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Marketing mistakes to avoid in the wine industry
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Marketing is a tricky business for any sector, but it is crucial to get your brand out there. If you own a business in the wine industry, you need to be able to stand out among a sea of competitors and tell the world how your beverage beats the rest. A good marketing campaign’s worth cannot be overstated.
But it’s not always the easiest thing to do. This guide has been put together to help navigate the pitfalls of marketing to ensure you advertise your wine in the strongest way.
Low-quality or no images at all
A picture is worth a thousand words, or so we are told. This is more true in marketing than anywhere else. Have you ever seen an advert for wine without an image? Unlikely; imagery is essential for catching the eye and encouraging attention on your product.
Customers want to see what they are being asked to buy. Of course, you can get creative with your imagery. As Dee-Wine points out, wine is more than just a drink, it is a social purchase. Often, a bottle of wine is shared at an event or with friends. Find out why your wine is purchased, and show it off! Make sure the image on your leaflets and banners is high quality too – a poor quality image connotates a poor quality product. According to a study by Bright North, a bad image quality reduces the likelihood of you being chosen over your competitors.
Use of social media
European wine companies are falling behind with the use of social media, according to eVinyard.
They found that, while 80% of “new” country wine companies used social media to engage with their customers, the European companies had much lower figures: only 38% of German wine companies used social media, with French companies higher at 68%. Now more than ever, customers are researching every detail of what they want to purchase, so it is in your best interests not to neglect online marketing and use of social media. SUMO Heavy industries found that 72% of people use social media every single day.
Plus, social media can be a powerful platform that, if you’re not on, you might not see the feedback from. Customers will publish reviews on independent websites that have a huge audience, be it positive or negative comments. But usually, if a company has a social media account, an unhappy customer will reach out there first. This is a great opportunity to deal with the issue directly, and be seen as caring to your customers.
If you do receive a complaint, try to deal with it as swiftly as possible. Social media and customer services expert, Jay Baers advises: “A lack of response is a response. It’s a response that says, ‘We don’t care about you very much’.”
Use of language
People are very attuned to marketing and being marketed to. So, using bland or tired language in your marketing schemes can turn away potential customers. Take the time to consider what exactly it is you wish to say.
Nomacorc suggests that steering your marketing towards storytelling. But the story has to be authentic and unique to your wine and your company. Perhaps something about the origins of your wine is interesting, or the method in which it is made is entertainingly different. All you need is for the story to be true, and then you can use that to market the wine with a more exciting array of language than to merely point out its price and its taste.
Using only one route
Of course, as previously discussed, social media can be a great tool for interacting with your customers. But don’t fall into the trap of abandoning one in favour of the other: print media is still hugely influential. A brochure or leaflet is the perfect place to tell your wine’s story, along with captivating images of the vineyard or an event in which your wine is shared.
Furthermore, a university study found that, between online and print adverts, the print version had the most ‘advertising effectiveness’. The study looked at how much time a person looked at an advert, how likely they were to buy the product, and how much information they gleaned from it.
A survey of 2,400 consumers also found that only 25% of customers trust online pop-up adverts, compared to 82% of people trusting printed adverts. It’s vital that you balance your offline and online presence in order to get the best of both worlds.
The wine industry is huge competitive, and marketing is vital to be able to stand out in the crowd. But the marketing campaign you plan must be effective and noticeable, in order to avoid these pitfalls and attract new customers.
Sources:
http://www.evineyardapp.com/blog/2016/07/11/10-marketing-trends-for-wineries/
https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2017/07/english-wine-industry-now-worth-132-million/
https://www.dee-wine.com/digital-marketing-boosts-direct-wine-sales/
http://www.brightnorth.co.uk/whitepapers/Image_Quality_and_eCommerce.pdf
https://skift.com/2016/05/13/why-the-tourist-brochure-is-still-surviving-in-the-hotel-lobby/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerdooley/2015/09/16/paper-vs-digital/#7de095dc33c3
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/307300374549933402/
https://www.ama.org/partners/content/Pages/6-dos-and-donts-of-promotional-product-marketing.aspx
https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/tripadvisor-statistics/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerdooley/2015/09/16/paper-vs-digital/#31d49c533c34
