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If you’re the average under 5,000 case winery you had 52% of your total wine sales come from your tasting room. If you are larger but producing less than 49,000 cases, your tasting room contributed 35% of your wine sales. This is according to the recent Wine Business Monthly Tasting Room Survey where some 372 wineries from throughout the US responded, about half from California. A year from now what will these numbers be and what role will on-line social media play?
Direct to consumer sales have been growing since 2005 when the Supreme Court demanded equal treatment for in-state and out-of-state wineries. In that first year growth shot up 30%, and grew another 7% last year. Wineries are learning to leverage their tasting rooms, wine clubs and on-line stores by tapping into the new social media.
Social media according to Wikipedia, is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. Primarily, social media depends on interactions between people as the discussion and integration of words builds shared-meaning, using technology as a conduit.
In this new and developing environment growing direct sales can be challenging but greater margins create greater rewards for those who understand that this is not business as usual. The classic distribution model is being challenged creating new services and opportunities for wineries to take advantage of.
With hundreds of wineries competing for the tasting room visitor, creating a memorable tasting room experience is paramount but so is embracing the Internet and the new tools that are used by today’s consumer.
Many of your current and future customers will conduct extensive research before purchasing. Just about everything, from a car, a house, a beachfront hotel room, your tasting room and yes even a bottle of your flagship hooch is being reviewed, researched, dissected and talked about.
It‘s second nature for the new generation of consumers to maneuver on line to find information—information that you no longer control.
This new social media has created methods of communication that will soon become more familiar and more important. Blogs, podcasts, RSS feeds, mashups and wikis are all powerful ways that buyers share information. Wineries that are proactive to these opportunities will be well positioned for the future. Your formal website is only a part of the process to lure buyers and tasting room visitors.
Interactive winery directory sites, peer reviews and the new social media create a marketplace that is wide open and interconnected. Having your winery website linked to these new sources of information is how the game is played. A big ad in the traditional media is not as valuable as it once used to be.
Along with producing a quality product, winery management should make plans to contribute and be part of the new social network. Surf the Internet and see what is being said in the on-line wine world. Learn how you can participate and help craft the message around your brand. Your tasting room and on-line sales will benefit.
Popular Blogs: Popular Websites:
www.Vinography.com www.CaWineryAdvisor.com (you're here!)
www.Drvino.com www.Graperadio.com
www.Redwinebuzz.com www.cawinemall.com
www.fermentations.com www.californiawineinfo.com
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