According to some, small wineries are among the largest users of social media outlets like Twitter. While I find it encouraging to see wineries reaching beyond the club and mailing list, I have yet to hear anything other than anecdotal data around the success of these tactics or if the use of them has enlightened winemakers or winery management with any useful insight to their “fans” or “followers.” It may be that it is too new or it may be that there is no one really gathering good metrics.

Murphy-Goode’s contest was an interesting piece of work but I can honestly say that its impact wasn’t felt much outside of the world of wineries and the people dedicated to covering them. I hope that M-G’s new “lifestyle manager” pays more attention to what their customers are actually saying in social media than just spewing a bunch of fun facts at them through available outlets.

“Social media is about relationships.” Everyone pays lip service to this ideal but how many of you are truly engaging your audiences in a virtual conversation? The single largest complaint I hear from clients and prospects is that it is a real pain to find things to write about in their various outlets. This is what I tell them:

1. If you are listening to your audience, you will find a treasure trove of things to write about
2. Craft your postings to elicit responses that will drive further posting or re-posting by your audience – in other words, get provocative and you will go viral
3. Ask questions about or review things that are related to your business / product

For example, I have seen posts to FB pages and in tweets about how much it stinks that they can’t order wine from a winery’s website for home delivery because of the messed up distribution laws. This presents a small winery with a at least a couple of directions to take this conversation – a) they could talk about their direct-to-trade program, detailing where (if anywhere) in that state they are sold through a retailer or b) they could ask for a suggestion of which local retailer they should think about contacting or c) address the larger question of direct to consumer shipping laws or… you get my drift. It is a golden opportunity for content and conversation that could lead to the Holy Grail – increased sales.

Washington Winos – Shut up and listen already!

1. Recuperate! That is one long show and volunteering for 12 hours was a bit more than I anticipated.
2. Congratulate the fine job done by my fellow volunteers. In order to keep costs low a ton of work is done solely with volunteer help.
3. Complain about the lack of any padding whatsoever in the booth areas. 6 hours on hard, cold concrete is no way for anyone (volunteer, restauranteur or winemaker) to spend a day.
4. Evaluate the strategies employed by wineries hoping to reap direct-to-conusmer benefit from this show.

Now, understand, I had a fine time and was given plenty of time to wander the floor tasting both food and wine. Being required to spit because I was pouring did not diminish my pleasure and I would like to say to the many consumers I encountered in the last half hour of the show, "Spit more, drink less. We will all appreciate it!"

I would like to implore the show organizers to please put some padding (heck, rubber mats would suffice) behind the tables. The damage that can be done to ankles, knees, hips and backs is much more than anyone would suspect for the people forced to endure standing for six hours straight on concrete. These people work hard enough running their wineries and restaurants, they don't need to be tortured while putting on an event.

As to the strategies employed by the restaurants and wineries to gain customers from this event, many of them failed utterly to even engage in anything other than describing the product on their table. The primary reason for this failure is the lack of personnel behind the tables. The secondary reason is the absolute lack of any materials or offers to entice a consumer to give up their email address or heaven forbid, sign up for a wine club. I don't get it. And I am speaking directly to the small wineries here: Why do you attend the show? What is the objective of spending all that time, money and wine if not to gain names for your marketing efforts?

Here's a thought - next time you go to one of these consumer shows, raffle something off. Wine, an iPod, a gift certificate to a local restaurant anything that is going to get someone to give you their email address so you can follow up after the show and entice them to join your club and buy wine from your website. If you sell direct-to-trade, this will work at trade only events, too. The object is to get the emails so you can communicate your brand and value on a one-to-one basis after the craziness of the show has subsided.

How many of the people you served at Taste Washington do you think really remember you, your wine or what they thought of it? The bloggers and professionals do but Joe and Jill consumer are probably a bit fuzzy on the details, if you get my drift. Do you have a bunch of email addresses that you can follow up with and reconnect for a more lasting impression? If you do, congratulations and I hope your follow up offer will help you drive traffic for both your website and tasting room. If you don't, it is not too late to mend your ways.

Spring Release is coming up.  What are you going to do in your tasting room to ensure that you are capturing the people who taste but don't buy? What about those designated drivers who aren't even going to taste? Major traffic weekends are an opportunity for more than just sales. You need to turn them into marketing capture opportunities to help ensure that you are driving traffic during the slow weeks as well.

Washington Wineries - Make the most of every event!

When you visit DaMa Wines’ website you notice right away that this is not your typical winery. They are a little edgier, a bit irreverent and while committed to making fine wine, they are also determined to make a difference. I was lucky enough to get Dawn Kammer and Mary Tuuri-Derby on the phone to ask them about why wine and charity go so well together.

“It feels good. It’s the sharing. Wine brings people together; family get-togethers, gathering around the table, sharing experiences. Charity provides the opportunity for sharing good fortune with others. They are both part of the circle of sharing.” Mary said in answer to the primary question. Indeed she and Dawn are part of a community in Walla Walla that is filled with people that pitches in to help others in order that they all succeed and prosper.

Mary continued, “This is not a me me me world. In Walla Walla specifically we all want to make the industry better and so we are always helping each other out. Not that there isn’t competition but we are all pulling for each other to succeed. I think this is central to the wine industry and reflects the spirit that makes charity second nature to most of us.” Both she and Dawn credit the generosity of their neighbors with helping them and DaMa grow and prosper so much, so quickly.

Dawn and Mary have specific criteria for the causes that they will agree to support. “Women, children and families are the priority in our giving,” said Dawn. “We support women and families because these are the heart of a community and are responsible for its growth and transformation.” Dawn continued, “Micro lending in 3^rd world countries is a perfect example of where women are empowered to transform an entire community.” Not to deny the business benefits of charitable giving, both readily agree that charity auctions and events are excellent networking opportunities. Dawn concluded, “It is about striking a balance between donating to a valuable cause and creating value for our business.”

One of the charities featured on the DaMa Wines website under their DaMa-Know Effect is St. Mary’s Cancer Center and the Special Needs Fund. Providence St. Mary Regional Cancer Center provides the setting for a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to the care of the cancer patient. Treatments for chemotherapy and radiation therapy are available at the Center as well as a coordinated group of support services brought together for the convenience of their patients and families. Providence St. Mary Regional Cancer Center nurses are instrumental in identifying the many different ways to put the Special Needs Fund into action on behalf of their patients. Donor support helps to “make the day” or ease the burden for cancer patients in diverse ways, from helping with the cost of pharmaceuticals, nutrition or transportation, to cheering the spirit with a new wig or a bouquet of flowers.

“It makes us feel good as winemakers to give back. I think it also makes the consumer feel good about buying our wine because they can say, “I’m giving back, too,”” declared Dawn “It could make the difference between what wine someone actually buys. A consumer may choose one over another because part of the proceeds goes to the support of charitable organizations.”

In today’s market with the emergence of the millennials as a wine purchasing demographic, charitable giving as part of a winery’s core mission could make a significant difference in its acceptance and popularity among this class of consumers. Though, make no mistake, the DaMa Wines' charitable mission is no marketing gimmick. Mary summed it up for me, “We are just two women trying to make it work. While we don’t have deep pockets, we are doing our best to make a difference in our community and hopefully inspire others to do the same.”

Washington Winemakers – Making a Difference, One Bottle at a Time!

“I think one of the reasons is that people who are interested in fine wine and food are in a position to give to charities and regularly attend charity events,” said Marie. “These are people who are doing well and feel the desire to give back.” Another of the reasons she gave us is that wine helps to set the stage for a successful charity event. “If you are at an event, and there is wine and good company, people are going to be more comfortable and willing to enjoy themselves,” she comments.  “They will be in the mood to give more.”

Two of Marie’s favorite charities are Camp Korey and theJuvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. “I have young children and I am concerned with the health and welfare of children. Camp Korey is a program that allows terminally ill children the opportunity to go camping and have a week of hope.” Camp Korey, located in Carnation, Washington, has a staff of doctors, nurses and counselors that provide children suffering from serious and terminal illness the chance to be a kid.

“We try to be sensitive to the issues surrounding underage drinking so it is difficult to reconcile serving or donating wine to a charity that is for the benefit of children,” Marie said, “but some of the most worthy causes are for children.” On the face of it this may present a problem to a lot of people and we chatted briefly about the issue of underage drinking and its impact on our society. We concluded that if wine could help raise money for the benefit of children without being served to children that this was a very good thing.

Between family, winery and a winemaker’s travel schedule we wondered, how does Marie choose who to donate to during the year? It turns out she is as savvy in her giving as she is in making her wine. “We choose charities to give to throughout the year based upon the people we know; who sit on the boards or the fundraising committees,” she explained. “We want to make sure that we are giving to organizations that share our ethics and that the money is going to the object of the charity not the administration of the charity. We are so busy that it would be impossible for us to do the kind of due diligence that would make me comfortable with strangers so we leverage our personal contacts instead.”

Of course, there is the obvious question of why do this at all? What’s in it for Marie and Forgeron? “Well, we do this because we care. I care about Camp Korey and juvenile diabetes,” Marie declared. “Of course, there is the exposure for the winery and wine to people who care about these causes and enjoy wine but if I didn’t do this through the winery, I probably wouldn’t do as much as I do.” Overall for Marie it is about bringing balance to a very blessed life. “If I can give a little bit then I feel I am trying to help someone else and doing it with people I know and trust ensures that it does help someone else.”

Charitable Winos – Giving because we care!

Dollars are tight and the first quarter of 2009 is proving that, at least here, people are still buying wine but they are buying it at lower price points.  What this means to the small, premium winery is that you need to get creative and vocal in order to keep moving those bottles at $30 and higher.  Your first order of business is segment your lists and start communicating today.

Why Segment Your Lists?

If you don't have different levels within your club already (and even if you do), you need to take a look at the purchasing history of your customers and break them down into some easily recognizable categories:

• Avg sale over/under $100
• Frequency of sale more-or-less than once a quarter
• Online purchase vs. Tasting Room vs. Club
  • Hopefully most of your customers come up under all three & that's why you need the other two categories

Create different offers for each group and send them out to your different segments.  This is a great way to do two different things at once; identify your highest lifetime value customers and test your offers & audience for uptake.

Offers? We don't need no stinking offers!

This may be true - if you are Cayuse or Leonetti, you've long sold out and really don't need to worry about the economic reality of this market.  If you aren't, then you may want to consider some creative ways to stand out among the now more than 600 wineries in the state, not to mention the growing industries in our immediate neighbors of BC, Oregon and Idaho.  It is crowded and loud out there, folks, what are you going to put forward to make someone spend their wine budget with you instead of the other guy/gal?

Now is the time to get your offers together and gear up your TR staff to be ready to present them when someone is ready to either buy or walk out of your tasting room this coming Spring Release weekend.  Maybe in your emails you sent out to your segmented list, you included coupons or perhaps you are going to do a little something to encourage greater sign up for your club.  Whatever it is, get it defined and budgeted now then make sure that everyone working your TR knows the plan and can execute without holding up the cash register or the bar.

Sustain Your Spring Release Success!

List segmented, offers defined, budgeted and in place, staff trained - you're ready for SR weekend.  Good!  So what are you going to do after the weekend is over and you need to ensure a steady stream of people coming through the doors or to the website?  May I suggest that you proactively communicate to the people who visit you?  There are some wineries that do this pretty well.  Efeste and Januik are two that have pretty good event email that is consistent in form and timing.  There are others that are less consistent and then there are some that I have never heard from regardless of the fact that I dutifully filled out the guest book and even bought more than $200 of wine during my visit.

It should start with something as simple as a "Thank You."  A simple email to the people who sign your guest book to say thank you for coming in and if you either have the time or staff specifically mentioning the wines they purchased with either a recommendation for another or perhaps an offer to order online within the next month would go a long way.  First, everyone likes to be told, "Thank you."  Second, wineries should take a lesson from the most sophisticated direct marketers, catalogs - someone who just bought something from you and is satisfied with their purchase is most likely to buy again within the first 3 months of their initial purchase.  Don't miss that opportunity!  Stay on top of the activity and proactively pursue your customers.  You will be gratified at the response and your customers will be grateful for the attention.

Washington Wineries - Springing into Action!

The $1.4 million dollar project ($700K comes from the stimulus funds for Oregon state) will improve facilities and deliver a more complete educational program for the program's students.  This is especially important for the program that was originally started in 1999 to provide a better trained workforce to Oregon's wine industry.  For an industry that has seen incredible growth in the last 10 years, this is nothing but very good news.

While there is always new winemaking talent turning to the NW for employment and experience, it is important that we continue to grow our own winemakers here; experienced in the soil and climate of the northwest; if for no other reason than to ensure that the terroir that makes NW wines unique is fully understood, exploited and cared for in the production of our region’s fine wines.

NW Winos – Locally Grown and Educated

Personally, I am intrigued. As a marketer trying to sell services to small wineries it would be useful to have a comprehensive matrix of wine related online properties in one place to assist wineries in making decisions about their online marketing budget. I, as a small company, have undertaken a review of properties but I do not have the kind of money or resources available to me to attempt the kind of scope that VinTank is proposing. The founders of VinTank come from InertiaBev and The Open Wine Consortium. Needless to say, they are well funded.

It remains to be seen how useful the final product will be to the market. The first survey should prove to be interesting as a lesson in what is currently available. The second survey will be more interesting to see the delta in performance metrics. If being recommended by VinTank causes a property to become much more popular and trafficked from one year to another it will establish VinTank as the “Gartner” of the wine industry.

It is a bold and expensive sales tool for VinTank. I imagine their clients will pay for the privilege.

Wino marketers – What are you really paying for?

It is a great idea at off-premise retail to encourage a consumer to purchase 6 bottles of wine and entertain at home. People are already staying home and this is a good way to ride this particular wave. In fact, if as the mat suggests you invite 8-12 people to the tasting, the savvy promoter would encourage the consumer to defray the costs of the event by either making it potluck and/or asking their guests to chip in to cover the cost of the wine. That may actually encourage some consumers back to the higher shelves for their selections. This mat is specifically suggesting the CSM value brands that are still moving at retail – another of the reasons that I think this is coming from either the distributor or the store management.

Unfortunately, this is a poor execution of the concept and with some changes; it could be made into a stellar campaign.  Even if we agreed that the goal of this is to move more of the still moving value wines, there are things that need improvement. The first is the “Ratings” descriptions. The best score is OK, “Flawless, I love it.” Although, we are talking about a group of consumers that almost certainly do not have formal wine training and will be making their choice based upon personal preference, not the individual characteristics of the wine as a representative of the varietal. Keep the “I love it” and ditch the judgment of the execution of the winemaker.

Worse is where the use of “flawless” leads you – “some imperfections” and “flawed” are impugning the brand and winemaker. The impression the consumer is left with is that there is something wrong with the wines rather than they just weren’t personally preferred. This is especially dangerous if you are dealing with a group of millenials with undeveloped palates and probably still on the “sweeter” side of wine. You don’t want a group of up and coming wine drinkers walking away from your brand with the impression that there are some that are sold with imperfections; that they are inherently flawed. Substitute imperfection for “Good, I would drink it” and flawed for “Not my style.” Reinforce the preference without damaging the brand.

They provide three suggested tasting lists with cheese pairings. I get it there is limited space and they want to get as many of the wines on there as possible. I also get that they want to keep production costs low by going with black ink – however, to not find a way to reinforce the brand through the use of the logos is downright foolish. We are a brand happy culture and logos work – use them!

If you want to make this a sustainable campaign build a website that not only does the cheese thing (which frankly, I find a bit passé) but has suggested hors d’oeuvres, both hot and cold, tie it in with the deli department of the grocery store chain (or a featured chef that happens to be in another year long campaign). If you don’t want to build the website, at least build a proper kit and toss it in for free with the purchase of 6 bottles or standalone at $10 (although, the website is more valuable in the long run). And for goodness sake, do not have one of the instructions for having the tasting be to “Print off a tasting mat for each guest” without providing a website for the source file. Oh, and if you really think the mat is necessary (which I don’t) resize the darn thing to 8.5” x 11” because only accountants have ledger size paper at home.

Another reason to build the website is feedback and capture.  Encourage the partygoers to come and tell you what they thought of your wines.  Get them to opt in to your list for events, wine clubs and other online offers.  Share especially stellar feedback with the press and your distribution channel.  If consumers are having parties with your products and influencing their immediate social circle you want a way to capitalize on that, right?

So, CSM, build the darn website and supplement your point-of-sale materials and create a culture of wine drinkers that organically think, “good times with friends without spending a lot of money” and inculcate your off-premise distribution channel with the “party at home” meme. It’s a great idea and it needs to be executed well so it can succeed and grow.

Wino Marketers – We’re smarter than that.