Think Globally, Act Locally
Posted by Rachel Fox Reed on February 25th, 2008With the growing wine consumption, the US is slotted to become the highest wine consuming nation in the world. So how are you going to capture that market? It is well known that small businesses (such as wineries) must often budget wisely and target promotion of their brand at the local level. So what is my recommendation? Outline your target markets based on where you want your brand to have visibility, but start by venturing beyond your tasting room to tap in to your regional market.
By focusing marketing efforts locally, you can spend your time building not only your brand, but you will also help build the reputation of the region as a whole. This is extremely important in an industry where terroir (or the concept of where your wine is from) is such a defining characteristic of one’s brand. Below are some suggestions of where you might start.
1. Tap in to already existing regional campaigns as part of your marketing
As it has been a proven selling point in other agricultural marketing, creating a statewide campaign can help boost in state sales and also encourage wine drinkers to choose your wine over an imported brand. Try joining organizations such as Family Winemakers of California, California Wine Institute, or Washington Wine Commission. These are the kind of organizations are supported by both growers and vintners and are dedicated to promoting wine on a statewide level.
2. Be an active member of the virtual community
You can be involved with your local wine community via the internet. Try signing up for dedicated wine social networks online such as Open Wine Consortium, then volunteer to head a regional group to inform others of local happenings and help execute events in your area.
3. Optimize your website by listing your business as part of local search engines
Use local key words, submit your website to local business directories, and think about advertising on other websites that may feed into yours such as winery listings and local tourism sites. Begin by listing your winery on the three major search engines (Yahoo, Google, and MSN) which all have a localized search engines. From there, try feeding your content to sites such as Yelp, or Local Wine Events.
