Last weekend I had a chance to talk with quite a few vintners at the Family Winemakers event. There were a few things that were consistent in my conversations and tasting experiences.
Before diving into the real discussion I would like to say that the quality of wine continues to get better and better and the wine consumer part of me thanks you all.
Universally in my conversations, everyone agreed the current distribution model isn’t working. Occasionally a winery would mention a single distributor that was doing ok, but the same name never came up twice. The winemakers all lamented that they don’t have a solution so they continue to look for more and better distributors that don’t exist.
Everyone is talking about a social or online strategy but most don’t know what that means or what it will take to be successful. One owner said their strategy consisted of having their winemaker tweet –once- per –month-, not much of a recipe for success. Another common thread was the desire to have their wines placed in high-end restaurants in the East Coast and other primary markets. Well folks, that market is dormant. Ask any restaurateur; less people are going out, more folks are staying at home, and when they do go out they are buying less expensive wine. Ask any of the major producers why they are discounting their wines by up to 50% and they will tell you it’s because demand died a year ago.
The final commonality I observed was that each winery could only name a few geographic locations that were doing well for them. Once a particular area was covered, with a respectable distributor, pocket of club members, or particularly active small cluster of restaurants, they wanted to branch out into other markets. It’s certainly time to rethink that plan given today’s market conditions. There is one adage that works no matter the market or product, “It’s easier to sell more to existing customers than it is to acquire new customers”. Our suggestion is to fFocus on “owning” a specific market or geographic region by building deeper relationships with your existing customers. This will provide better returns than trying a broader but shallower approach.
I’m not saying don’t pursue other customers and markets, but by utilizing your existing customer/trade relations, you can leverage your strengths and get deeper into markets where you already have success. Build your best club members into brand evangelists, spend more time with a proven distributor or retail outlet. And nothing speaks louder than an existing customer sharing their experience with other potential customers, retailers and restaurants. Help them share it loudly and often through your newsletters, online communities, dinners, etc. Your best customers, retail outlets and distributors can’t be treated well enough.
Tags: family, winemakers
