Think going viral is all fun and games for a small business? Think again.
Having your brand or product suddenly go viral can actually be very challenging, as the creators of Forty Ounce Wines recently learned. After one of the founders posted a photo of the 40 oz. Rose product to his Instagram account, the product got picked up and featured by some big names like Time, Elle and Cosmopolitan. The founders said their website visits increased from about two per day to more than 2,000, seemingly overnight.
Since they were not prepared for such a huge response, they didn’t bottle a ton of the product right away. So when demand increased suddenly, they weren’t exactly prepared. And they were only able to offer limited availability to customers.
PSA: In case you didn’t know (because I didn’t know) Rosé 40’s are real and they are amazing ?? @FortyOunceWines is the real MVP pic.twitter.com/v3CF4vz8Mi
— Madeline Reid (@madelinebreid) May 5, 2017
Yes I’m drinking a 40oz rosé. #roséallday @FortyOunceWines pic.twitter.com/BB63AbQOJ5
— melis (@sneakzz) April 30, 2017
I have looked high and low with no luck! Where is this elusive @FortyOunceWines Rosé?!? #needit #reallyintothisblog #rose pic.twitter.com/13ml1S62BF
— Really Into This (@reallyintoblog) April 26, 2017
Be Prepared to Go Viral
Of course, it’s not always feasible for small businesses to be prepared to go viral. It wouldn’t make financial or logistical sense to have tons of extra stock and help in place just in case a product gets popular. But having a plan for what to do if business picks up suddenly could be a worth developing. If you can create a waiting list or quickly put processes into place to get products to customers quickly, then you can better take advantage of all that priceless buzz your business is receiving.
Image: Forty Ounce Wines
This article, “Forty Ounce Wines Story Shows, When You Go Viral, Be Ready!” was first published on Small Business Trends