Who is Mr Mick? Clare frequenters will know this stalwart character and old stone building turned winery. The legend goes that winemaker K.H. Knappstein, or Mr Mick to his mates, appointed Tim Adams his apprentice in 1975. The two made great wine together, until Adams bought the place and opened the cellar doors in 2011 — we’re glad he did!
Over the last decade, this former distillery sporting the old copper kitchen and a tapas-style menu has wine lovers flocking to the quiet town of Clare. Adams’ passion for good wine is matched only by his vigour for the hospo business.
Addressing business challenges
Like everyone, Mr Mick has been up against the rising labour costs, ever-changing restrictions and the increasing competition in Australia. Adams recognised the need to focus on what they do best, which is growing wine, serving great food and connecting people with their household name.
Prior to Now Book It, Mr Mick’s staff were often tied up on the phone making manual paper diary bookings, which limited their ability to be customer-facing. This manual booking process was time-consuming, and took away from their ability to focus on providing an exceptional customer experience.
During the pandemic, Mr Mick also struggled with changing restrictions. From vaccine requirements to the sharp spike in no-shows, the winery scrambled to communicate with customers and ensure things can still run smoothly.
One of the major challenges in marketing the winery in a highly competitively landscape is the lack of customer data. Working in the blind left the team with little insight when it comes to targeting, which means they have to go wide and focus on the mass audience — a very costly practice in the industry.
Digitalising bookings for streamlined operations
With the implementation of Now Book It, Mr Mick was able to move away from their manual paper diary and phone call booking system, which was tying up staff and reducing their ability to provide customer-facing services such as cellar door tastings and events.
Now Book It allowed the team to manage all internal and external bookings, handle booking transactions, and keep records up to date. This resulted in a significant reduction in manual processes and phone calls, as customers were able to self-serve with simple booking transactions online.
This was especially crucial during the pandemic and shortly after, as the team used Now Book It to manage the changes in dining restrictions, sending customers booking reminders and taking booking guarantees to help cover cancellation costs.
With all staff now able to access and have oversight of bookings, they can be confident that customer data is correct and up to date. The introduction of a live system also meant that Mr Mick now has a 24/7 online presence for their customers, increasing their bookings.
Customised marketing for greater efficiency
With Now Book It, Mr Mick’s marketing team is now able to get a greater understanding of who their customers are. They get to access all of the data in one place and use it to develop tailored marketing campaigns based on wine and dine preferences — a far more sophisticated and personalised approach.
The upsell feature is a marketing tool that works exceptionally well and they’ve seen a significant increase in sales and spend per customer through use of this.
“Now Book It is a great asset, not only with the day-to-day running of the restaurant and cellar door bookings, but helping to deal with the changing restrictions during the pandemic and after. We are also excited to see the continuing developments with POS integration, allowing greater access to customer data and the ability to customise and market to our customers, both repeat and new.” — Natalie Chivell, Sales and Marketing Manager at Mr Mick
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