As the onset of the coronarvirus pandemic set in late last winter, small business enterprises all across the landscape for forced to innovate and evolve their business through dramatically new and different ways to satisfy customer needs or face failure and permanent closure.
When Jas Singh, owner and operator of Lakeside Liquor of Stevensville faced the music as a barely one-year old business at that time, he turned the proverbial lemons dealt him into a rich lemonade by pivoting to a drastic new business model that included not only curbside service, like many others, but a highly unusual delivery model relatively unheard of in his industry.
Singh tells me, “What started as a service to combat the spread of COVID-19, by providing contactless delivery for our customers, turned into a huge success and now is a significant part of our business.” In fact, he reports, “About 15-percent of our revenue now comes from delivery and curbside pick-up options.”
Taking it to the next logical step for speed of access and ease of ordering, Lakeside Liquor recently introduced a new cellphone app that can be downloaded on the App Store or through the Google Play Store. Through the app, Lakeside now offers online ordering for delivery and curb-side pick up services. Customers can simply search Lakeside Liquor LLC on Google Play or the App Store.
Singh’s shop delivers to “most of Southwest Michigan,” including to Stevensville, St. Joseph, Benton Harbor, Baroda, Bridgman, Berrien Springs, Niles, New Buffalo, and Eau Claire.
Customers have the option to put in an order by phone, on the website at http://www.thelakesideliquor.com, or on the app. Singh admits, “We prefer customers to use our website and app, as this allows us to get an idea of what you like and keeps track of your purchase history. Then it builds a customer profile and the app assigns certain attributes to you. For example if you order a lot of red wine, it will assign “red wine lover” to you. That way, when we get in a new red wine, we can send you a push notification from the app or email from our site. That really allows us to serve your personal needs and desires well.”
Thanks to a fun and unique approach, Singh’s Lakeside Liquor has also amassed “a decent following on Facebook” (Lakeside Liquor Stevensville Beverage Store” and on Instagram through the handle @lakeside.liquor. Singh says, “We put out a lot of fun content online, including products, funny videos about our life at the liquor store, giveaways, and much more.”
Jas promises, “Our #1 priority is delivering the highest level of customer experience. Whether its liquor, beer, or wine or the highest level of customer experience, we are always ready to deliver. We provide multiple avenues for customers to shop, whether through our physical location, website, or the new app.”
You can find Lakeside Liquor in the Lakeshore neighborhood at 1733 W. John Beers Road in Stevensville across from the Walgreens Pharmacy at John Beers & Cleveland Avenue.
