Merchandise can really enhance the overall experience and extend in to meaningful takeaways for the brand. Its impact is increased if it carries meaning and connection (regardless of the price tag!). It is (and should be) be so much more than “just selling stuff”. It should be connected to the whisky and its story
Ideally it should reflect the brand’s values, be beautifully curated and not cluttered (too much generic merch can go too far and actually devalue the brand).
It should also (wink wink) platform and support local makers who align with the brands values.
As the industry navigates challenging times, there’s a renewed focus on the basics (or should be) and on getting monumentally brilliant at them. Whisky tourism has value and growth opportunities. So how do you make the entire experience memorable? How to make sure that everyone walks away feeling like they just had an amazing experience and, ideally, have something to take away and talk about when they get home.
Meaningful, well-curated merchandise in a thoughtfully designed visitor environment (please for the love of peat have some gentle background music! An easy-in for creating a nice atmosphere) can mean the difference between an awkward walk-in-and-walk-out to an engaged experience with a punter leaving with a piece of your brand in their pocket.
It’s small thoughtful touches like a warm and engaging host, the weight and comfort of the chairs in the tasting room, or the right piece of merch, that stay with people long after the dram.
So, who wants some lapel pins?
