"Marketing" - the scary word which sends shivers down a winegrower's spine. Marketing covers a very large area, it's true! But it does not necessarily have to be as complicated as many think.
Wine marketing - the right strategy
WHAT DO I NEED AND WHAT NOT?
THE SECRET RECIPE FOR ALL WINERIES!
That would be nice! Unfortunately, I have to disappoint right up front: there is no secret recipe that works equally well for every winery! But don't worry, there is a way to find a simple marketing strategy for you and your winery that works!
WHAT EXACTLY IS MARKETING? ISN'T IT THE SAME AS WINE SALES?
To find the right marketing strategy for you, the first question we should ask ourselves is: what actually is marketing and what does it involve? Very important: selling wine is not marketing. That counts as sales! But everything that the salespeople need for selling belongs to marketing. And that is our key point.
WHO BUYS YOUR WINE? WHO SHOULD BUY YOUR WINE IN THE FUTURE?
Your customers or future customers are part of your target group. A target group is a group of people who react differently to your communication than the rest of the people. In simple terms, your target group feels more addressed by your product and your communication than the others.
So the key to good marketing is to know your target group. Because this way we can find out where to find our target group (=touchpoint). And if we know what their touchpoint is, we can work with those platforms. This makes the question "Which social media platform is the most important?" easier to answer.
WHICH MARKETING PLATFORM SUITS WHICH TARGET GROUP?
You can look at many statistics on which platform has the most users. But the most important thing for you is: WHERE can you find YOUR target group? And WHAT do you want to ACHIEVE with marketing?
Example: Let's assume a new generation runs your winery. You make sustainable wines and sell a lot of your wine directly to private customers (=B2C). Your target group likes to get information before buying and loves direct contact with producers.
So the questions we should ask ourselves are:
Does our target group use social media to find out about your products? If so, which platforms? Instagram (younger, more casual, short posts); Facebook (links, long posts, focus less on visuals); LinkedIn (more formal, lots of info, long posts).
Does our target group order a lot online? If so, how can we promote our online store? Does email marketing make sense?
Does our target group want detailed information about the production? Does a blog make sense? Or do we tell our stories on social media & newsletters?
Such questions are perfect to find the right platforms for your winery. As a small company, you can't perform on all platforms. Personally, I think it's more important to focus on two or three and maintain them regularly.
MARKETING IS A LONG-TERM PROJECT - BUT IT PAYS OFF!
Please do not hope that as soon as you do some posts on social media, your sales will go through the roof overnight.
Marketing supports and promotes sales because it keeps you in the minds of your customers.
Example: Emma, a passionate wine drinker, goes to a cool wine store. She asks for recommendations and in the end, there are two wines to choose from, one of which is yours. She has tried both wines ages ago. She decides on yours! Why? The wine gave her a better feeling, something personal. She feels more confident in her choice because she just recently saw some posts on your social media account about winemaking.
Get it? The likelihood of generating sales directly through social media is pretty low (especially for wine, because the sale of alcohol is prohibited there). Nevertheless, it supports sales in a second moment.
OK, NOW TO THE SECRET RECIPE FOR WINE MARKETING
I promised at the beginning that there is a simple marketing strategy for every winery. This strategy is: Put yourself in the position of your target group and ask yourself the following questions: Where do you inform yourself? What interests you? What might be preventing you from buying wine? And what would motivate me to buy your wine?
Once you have the answers to these questions, you will know which platform suits you, which content makes sense, and how you can support the purchase decision.
Speaking of which, a consistent communication strategy will help you even more. It will make it easier to know what to write about and what might interest your target audience.
Help!
NEED HELP FINDING YOUR RIGHT MARKETING STRATEGY?
Drop me a line - let's talk during a no-obligation initial consultation and maybe there is something I can help you with.