Over the past ten years there has been a rapid change in the way we engage with our consumers. Old Marketing techniques are being phased out for the new marketing approach of answering your customer’s question quickly. If they are convinced by your response, you grab their attention.
When I started out in the wine industry over 20 years ago, winemakers were like artists, they were revered for their talents, made the wines they liked and you would be struck with their tyrant behavior if you ever questions their judgement. Not all winemakers were like this, of course, but it was a different time. Today, there is a great deal more to the winemaking story and the consumer is arguably king and queen.
The success of your wine businesses depends on the marketing strategies you employ. It is true that most wine business owners are now embracing new marketing tactics to gain a competitive edge in the wine industry but it cannot be denied that old marketing practices and strategies are still valued and must not be thrown out completely (yet).
Old and New Marketing – The Comparison
Old Marketing
The old marketing techniques were employed to gain awareness and attract a large audience by pitching your products features and benefits at the top of the funnel and hope for engagement at all stages of the buying process.
In the wine industry, old marketing includes messages being delivered one way. Creativity is actually the secret spice that commands a customers’ attention. Some of the common concepts of old marketing paradigm are as follows:
- Advertising as the core tool
- Businesses focus more on creativity and award-winning campaigns
- Advertising messages are usually created to appeal to the masses
- PR and advertising are completely different specialties and run by different individuals
- Advertising tends to engage campaigns for a definite period of time
The old marketing for the wine industry focuses on profitable transactions rather than clients’ lifetime value. Wine businesses were more focused on individual transactions with an aim of making money out of each and every transaction.
The old marketing focuses more on advertising instead of performance. Brands were built by clients’ experience with the products and word of mouth. When it comes to old marketing, this does not pay full attention to customer retention but concentrates more on customer acquisition.
New Marketing
New marketing is about engaging with consumers with a goal in mind such as creating awareness of your product, increasing sales, fostering loyalty or seeking two way communication. Communication with your consumer is an ongoing dialogue while trying to maintain optimal levels of engagement and focus on building relationships. The sales pitch is saved and not used until the consumer is at the bottom of the funnel.
If old marketing is mainly handled by the marketing department, it is completely different when it comes to new marketing. New marketing allows anyone to take advantage of this with minimal investment. New marketing has become more affordable and accessible to all business sizes.
Since the internet has now become a major player, anyone can now learn how to create compelling dialogue with their target market. Establishing a solid online presence and getting found easily online is both an art and science.
The common concepts of new marketing are as follows:
- People look for authenticity
- People no longer want to be interrupted so make sure to rid yourself of SPAM
- People do not want to be told (push marketing) but rather, they wanted to discover or be heard
- Content is considered the king so stay online – let your content evolve
Old and New Marketing – Examples of Marketing tactics
| Old Marketing | New Marketing |
| You need this | Your friends find this useful, why don’t you try it? |
| Constant bombarding of Advertising | Welcomed inclusion |
| You need this, you must buy this | Buy it only if you like it |
| You must by from me, don’t you know who I am? | We start with trust first, the sales comes from the trust |
| Push the product | Let’s create great content and entice the sale |
| But wait there’s more | Once we have earned your trust, you will want more |
Today, marketing is no longer limited to magazines, mails, radio, newspaper and televisions. Information in a variety of formats is now the vehicle to capture the interest and attention of your audience. This can now be published on blogs, videos, podcasts, article directories, websites and of course social media platforms.
To ensure the success of your wine business, you need to choose the right type of marketing, or a combination of the right platforms, that will work perfectly for you. But with the dawn of the digital age, it would be best to adopt the most advanced marketing tactics to guarantee excellent results for your wine business.
