Consulting Wine/The Wine Firm, Intl.’s Post

The way she is holding the glass is creepy...

Agree wholeheartedly with this Robert Joseph - of the reasons why people buy wine, flavour is probably the least significant. As this cartoon from Marketoonist shows:

I’m not anti AI, I actually think it could be helpful, but that is a very bad example.

When on the floor interacting with customers it is a different dynamic. Hand selling can generate interest, but you are often just offering one bottle over another. Not necessarily increasing volume of sales nor average ring. A very good line in this article “experience, the way a person feels when interacting with your brand or perceiving it online… the aesthetic… overall presence” demonstrates how it really isn’t taste alone that drives brand loyalty and recognition.

Good article. This is a conversation that will never end. It's never been just about taste but taste is always a factor in consumable goods. Having been in various tiers of the industry, I can tell you that there has always been multiple factors that contribute to the enjoyment of wine. Necessarily then, as marketers, there must be an acknowledgement of those factors in the formulation of an effective plan to grab the consumers attention, convince them to engage and deliver a product that they not only purchase once but repeatedly. This is the sum game of successful marketing. As one astute industry veteran pointed out to me recently, there are multiple segments within the general market that requires a more nuanced and diverse marketing plan. One size does not fit all but the game and the psychology of consumerism and marketing has not changed that radically at its core over the last four decades. The marketplace has always been filled with choices. I navigates dozens daily depending on the environment and occasion and I still do.

Wine is historically the protagonist of conviviality, of complacency among men, awareness of art and therefore a cultural heritage to be protected and told.

Great article... Any Marketing 101 defines a Product on a 3-layer basis. The Core product (wine itself), The facilitative products (stuff that helps you sell the core product like labelling, packaging, etc), and The Augmented product (stuff that are indirectly related to the product but enhances the experience like specific packages which in this case is oenotouristic)... As much as the winery is able to dance between these 3 layers, as much as they gain in market share and influence consumers' buying behavior.

Of course, the content in the bottle in not the only factor for selling wine. Wineries spend time, effort and money on packaging and promotion, so do distributors. Whichever you look at it, we are faced with a decreasing consumption of wine that has nothing to do with the quality of the wine, it’s marketing ot its promotion, ever increasing in quality. Wine is increasingly perceived by some consommeras as potentially dangerous for their health and have decided to reduce consumption to stop it altogether.

Thanks for the free read Robert Joseph. Always thought provoking. In any category, there are light/low involved buyers and heavy/high involved buyers. Your thoughts on the importance of taste across these two buyer types? Thanks!

Great article and there are indeed so many other factors than taste. I am following Connor Widder and enjoying his posts to learn more. I just discussed this with a friend, that wineries so often base the whole winery visit and tasting on only technical specifics in the cellar and what the wine tastes like. That it would be cool if the wineries listened more and perhaps also talked about wine or created experiences that customers who are not wine professionals or somms or hardcore winelovers would enjoy more. A different language.