SoWine Report

What a fantastic conference put on by marketing guru, Marilyn Hawkins of Hawkins & Company PR of Ashland, Oregon. Marilyn and her right-hand woman, Vicki Griesinger, were organized, enthusiastic and kept the schedule running on time -- not an easy feat when you have over 100 people in attendance.

SoWine was created to focus on sales and marketing for the fast-growing regions in Southern Oregon such as the Rogue and Umpqua Valleys. My talk, Developing a Solid Marketing Plan for Wine and Wine Grapes, highlighted the essential components of such a plan, how to compose one and tips for continuous improvement.

Below I list the best tips presented by each of the other featured speakers:

Eugenia Keegan of Keegan Consulting on Sales & Distribution in a Tough Economy
* do not underestimate the pricing effect of the true laid-in cost which is FOB plus transport and taxes
*make sure that the wholesale markets you choose are places you're comfortable visiting twice per year -- if you're not working the market, your competitors are

Don Morgan of GMA Research Corporation on DIY Research Tools
* one of the best ways to improve your marketing efforts is to think like a research scientist -- ask questions and use the answers to your benefit
* if you're only going to ask your customers one question, it should be "Would you recommend us?"

Rachell Coe of 4theGrapes on Making Your Website Work Much Harder
* make sure it is very clear how to sign up for your newsletter and buy your wine on a homepage that downloads in less than 10 seconds
* use free measurement and management tools like Google Analytics to monitor traffic and conversion, browser shots to see how your site looks on various platforms, and a link checker to make sure nothing is broken

Chris Oggenfuss of Oggenfuss Wine Marketing on the Value of Social Media and Customer Contact Innovations
* Facebook is the third largest "country" in the world -- if you only embrace one form of social media this should be it
* Snooth has a wine trade platform where wineries can and should manage their profiles as its the largest online wine database
* call your customers to thank them and sell more wine -- this is a vastly under-utilized form of communication in the industry

Porscha Schiller of South Stage Cellars on Special Event Planning
* begin with a goal in mind and be sure to check with the community and neighbors to find out if there is a competing event that will diminish your return
* 15 to 20 minutes before the event begins, "arrive" as if you were a guest to tackle last minute issues

It's always a pleasure speak at industry events and even better when I return to the office with a few pages of marketing notes for my clients and my company. A special thank you to Laura and Kurt Lotspeich of Trium who hosted the speaker's dinner the evening prior on their beautiful deck. Check out the winery and their Viognier next time you're in the area -- it's delicious!

Southern Oregon Marketing Conference - June 14

On June 14, I will be speaking at SoWINE, the Southern Oregon Wine Marketing Conference being held at OSU extension in Central Point (Medford area). The purpose of the event is to enable small wineries to address current challenges and better plan for the future of their businesses. My talk, Developing a marketing plan for wine and winegrapes, will be a more in depth presentation than the one I presented at the Oregon Wine Symposium this past February.

The event has a wait list but I am happy to send my follow up materials to anyone who is interested afterwards.

Brand Value Equation

I have before written about what I call the PPQ, the inter-relationship between pricing, packaging and quality that delivers value customers at the point of consumption. During this year's Oregon Wine Symposium, I learned a new and particularly impressive value equation presented by Rob McMillan, Founder of Silicon Valley Bank's Wine Division. McMillan quantifies a brand value as follows:

value = (wine quality x brand experience)/ price

Measuring experience is important for two reasons. First, it underscores that we're essentially in the hospitality business -- every point of contact with a consumer is part of a winery's experience. (Contact points aren't limited to tasting room visits and include e-newsletters, club shipments, phone conversations, off-site events, etc.) Second, experience is an important differentiation tool. Differentiation provides the unique and compelling factors adding special value for consumers and helps prevent trade-offs to other brands.

A winery can differentiate in many ways -- packaging, pricing, winemaking philosophy, story, etc. but the experience can arguably be most memorable. Think about it: How many wines are "made with passion from a great vineyard"? Now how many of those actually deliver a unique and compelling experience --a special one that makes a customer want to return again and again?

Oregon Wine Symposium Presentation

On Monday, February 22 I gave a presentation on developing a strategic marketing plan. My co-panelists were Mark Freund of Silicon Valley Bank and Scott Lawrence of Michael Skurnik Wines. Stephany Boettner, Marketing & Communications Director for Oregon Wine Board, moderated.

Strategic Guidance from the Groun Up Vol. 11

Check out my latest newsletter which highlights the True Meaning and Value of Marketing and a great way to file 1099s online.

Canopy Wine Marketing Network Launches

From Oregon Wine Press, February 2010- During times of economic recovery, many businesses are looking for valuable advice on how to keep their doors open and their books in the black.

Wine-related businesses in the Pacific Northwest resolving to revisit or launch sales and marketing strategies in 2010 now have a versatile resource through the newly formed Canopy Wine Marketing Network (CWMN). Read full Oregon Wine Press article...

Direct to Consumer Symposium

I just returned from the Direct to Consumer Symposium held in Sonoma, California. Mobile marketing via short message service (your phone's SMS setting) was the most interesting emerging trend discussion. Craig Harper, CEP of Apisphere, educated attendees about how wineries can use text messaging to connect with consumers. For example, a winery might use text wine club members in a specific area of a retailer tasting. Or communicate with opted-in customers when they travel to the surrounding area about wines available to taste that day.

I was also drawn to a finding that 90% of wine club sign ups are done in the tasting room. While not surprising, it certainly speaks to the power of the winery experience in connecting with higher value customers. The chances that a more impersonal website purchase will lead to a club membership are therefore relatively low.

A recommended quick tip is continuing to treat customers who have had to drop out of your wine club due to financial reasons as if they were still members for four to six months (i.e., offer tasting room fee waivers, purchase discounts and any other benefits). This will build goodwill, demonstrate loyalty on behalf of the winery, and increase the chances that they will return when their financial situations have improved.