When economic times are tight – tighten your message!

December 01, 2008
Ellen Hunt, Partner, Scion Advisors

Communicating the uniqueness of your brand is always important, but when tough economic times hit it becomes absolutely critical. Now is not the time to expand product lines, experiment with new ideas or add brands. Now is the time to tighten up the messaging on your existing brand(s) and to find ways to maintain your customers’ loyalty through what is bound to be a challenging couple of years (see article, Five common brand building mistakes).

Consumer confidence is way down, but wine lovers are not going to stop drinking wine. What they often do in this type of environment is reduce spending, look for ways to economize, dine more at home and do less experimenting. How does this impact your brand? That depends on the length of time you have been in the market and how strong your brand presence is. If your brand is well established, this is a time to solidify your stronghold, focus resources on your existing trade and consumer relationships, and find more ways to reinforce customer loyalty.

For less established brands the best strategy, although certainly not the easiest, is to find additional ways to reach out directly to consumers. At present, distributors are pulling back and trying to fulfill the commitments they have made to their most profitable customers. You can pound on distributor relationships daily; however know that you will find this approach quite frustrating and ineffective.

Having a brand strategy is essential right now
Most winery owners and executives cannot articulate their competitive advantage. Your competitive advantage is the main reason customers choose your wine over your competition. Get your team together and re-visit your brand strategy, specifically your brand messaging. Ask your team: what is our competitive advantage? Anyone in your company who touches or sees your product needs to be able to clearly communicate your winery’s advantages (see article, Four ways to identify your winery’s competitive advantage).

Ask your team: is our brand message crystal clear and can everyone in our organization communicate it effectively? If not, now is the time to get it honed to a level of clarity you have never had before. Once you do that, then review every marketing and sales vehicle that communicates your brand messaging and make sure that it is strongly aligned with the essence of your brand. In highly competitive times, you don’t have the luxury of sending out an ambiguous or ineffective message – your competitors who have this nailed are going to keep or win more consumers.

This brand review should include everything that references your brand message: all your printed materials, your website, your packaging, your media-related materials, your tasting room signage. If it is not clear and consistent, make it consistent and make sure that all your employees are “on message”. This includes everyone, not just the people in sales and marketing. Any improvements in brand messaging also need to be communicated to your distributors and trade partners so they are able to talk about your brand in a manner consistent with your direct communications with media and consumers.

Why is messaging so important?
In periods of high growth, even marginally defined brands with good quality wines can prosper. But in tough times, only those with both high quality wines and well-differentiated brands will be successful. Wine brands that were riding the wave of good times will find themselves floundering when the market is not so forgiving.

How do you know if you are on the right track?
Ask your consumers and trade relationships for feedback. Most wineries conduct market and customer surveys when things are going well, since it is human nature to ask for feedback when we think we are doing a good job. Few of us ask for feedback when things are not on track.

On everyone’s mind is how to adjust to this period of economic recession. This a period when trade customers are making adjustments to their business strategy and consumers are making adjustments to their spending strategy. They are looking to deplete their inventories and manage cash flow carefully. Consider that in today’s competitive marketplace many retail and restaurant accounts can easily replace your brand on their list, with another brand of similar quality and style from their inventory.

You need to know what your customers are thinking and how they are reacting so you can modify your sales strategy accordingly. While it seems extravagant to spend money on surveys right now, this acquired knowledge can put you miles ahead of the competition at a time when it matters most to the health of your brand. Once you know what your target customers are thinking, you can focus your direct marketing efforts where you have the greatest opportunity for success.

Need help weathering the storm?
It is often difficult for winery owners and their teams to assess the effectiveness of their brand messaging without the perspective of an objective third party. Similarly, surveys are most effective when conducted by an outside company so that the most accurate, honest feedback about your brand can be obtained.

This is where Scion Advisors can help. Our team of seasoned professionals can help you work through your brand strategy and deliver stronger results. We assess the effectiveness of your communications. We survey consumers and key trade to give you the feedback required. We help you adjust your brand positioning.

Call us to set up a meeting where we can review your specific situation and give you an outline of how we can help you weather these tough times. We have a proven approach to help you properly assess your business, generate a clear vision of your desired future, and prepare strategically to build a business that is sustainable.

Copyright 2008 Scion Advisors DBA. All rights reserved.