Latest / The Local Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Small Business, Google Maps, and Local SEO / How a Local Wine Shop Uses Google Maps to Host Virtual Tastings
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this wine shop in Portland — Cork & Vine, been around about six years. Before 2020, they did maybe two or three in-store tastings a month, mostly Saturday afternoons, maybe thirty people each. Luna: Pretty standard for a neighborhood wine shop, right? Lucas: Totally standard. But when the pandemic hit, they couldn't host tastings in person. So they pivoted to virtual tastings — customers buy a kit online, pick it up curbside, then join a Zoom tasting that night. Luna: And that's still going in 2026? I've seen a lot of those virtual events fade away. Lucas: That's exactly what makes this interesting. They kept it going, and they now run three virtual tastings a month — every one sells out. And the key driver? Google Maps. They're using Google Posts, local inventory ads, and event listings to fill those seats. Lucas: By the way, we keep these episodes ad-free on purpose — it's a choice we made from day one. If you find value in these conversations and want to support that, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just an option. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to keep the show independent and focused on what's useful for business owners. Lucas: Alright, back to Cork & Vine. The owner, his name is Mark, started posting a Google Post every Monday morning at 9 AM. He'd upload a photo of the tasting kit — a bottle, some cheese, maybe a note card. The post would say something like 'Join us Friday for a tasting of Oregon Pinot Noirs — kit available for pickup now.' Luna: Just one post a week? That feels low for a business trying to build momentum. Lucas: One post, but consistent. What he found was that the post would show up in Google Search and Maps when someone searched 'wine tasting Portland' or 'wine shop near me.' And because it was a Post, it had a call to action button — 'Buy' or 'Learn More' — which linked directly to the kit purchase page. Luna: So the post was basically a mini-ad that cost nothing except the time to snap a photo and write a line. Lucas: Exactly. But here's where it gets more specific: Mark also started using local inventory ads. That's a feature where you can upload your product inventory to your Google Business Profile, and it shows up in Maps listings as 'Available at this store.' Luna: I've seen that for retail chains, but for a single wine shop? How does that work? Lucas: He only uploaded the tasting kits — maybe ten SKUs at a time. So when someone searched 'Oregon Pinot Noir kit,' Cork & Vine would appear in the local pack with a little tag saying 'In stock.' That drove a lot of discovery from people who weren't even looking for a wine shop — they were looking for a specific product. Luna: That's clever. You're catching intent that's product-first, not store-first. Lucas: Right. And then the third piece was the event listing. On their Google Business Profile, there's an 'Events' tab. He'd create an event for each virtual tasting — date, time, description, and a link to buy the kit. That event would show up in Google Search for queries like 'wine events this weekend Portland.' Luna: So someone planning their Friday night searches for an event, finds Cork & Vine, buys a kit, and shows up on Zoom. That's a full funnel from search to sale. Lucas: Yep. Mark told me that about forty percent of virtual tasting attendees first discovered the shop through one of those three Google surfaces — Posts, inventory ads, or events. The other sixty percent were existing customers who got an email. Luna: And the email list — did that grow from the Google traffic too? Lucas: It did. When someone bought a kit online, they had to provide an email to complete the purchase. Mark then added them to a segmented list for future tastings. Over two years, his email list doubled from about 1,200 to 2,400. And he's now sending a weekly newsletter that includes the Google Post content — so the same photo and copy gets repurposed. Luna: So the Google Post becomes the email content, and the email drives repeat purchases. That's a closed loop. Lucas: Exactly. But the real payoff was in-store. Mark noticed that about twenty percent of virtual tasting kit buyers would come into the shop within the next two weeks to buy a bottle they'd tasted. So the virtual event was essentially a loss leader for foot traffic. Luna: That makes sense — you taste a wine you like, you want to buy more, and you remember the shop is a ten-minute drive away. Lucas: And he made sure the Google Maps listing reflected that. He added a photo album specifically for the tasting kits, updated his hours to include curbside pickup windows, and responded to every review — especially the ones that mentioned the virtual tastings. He'd reply with something like 'Glad you enjoyed the Oregon Pinots — next month we're doing a Burgundy flight.' Luna: So the review response becomes a subtle promotion for the next event. Lucas: Bingo. And because those reviews are public, anyone reading them sees that the shop is active, responsive, and has an upcoming event. It's social proof and a call to action in one. Luna: What about the actual numbers? Did Mark track any metrics besides email growth? Lucas: He did. He told me that in the first year of running this three-pronged Google Maps strategy, his total revenue from virtual tastings was about $18,000. But the in-store lift from those tasting attendees was an additional $12,000. So $30,000 incremental revenue from essentially free tools. Luna: And the cost? Just the time to post once a week and respond to reviews? Lucas: Plus the cost of the tasting kit itself — which he was already buying wholesale. So margins were healthy. He estimated the entire effort took about two hours a week once the systems were in place. Luna: That's a return of about $15,000 per hour of work. Not bad. Lucas: And the best part is that this isn't unique to a wine shop. Any business that can create a recurring event — a book club, a cooking class, a fitness workshop — can use the same playbook: Google Posts to promote, inventory ads to capture product-specific searches, and event listings to pull in people planning their weekend. Luna: But I imagine the consistency is key. One post a week probably doesn't work if you skip two weeks. Lucas: Mark told me the biggest mistake he sees other businesses make is treating Google Posts like a set-it-and-forget-it. He sets a recurring calendar reminder — Monday at 9 AM, he takes a new photo, writes a short post, and schedules it. The photo is always a flat lay of the kit on a wooden table. Same background every time. That visual consistency builds recognition. Luna: So the photo becomes a brand signal. When someone sees that flat lay in search results, they know it's Cork & Vine. Lucas: Exactly. And he updates the Google Business Profile photos at the same time — adds the new kit photo to the album, removes the old one. So the profile always feels fresh. Luna: That's a good discipline. I wonder how many business owners actually do that. Lucas: Not many. Which is exactly why it works. Most small businesses set up their Google Business Profile once and forget about it. Mark treats it as a living storefront. Luna: So the takeaway for our listeners: if you have a product or service that can be turned into a recurring event, use Google Posts to promote it weekly, use inventory ads to catch product searches, and use event listings to pull in local planners. And be consistent with your visuals. Lucas: And respond to every review that mentions the event, using that reply to hint at the next one. That's the loop. Luna: I'm curious — has Mark expanded this to any other platforms, or is he still Google-only? Lucas: He told me he tried Instagram ads for the tastings, but the cost per acquisition was about fifteen dollars, compared to zero for Google Maps. So he pulled back and doubled down on the free tools. He does have an Instagram account, but he just reposts the same flat lay photo there — no paid spend. Luna: Makes sense. Why pay for clicks when organic Google Maps is working? Lucas: Exactly. And that's the real lesson: sometimes the most effective marketing tool is the one you already have but aren't using fully. Cork & Vine's Google Business Profile was sitting there for years before Mark started using Posts and inventory ads. Luna: So the next time you open your Google Business Profile, ask yourself: am I treating this like a static listing or like a marketing channel? Lucas: That's the question. And if you want to see how Mark does it, search 'Cork & Vine Portland' on Google Maps — you'll see the Posts, the events, the inventory tags. It's all right there. Luna: Thanks, Mark, for sharing the details. And thanks to you for listening. Lucas: We'll be back next week with another local business playbook. Until then, keep showing up on Main Street.