Picking on the wine industry.  No pun intended.  Part 1.

Isn’t the Festive Season a fantastic opportunity to be extravagant and indulgent?!  Yes, it’s the perfect excuse to spend extra money on eating out, trying different gourmet products, loading up on fresh seafood, having the strangest imported beer at the party and so on.

We’re all on the hunt for something a bit special, a bit different.

It’s the time of year we try to be classier in our taste of food and beverage.  If you are a marketer in either of these industries then the Festive Season is your Holy Grail.  New eating and drinking experiences that are shared during this time of year have a much higher strike rate of developing loyal consumers.  Marketers know the importance of shared experience.

Except for the wine industry; that oddly continues to treat this time of year like any other.  For some reason the marketing of wine during the Festive Season remains completely disengaged with the average consumer, out for a spend-up and a new drinking experience. 

 

If you are wondering what happened to all your local wine sales in 2012 then please let me explain.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.   

The fact your wine made it out the bottle-o and onto the Christmas dinner table is pure chance; a game of numbers at a busy time of year.  That’s not marketing and branding; that’s forcing the hand of distribution – a costly exercise that evaporates margins.

Similarly, the fact that I stumbled across something that tasted OK is pure chance.  I guess it’s a bit of a win when that happens, but my experience is still somewhat dampened and I move on, quickly forgetting the name of the wine.

Why does the wine industry continue to communicate with me as if I have my own winery or multiple degrees in wine making and geology?  How in blazes am I supposed to understand what this means:

• Dateline-traversing persistence
• Old furniture, wax and engine oil meets raisins
• More understated effortlessness
• Coiled-up restraint, tremendous persistence
• Mouth-embracing onslaught
• A pucker of chalky phenolics
• Hauntingly ethereal
• Profound exoticism

OK.  I’m being a smart-arse and have picked out some of the wackiest descriptions I’ve seen – but this is what we are given to read on a wine label.  Seriously, who writes this stuff?  To whom is this marketing content targeted?  Not me.  Enough of the jargon, please!

But why not target me?  A consumer like me should be low-hanging fruit for the wine industry.  Absolutely.  Me and hundreds-of-thousands of other middle-class consumers in Australia.

The way the wine industry communicates its products makes me feel left out of the ‘in’ group, inexperienced, intimidated, and unknowledgeable.  The way wine is marketed in Australia seems very introverted.

It feels like everyone in the industry is talking amongst themselves and the consumer is forced to sit on the sidelines like a naughty boy for not understanding and appreciating all that goes into a bottle of wine.

Why make it so hard for yourselves and me.  I want to get to know you, but I won’t go near a product that makes me feel that insecure.  If my choice of wine is a flop at the party, well…………..I simply can’t take that risk.  I won’t.

If your product is technically superior that’s fantastic.  But don’t tell me that.  Increase the likelihood that I’ll experience that.  Here’s a hint.  99% of the time I have the chance to enjoy a wine instead of a beer or cider; I’m running on pure emotion.

Don't try and sell me on what makes us different.  Tell me how we are similar.

What I saw during the festive season was everyone going for the safety option.  No new experiences. 

 

The same old labels won again.

How did you choose your wine this Festive Season?


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Free internet for city, while bush network slowly dies.

As a strong advocate for rural and regional business, I was frustrated to learn that Adelaide city will be getting free internet “aimed at driving business and enticing visitors to the city.”

AdelaideNow – 27 November 2012 (link)

Meanwhile, in the regions we are left with a clapped-out (congested) network that has no more capacity and routinely kicks data (business) customers off the network, to keep priority for voice traffic (mobile phones).*

Ever tried to use the internet in a regional area once the kids get home from school?  Impossible – until the next morning.  Why are wi fi and mobile broadband products continuing to be marketed and sold when the network has no more capacity for them?*

So where is the e-strategy aimed at driving business and enticing tourists to our regions? 

New businesses will not come if technology infrastructure is out-dated or not available.  Tourists will not come if they cannot ‘plug in’ to the rest of the world while they are here.

Mr Weatherill states that his new e-strategy for the city is about “driving opportunities for innovative entrepreneurs” and “providing new ways of communicating with consumers”.  If ever there was a business community that needed the help and could take advantage (productively) of new technology to achieve this, its regional business.

Why talk about “Adelaide’s brand going global” through the use of new technology?  Take the rest of the state with you.

Business SA chief executive Mr McBride said that the new initiative would “help local business gain a competitive advantage”.  What about speaking out for the needs of your regional members?  Actually, I didn’t renew my membership this year for that very reason.  Yes Mr McBride, it has become “increasingly important for business to develop an online presence” – the bush needs that outcome more than ever.

So anyway, as some of you would be aware, 12 months ago I wrote a letter to Mr Weatherill positively responding to his pledge that he would “reconnect with the regions”.  In a recent blog below, 12 months on, I questioned whether or not anything had improved for the regions in this time?!

City-centric direction, strategy and attitude continue to divide the haves and have-nots in South Australia.  It beggars belief that with such a small population, we still do not take advantage of the opportunity to build the state as a tight-knit community, working together so that no one gets left behind.

*Source: www.telstra.com/crowdsupport/business

 

Hitler finds out that Click Frenzy crashed.

 

The latest edition of many extremely funny Hitler rant parodies from the movie Downfall.

My letter to the Premier of South Australia.

It was 12 months ago that I wrote the following letter to our new Premier Jay Weatherill in response to his pledge in the media that the South Australian Government would 'reconnect' with the regions.

As Gary Simon, a local businessman and friend from the Mid North, heads-off to Adelaide to give evidence in the Select Committee investigation into regional School Bus Contracts going to a Victorian company; and as the developing situation regarding Country Health SA continues to escalate; I thought it was timely to pull out my old letter and reflect on whether (or not) things have improved for those of us that live and do business in the regions.

Have a read of my letter and let me know what you think about the current situation in regional South Australia - or regional Australia in general.

I would love to hear from people.

Regional Rights

New Premier, Jay Weatherill, is to be commended on his pledge to bring a new focus on regional issues and rid the Government of its city-centric image (Advertiser Monday 5 December 2011).

For too long the Labour State Government has made no attempt to understand the core value and belief systems that drive peoples’ behaviour in our small communities.  This is exampled in a (seemingly) never-ending list of tribulations over the years about such topics as hospitals, ‘centralisation’ of key services, school amalgamations, school bus contracts, increased driving age, speed limits, dangerous quality of roads and the withdrawal of appropriate funding levels to our essential services such as those that save lives and support the development of our main industries such as PIRSA.

The resilience and patience of regional, rural and remote South Australians has been pushed to the limit.  Anxiety is at an unhealthy level. 

Our communities have a strong sense of connection with where they live; because we believe that we are the current custodians of our towns, communities, services and businesses that were passed down to us by previous generations; and that must be passed on to future generations in better condition than when we received them.  That is how small communities build and grow – we add our positive contribution and pass it on.  This process is reliant upon us and it is what we are here for.  It is a privilege to have a positive impact on the future.

However, city-centric Governments have for too long reached into our communities from afar and made decisions that have put the current custodians in danger of having to pass on to future generations communities that are in a worse condition than when they received them. 

Mr Weatherill states that "our regional communities are enormously valuable .... and I want to make sure that their voices are heard by this Government" and that "it is important to understand local issues".

This news will be welcomed by regional communities. 

Mr Weatherill, we accept your challenge to change the attitudes of this current Government toward regional communities and look forward to working with you as you "reconnect with the regions".

Jeremy Lomman

www.thesosgroup.com.au

Balaklava

 

Advisory Panels secret ingredient for regional success.

Running a business is a lonely job. 

 

In a country that is increasingly city-centric, running a regional business is even lonelier.

Regional business is tough business in Australia.

The unofficial source of much trusted advice in the regions is friends, family, industry, accountant, lawyer and other business owners.  This type of ‘buddy’ system has good intentions and is seen as a ‘safe’ environment for getting feedback; but it is very limited in terms of effectiveness.

It is often the case that these people do not understand the business.  Forming an opinion about the direction of the business is difficult, because each piece of advice takes precedence on a different day in the mind of the owner / operator.

As-far-as many other owner / operators are concerned, ‘no one knows the business like we do’ and they are not seeking any help at all.

What are others doing to get ahead of the game?

Some of the best product innovations, business models and marketing initiatives to come out of regional Australia in recent times, are from organisations that have formed Advisory Panels.

An Advisory Panel is a small group of independent mentors that use their complimentary skills and experience to provide advice on the strategic direction of the business.  These people do not have formal authority to make decisions on behalf of the organisation.  The structure is informal and flexible.

Advisory Panels allow owners and operators to step away from day-to-day management issues and focus on the growth and development of the business, using a forum that challenges critical thinking.

Doings things right will always be important.  True value for a regional business is created when the owner / operator has the opportunity to ask if they are in fact doing the right things.  This is the difference between working in the business and working on the business.

The use of Advisory Panels has many benefits that can be tailored to meet the current needs of the business.  Some of these are:

• Ideas and suggestions to grow and develop the business
• Vision and purpose
• Increased productivity
• Increased market insight
• Improved culture
• Increased management capability
• Create new business model
• Technical support
• Increased understanding of compliance and governance requirements
• Practical commercial experience
• Financial knowledge
• Independence

An Advisory Panel is functioning at its best when:

• The business owners and operators are open to receiving input from others
• Input from mentors is strategic, constructive and relevant to the current needs of the business
• Everyone keeps an open mind and actively participates
• Communication is open and honest
• Everyone is being challenged through critical thinking

Advisory Panels are a proven technique that serves as an informal guide to help a business learn, grow and perform better.  In most cases, owners and operators are already talking to some of the right people; it’s just a matter of bringing that feedback into a forum that is more effective for the business.