👉 Background: Penfolds is one of the luxury wine brands under the Treasury Wine Estates portfolio, alongside 19 Crimes, Wolf Blass, Squealing Pig. Penfold's revenue nosedived after the Chinese government placed a 212% tariff on Australian wines in 2020.

👉 What happened: But now that these tariffs have been lifted, Treasury Wine Estates is rebuilding its premium wine brand in China by jacking up prices and selling different levels of Penfolds' wines to different customer categories.

👉 What else: You've got the 'heartland customers', 'luxuriant drinkers', and 'classic connoisseurs'. And with this segmentation, its goal is to grow Penfolds' profits by 15% over the next three years.

What's the key learning?

💡 Breaking down a customer base can be a game-changer for companies looking to sell to the right people in order to boost sales. Because, ultimately not all products within a company are suitable for all people.

💡 Companies spend a lot of time understanding the different buyer personas within their customer base to shape the company’s product and marketing decisions. For example, one of Nike's primary personas is "the competitive athlete", but they also cater to the "fashion-forward fitness enthusiast".

💡 Understanding and catering to different personas allows companies like Penfolds to better meet the needs or desires of their customer base and ultimately drive more sales of red wine.