Pinot noir anyone?

Pinot noir anyone?

After Lisa the travel agent, let me introduce you to Phil, the winemaker. Phil lives in Switzerland in Vinzel, a wine region. He is the owner and manager of a small business, called Domaine de la Tuilière, whose main activity is producing wine. It’s a small wine estate and most of the time, Phil is working alone. He gets some help from two employees when necessary and has a fantastic team during the harvest season.

Cheers! Phil, the owner of the company Domaine de la Tuilière

Phil is not very confident with a computer. His thing is to take care of the vine, and he likes to see the transformation from the grape to juice and then, after several fermentations, to wine. Phil needs to have a physical location, and not only to produce wine! People like to come to his cellar, taste the various kind of wine before leaving with a pack of bottles. The relationship is key for Phil. He needs to be close to his customers.

However, his business is entirely based on him. Phil wears too many hats!  You can be sure that while he is cleaning a vat, customers will be calling. It is very tough for him to take care of all the parts of the business. But! (there is always a but), Phil found some useful and interesting tools thanks to his computer and the digital world. For a few years, he has a website which, even if there is not a lot of information, helps him for the company’s visibility.

Screenshot of the home page of Domaine de la Tuilière

The website gives some information to the customers on the company, but also on its products. There is even the possibility to order online via the page Purchasing Order. Phil is aware that in order to have a successful company, he must keep focusing on the human touch. And this is the challenge with a physical location. Without the estate and the “carnotzet” (a place where people can have a glass of wine), people would not be able to taste wine and to meet the passionate man behind the bottles produced under the name Domaine de la Tuilière. If we keep it simple, without Phil, without the place, there is no brand Domaine de la Tuilière.  

“Wine is not like perfume. With perfume, you can smell it once, and you can be sure that if you buy a new bottle in two years the fragrance will be the same. It is not the case with wine! Moreover, with wine, like any other “produits de bouche” (edible product), people want to taste before purchase”  Phil said.

Nevertheless, the digitalization of our society offers tons of opportunities for the organisation.  With the internet, the company can have access to new markets. According to the Federal Statistical Office, in 2017, two-thirds of the population in Switzerland has made at least one purchase in the last three months (compared to 56% in 2014)!

With the possibility to purchase online, Phil can receive new orders even when he is on holiday (which doesn’t happen often). It’s a good start, but unfortunately not enough. Customers are expecting to find a website and a social media presence. But Phil isn’t born with the internet, and one problem is that most of his competitors are digitally-active, while he is not. Moreover, wine is the most frequently searched beverage on the web according to an article published in the International Journal of Wine Business Research. The same article mentions a study which found that “75 percent of social media users admitted that wine-associated SM interactions can influence their purchases and increase spending on an individual wine purchase.” 

Phil can create a Facebook page for Domaine de la Tuilière, but there is a big challenge here. Phil has no idea what SEO, engagement rate or geo-targeting mean. He is a winemaker, he likes to be outside, not in front of a screen! He has the feeling of being left behind, especially when he watched the following video and saw that internet users could even find wine on Amazon!

 

My infographic below summarises the situation of the company.

In conclusion, the brand Domaine de la Tuilière doesn’t exist without the physical location. However, an online presence is essential for Phil to stay competitive BUT this takes time, and time is a precious resource for a company with only one employee. 

If only Phil knew someone doing a Master in Marketing who could help him..

Note of the author: After the father, the daughter: If you want to know more about me, go to my first post where there is a small game,  just click here!