To Walter Zimmerman,

<We discuss flavour differences, sweetness, acidity, viscosity etc. as  they 
compare one with the other and then choose.
This season, they will be able to experience what is termed in wine tasting  
a Vertical
A progression of flavours from a designated hive representing the season as  
it was brought in in each super.>

Now that's marketing!

Taking your personally produced product and finding a method of inspiring someone else to desire it even more than you do yourself.  
Honey and wine tasting have alot of parallels and were you to add meads of different varietal or regional sources you might be bigger than Two Buck Chuck.
Seriously, you have implemented a great idea there that leads me to further extrapolation and hopefully some fresh insights.  
Marketing  is an "It all Depends" situation as you may have the quality of traffic that would permit this type of product delivery, but I don't in rural Southeast Kansas.
One of the marketing terms that has stuck with me for many years is "distinctive competency" and it refers to the unique distinctive resources and capabilities of a company in terms of product sales.   The success of a person or company at times is determined by its ability to provide perhaps as Mike Stoops has indicated, a unique label or a new method of product delivery.   If the resource has both uniqueness and proves valuable to improving demand then you have achieved distinctive competency as defined.
All anyone has to do is to find their market they want to deliver their product to and find new and innovative ways <market strategies>, to achieve distinctive competency in their niche of the market, which is what you are doing.

Another successful marketing technique is the polling of customers.   Asking those who buy your product why they do so and what their suggestions are for improvement.   You will be surprised many times by the quality of the information gathered from this type of product evaluation.  Are they attracted to your label?   What is the frequency that you purchase this type of product and for what purpose?  Are our store hours convenient and the product easily accessable?   

Most personal sales aren't made by bold statements but rather by asking questions that provoke thoughtful response and involvement of the consumer or buyer.  Indirect sales, where we are not present to sell our product require that same ..... involvement.... by the customer as well.    They might buy your product, even if it costs a little more, because they saw you on  the news or met you previously, or just like your label, but there is a distinctive or unique involvement which can become, with hopeful repeat sales, a continuing ......relationship.  If you fail to establish this relationship or distinctive competency then all that's left is price!
Tim Tucker

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