Wines & Vines

September 2015 Finance Issue

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36 WINES&VINES September 2015 Viewpoint I f you're like me, you went into wine production with idyllic images of yourself traipsing through vineyards, picking grapes right off the stem and sampling wine all day. Who wouldn't want that as a day job? While viticulture has its glamour and perks, there's also a real management side to the industry. To grow your vineyard into a wine haven, you must align the con- flicting business priorities of the marketing and production teams, which are infamous for collaborative tension. In the wine industry, marketing is tasked with keeping a pulse on consumer trends, while production might struggle to put its personal tastes aside. I know firsthand how difficult it can be to navigate these relationships, but I've also learned a few tips for keeping both teams on the same page throughout the wine-devel- opment process: 1 Get everyone in the same room As you plan for new releases, hold a cross-team meet- ing that extends beyond a creative brainstorm to a logistics-based discussion. Ask your marketing and produc- tion teams the following questions: • How many wines are too many for our winery? • How can each department come together and figure out what's important to each of us this year? • What are we missing with our distributor? • How do we get into (or back into) our target stores? You and your teams need to determine whether your new wine will be com- pletely novel or an extension of a cur- rent product. For example, our recent mango-pineapple product launch was an extension of the mango wine we created the previous summer. We had time to go to our distributor and big- box stores and talk to them about what they sought in the product. We walked away with a fixed price point, allow- ing us to fiscally manage the product. I take this practice one step further and always work with at least four peo- ple in my office. Innovative product ideas tend to stem from impromptu conversations, so you need to immerse yourself in those. 2 Find a launch cycle that works for everyone As a wine producer, it's your responsibility to educate the marketing team about the logistics of creating a new wine. Make sure team members recognize each step—from sourcing the fruit and choosing bottles to creating and printing the label and delivering the final product. By giving them a line of sight into production, they'll be more responsive to deadlines and bud- get constraints. I always advocate for 18-month product-launch cycles. Ask yourself, your peers and other industry experts to help you figure out the sweet spot for yours. 3 Balance creativity with logistics Not every great idea will thrill your production team. n ANDREW MEGGITT Bridge the Gap Between Production and Marketing Running a successful wine business goes far beyond cutting grapes off the vine.

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