Handling a saturated wine market

By JACK HEEGER
Register Staff Writer

Over the years, several winemakers, as they were about to leave on a trip to promote their wines, have remarked to me, “Making wine is easy. Selling it is the hard part.”

That’s logical — they’re trained in oenology, not marketing. But if they have to go out on the road to help sell the wine, they might want to take a look at a new book on the subject — “Wine Marketing & Sales: Success Strategies for a Saturated Market,” by Paul Wagner of Napa’s Balzac Communications and two Sonoma State business professors — Liz Thach and Janeen Olsen.

The book seems geared to the folks who wear multiple hats in a winery. It takes a reader through the basic steps of marketing and continues right on up to taking a winery that’s on the ropes and turning it around by repositioning it, with all the necessary in-between information.

The Ps of marketing

I remember spending a complete class session in my first marketing class on the five Ps of marketing (yes, I know there are supposed to be four, but the authors have quite logically added a fifth). The book covers the concept just as completely in only a few pages.

In fact, they introduce the subject with just a few words: Product — what you sell; Placement — Where you sell it; Price — What it costs; and Promotion — How you support it. The book adds, “The sum of the above four elements creates the consumer’s perception and creates the fifth P: Position — How do you compare?”

The authors make the case for the importance of marketing and sales with a foreword by the Great Marketer himself, Robert Mondavi, who wrote, “Anybody in the wine business … must address all of wine’s aspects in a way that earns credibility and makes a profit, too.”

Recognizing that many wineries have limited budgets, the book offers a section on “Advertising Suggestions for Small Wineries,” and provide tips for getting the biggest bang for your buck.

The book also covers the importance of graphic design in labels and packaging and presents tips on working with designers to maximize the impact of label and promotional graphics.

Handling contributions

Wineries are hit up for contributions of wine for charitable events frequently, and the authors cover how to separate donation requests and then how to make the most of those to which contributions are made.

“Wine Public Relations” is especially helpful, explaining what reporters and editors look for when deciding to write about a winery or an individual — what’s newsworthy and how to approach an editor or writer. The same chapter goes beyond the media, covering how a winery can communicate with consumers.

Small producers often find the financial side of marketing confusing or puzzling: How much should I spend? The authors include a series of actual budgets from producers of 1,000 cases ranging up to 400,000 cases with amounts and percentages covering all marketing and sales expenses.

The book discusses the avenues to sales — the traditional three-tier system, direct sales channels and direct sales to consumers — and explains the pros and cons of each, providing examples of each for wines selling for various prices. Also discussed is how a winery can select and work with a distributor.

The advantages and disadvantages of wine clubs and direct selling are covered, as is setting up a tasting room. If you’re thinking of exporting your wine, or importing wine from another country, the book offers some good advice. Finally, should you take over an existing label that is less than successful, or if your own winery is undergoing problems, a chapter offers strategies for turning around an ailing business.

Even established marketing professionals could probably gain something from this book, but for those who are marketing novices or handle multiple jobs, particularly small vintners, the book is a must-read.

It’s published by the Wine Appreciation Guild, retails for $69.95 and can be found in book stores, wine shops, at www.wineappreciation.com or (800) 231-9463.

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