Are you Irrelevant to the New Consumer?

I hit my drive this far from the hole.

When released, the SVB Annual State of the Wine Industry Report gets wide coverage both domestically and internationally. In concert with the release, we also present a live videocast of the report, followed by the on-demand replay.

Despite a full hour of content from the original telecast, every year viewers ask for more content and added sessions. That's been hard to schedule but we're trying something new this year.

In this first ever 2018 State of the Wine Industry Follow-Up Videocast we cover other threads, ideas, and go in-depth to answer some of the questions we didn't get to during the live segment.

I don't know what to call this segment. Right now it's a Follow-Up, but I'm kind of leaning to "After Hours," and maybe getting into smoking jackets on the set?

Some of the questions we answered this time included:

• With the on-coming Indulgence Gap, how will we stay relevant to new consumers? Should we diversify into mid-range offerings or go to a second label?

As far as a second label goes, that's rarely a good choice. That said, we do discuss in the video a way to use a lower priced SKU as a sampling approach and an 'on-ramp,' to be sold outside of the tasting room. Not everyone on the panel agreed with me, but I think it should be part of a regionalized marketing strategy.

• Should we be attracting Gen X now?

You should be targeting Gen X now and should continue to do so. But Millennial buyers are also just starting to enter their prime wine-buying years, so you need to target them even tough they are for the present financially disadvantaged. They will get through their Indulgence Gap. "Edutainment" is discussed by MJ Dale as an option for communicating with the young consumer.

• Should you use a laddering approach to pricing wine?

That's dependent on your strategy and region. Generally for luxury producers, the answer is no. But for some premium producers at lower price segments, that may be a reasonable approach. Know what you are good at is a starting point was the advice from our Oregon guest Gretchen Boock. Her advice was stick to what your good at.

• When thinking about experience, are you mapping your customer's digital purchase journey?

This was the first time I heard that concept from the Dr. of Digital; Paul Mabray, but I like it. It's a template to rethink your delivery. What is your customer's experience from their on-line ordering, to when they open the box? What's in the box when they open? Maybe a message from the owner? What about the box itself. Is it just a brown box?

• Where can I get help in executing digital marketing and sales strategies

We knew we would get that question so Paul Mabray spent a good amount of time and money to create an Infographic [ LINK ] with a healthy list of digital service providers you can review. Note that the list isn't a recommendation or even complete. We know there will be additions to the list so if your firm isn't listed, you can leave a comment for him on his blog. [ LINK ] 

The video covered a lot of thoughts on branding and marketing. Do you have any comments, questions, ideas, or suggestions you'd like to offer the community here? 

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