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BAUERHAUS DESIGN
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Services What's your wine story? Bauerhaus Design believes every winery has a unique story and we want to help you tell it across packaging, print collateral and digital media. Every winery has goals and it is our mission to get you results. What are your goals this year for your winery? Project solutions Bauerhaus Design offers:Marketing About 
We design packaging, print collateral, websites and digital media. Bauerhaus Design specializes in creating brands that get results. What's your wine story? Visual Design with you in Mind. Every winery has a unique story – what's yours? People tell us they love working with us because we hit deadlines, are fun to work with and are also passionate about wine. As a woman owned company, we are your target market and can provide valuable insight into what works and what doesn't. What are your goals this year for your winery? Every winery has their own unique goals and it is the Bauerhaus Design mission to find those and get you results. Sell More Wine!
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Four reasons you need a new website:
Technology is moving so fast, that a website from 3 years ago isn’t going to have the same benefits as now. With the popularity of smart phones, websites are now are built so they are “responsive” which means the size of your website adjusts based on your browser size. That way phone, tablet and desktop users all see a website that is clean and organized.
As a business owner you are constantly trying out new things. What sells best? Which type of customer spends the most money? Because of this, what worked for you 3 years ago, may not be who you are targeting now. By re-designing your website specifically for your targeted niche, you can create specific calls to action and convert more visitors to clients. For more on the benefits on a niche, read 4 ways to get more customers.
A blog is your opportunity to add new content specifically targeting your niche. For example, do you know that many of your clients are also avid golfers? Write to that audience. In “A Website that Works” Mark O’Brien shared this tip – if you add a minimum of 2,000 words per month to your website, Google will automatically place you higher than your competitor that has a static website that never changes. While creating content does take a lot of work, O’Brien estimates that you can easily get 20% of your leads through your website. For more reasons on why you should add a blog, read How to be number 1 on Google. Also, read Why your business should use content marketing.
By using a Content Management System(CMS), like Wordpress, you can easily update your website without having to hire a web designer each time you want to add a photo or change some text. This gives you more control than past websites and also lets you play around with the order of things. For example, do you get more email newsletter sign ups when the sign up button is first in the sidebar? Or when it is at the end of each blog post? With a CMS like Wordpress, you can constantly tweak your website.
While my own website is created in Wordpress and I actively blog, its been over 3 years since it was first created. Since then I’ve refined my niche and want to create a website with more specific calls to action. Just like print ads should always include a call to action, so should your website. No longer can you rely on “if you build it, they will come mentality.” Instead you need to have set steps you want your customer to take to ultimately become a customer.
Do you have a sales funnel set up on your website? Do you know what plan of action you want potential customers to take on your website? If not, contact me at becca@bauerhaus.com for a free 30 minute phone call.
Who is your target market? Often when I ask clients that question, they reply with “All wine drinkers.” The problem with that thought process is that there are actually different segments inside the wine drinking population. Paying attention to who exactly your customers are, will help you create marketing campaigns that precisely target your niche.
For example, if your top wine buyers are “Image Seekers” they will check restaurant wine lists before they dine out so they can research wine scores online. If you want to appeal to this audience, make sure you reference outside reviews and wine scores on your website. Plus, know that Image Seekers are greatly influenced by packaging and design.
If your wine buyers are “Overwhelmed” they find the entire wine buying process confusing. If this is your ideal target market, make more promotional materials to describe your wine and what it pairs with. Have in-store tastings to better reach out to these overwhelmed consumers.
According to Wines and Vines, Constellation, the world’s largest wine seller did a study in 2008 called Project Genome surveying the “purchases of 10,000 premium-wine consumers–defined as those who purchased wine priced at $5 and higher–over an 18-month period. While the first Project Genome study asked online survey participants to recall their wine purchases during the last 30 days, the Home & Habits study tracked the actual purchases of Nielsen Co.’s Homescan® consumer purchase panel, which employs in-home bar code scanners and surveys to map consumer buying behavior across a demographically balance.”
While this study is 5 years old, I think it is still relevant to 2013’s consumers due to the quantity of consumers that were involved in the Project Genome. Plus, since it tracked actual purchases, not just what people remembered. Here is a breakdown of the 6 types of wine buyers: Enthusiasts, Image Seekers, Savvy Shoppers, Traditionalists, Satisfied Sippers and Overwhelmed.
Overwhelmed (23% of consumers):
Image Seekers (20% of consumers):
Traditionalists (16% of consumers):
The Savy Shoppers (16% of consumers):
Satisfied Sippers (14% of consumers):
Wine Enthusiasts (12% of consumers):
Now that you have read all 6 different types of wine buyers, which ones describe your customers? Once you have nailed down which of these buyers is your ideal client, you can create strategies to appeal specifically to your niche.
When designing a website for clients, one of the things we discuss is the importance of email marketing. Email marketing is not just sending your clients a sale email right before Black Friday. Instead it should be a consistent message that you send out monthly or more.
Email marketing is a very low cost way to get customers to your web site each month. But don’t expect one email around the holidays to turn into huge sales. Part of developing customer loyalty is staying in touch, so you are fresh in their minds. You don’t have to run a sale each month, but you can show your latest product or details about a special event or contest. Think of email newsletters as a way for people to get to know you and your brand.
Here are 5 tips on making your email marketing succeed:
1. Make Opt-in easy
Make sure you have an easy Email opt-in on every page of your website. Why? You never know what page people are going to come into your website on. Did they do a Google search for wine events and your calendar popped up? Or were they looking for a specific vintage of Pinot Noir? Again, make it as easy as possible for users to sign up for more info.
2. Increase your web traffic
In order to get more email sign ups, you must increase the amount of people that visit your website. There are two basic ways to increase your web traffic. One, is free with things like blogging, guest posting, Facebook, Twitter, etc. For more on this read “Why your business should use Content Marketing.” The other is paying for Pay per click ads, like Google Adwords or banner ads. The one you choose will most likely be determined on how much money you want to spend and how much time you have.
3. Increase the amount of signups with a Giveaway
One of the easiest ways to increase the number of people that sign up for your email newsletter is to have a giveaway or contest. This can be as simple as a wine pairing suggestion pdf download or a more elaborate “enter for a chance to win a wine fridge.” Many retailers will offer a discount code of a percent off or for free shipping.
4. Autoresponders are your friend
A great way to tell customers about your brand is through an automated email series. This is how it works: A person signs up for your email and you set up your email client, like Mail Chimp, to deliver an email to their inbox each week for 5 weeks. Want to see it in action? Take our Sell More Wine 7 week email course.
5. Content that wins
Once you decide on what you are giving away, make sure your content is the same tone of voice as the rest of your brand. For example, if you are in the wine industry, you could talk about the steps of how your wine is made or have each week discuss your different wine varietals. If you are in education, you could talk about the 7 different focuses in your school. The important thing it to tell your brand story over the 3-7 emails, so you are fresh in the customers mind.
6. Email design
Make sure your email design matches your brand – logo, color scheme, images and tone of voice. If your email doesn’t match the look of your website, signage and brochure – customers may wonder – who are you and how did I get on their email list? Remember, a cohesive brand stays in a persons mind longer than a scatter brained one.
Compared to social media, email marketing is still the number one way retailers are making sales. Plus, it’s low cost and only takes your time. Even if someone doesn’t open your email, you are still getting the brand recognition of your brand name. Part of developing customer loyalty is letting people get to know you and email marketing is a perfect way to do that.
Do you need help with your email marketing? We offer services that include design and writing your content. Email becca@bauerhaus.com to set your 30 minute complimentary consultation.
With more than 50% of people owning smartphones and shopping online being second nature, eCommerce is becoming more and more important to winery growth. People constantly turn to their smartphones, tablets and computers to not only send emails and check Facebook, but to also shop.
With a business and a busy 2 year old, I can’t tell you how many times I have used my smartphone to make purchases. It’s so easy! I run out of shampoo, scan in the barcode and presto, it comes up on Amazon. Two days later I have it in hand.
Think about this scenario: One of your wine regulars realizes that they are drinking the last bottle of their favorite Pinot Noir on a Saturday night. They don’t want to forget, so right then and there they hop online via phone, tablet or computer and want to order another case. Can they do that on your website? Or will you miss the sale, because that person forgets by the next morning?
We offer full website design and development packages based on your needs. Email becca@bauerhaus.com to set up a free 30 minute consultation today!
Let’s face it, just the term SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, seems daunting or almost mystical. Follow along as we go through a 9 point SEO checklist.
Last week in Part 1: How to be number 1 on Google we talked about the power of content. As Mark O’Brian says in Websites that Work: “If you regularly add unique, expertise-based content to your site, then SEO will be easy.”
Remember this is how Google works: You publish your website and Google bots scan your site for content. Next week, the Google bots come back and check for new content. If there is no new content, they come back in a few weeks. If in a couple more weeks they check back and there is still no new content, Google bots make a note to not frequently check your website. Ok, you get it. You need to regularly update your content with at least 2,000 words per month. But what exactly is Google looking for?
A lot of SEO is understanding who your niche is and what they want to read. It also relays to Google what you are all about. Are you a winery in Illinois that is next to a beautiful river? Or are you a winery in France steeped in a tradition of hundreds of years? Your job is to think like a searcher and figure out what keywords best describe you. What describes only you? What will a searcher type in to look for you? Then, use those words through out your site. Do they need to be exact every time? No, but it should convey the same concept.
For example, if I want to appear at the top of search engines for local wineries, you might first think to use the keyword “winery” throughout your site. Now go to one or both of these Free keyword tools and type in your keyword:
If you use one of the above keyword tools, you’ll realize that there are a ton of variations of “winery.” So, think what makes your winery stand out from others? Is it your Chardonnay? Your view? Your location? Tweak your keywords to specify why people should choose you.
Google shows the first 60 to 70 words of your title, so make sure you are using your keywords and/or describing your key difference in the first part of your Title. Using the example above you might say “Illinois winery to host special wine pairing dinner.” Plus, as we talked about in Part 1 (link), headlines with “How To” and “7 tips” get more clicks. Here also is a great article on 10 sure-fire Headline formulas that work. Good titles make you want to find out more or evoke an emotional response.
Here’s a visual of where the title tags, URL/permalinks and H1 tags are located on your browser:
It’s important that yourURL/permalinks show in the browser window (see above example) as text and not a number or session id.
For example, this is the correct way for URL/permalinks to look:
http://www.bauerhaus.com/strategy/why-your-business-should-use-content-marketing/
Notice how the text describes what the page topic is about? This allows both the reader and Google to know more about the content of the page.
Below is an example of the wrong way for a URL/permalink to show, because it does not describe what is on your page or post:
www.bauerhaus.com/post49
If you are in Wordpress, you can easily change this by going to Settings —> Permalinks —> Select Post Name, which will set your permalinks as: http://www.bauerhaus.com/sample-post/
H1 tags are also called Page Titles. See the illustration above on where Page Titles are located in your browser. There should only be one H1 tag on the page, so Google knows what this web page is about. Sub-headings should be set to size h2, h3 or h4. Again, the page title heading should contain words that describe your unique niche. The main reason Google holds this one with importance is because this will clearly tell visitors what this page is about and where they are on your site.
Also note, that your H1 tags and your Title tags can be different, which will give you more text to describe exactly what your niche is.
The Meta description (see below screenshot, the Meta description is the gray text) is the text that shows up in search engines when it displays the results of the person’s search. If no description is specified, Google will naturally take the first few lines from that page. Are your first two lines relevant to the topic? Do they use the keyword you are targeting? If not, create your own Meta description that will help your ideal client find you.
If you are in Wordpress, install the Wordpress SEO by Yoast. This plugin will help walk you through how you should set up each post or page.
For example, below is what the Google snippet preview originally looked like. Notice how if we are targeting “wine book club” we have those keywords in the heading, page title, page url and content. But we do NOT have it in our Meta description.
So, let’s change our Meta description so it also has the words “wine book club.” Now the Wordpress SEO by Yoast tells you that you did indeed use the same keyword across all settings.
Many people rely on photos to search for what they are looking for. For instance, I just did an image search to buy a laptop stand. I knew what I wanted the stand to look like, but wasn’t sure how to describe it with exact words. How does Google do this? You need to make sure when you upload a photo to your website, you put a descriptive Title and a description in the Alt tag. Or if you are using a content management system like Wordpress, add a description to the photo. Think of it this way: search engines cannot see images, but rather read the text you type in for the photo title and description.
It’s important that every website submit a XML sitemap to Google and other search engines. This allows Google to better understand how your website is structured and the order of your most important content. If in Wordpress, Wordpress SEO by Yoast does this for you.
Part of what search engines use to rank you, is the amount of incoming links. I know some companies offer quick, let’s trade links, but really I believe you should only do this if it’s relevant to your company. Having a link on a winery association website to your winery is a no brainer. Having a winery listed on a website that sells bicycles doesn’t make much sense. Unless of course, it’s one of those cool wine bottle holders that you can strap onto your bike. The more websites that link to your page, the higher you will rank in Google and other search engines.
This simple step let’s Google know you are a business and you do exist. Plus, having a Google+ business page will help you show up high in local searches. Some clients say, “But I don’t have office hours, do I still need to have a Google Places page?” Yes, you do. You can simply state on your page, that you are by appointment only. The more info Google knows about you, the more it can promote you. Plus, if you have a Google+ biz page, your Google+ profile will pop in to the right of the search area. See the example of my own “Bauerhaus Design” listing, below:
Want to know more about how to make your business stand out online? Email me at becca@bauerhaus.com to set up a free 30 minute consultation.
In order to show up at the top of Google search, you must BE REAL. People connect with authentic people. They buy from people they know and trust. There are no quick tricks that will last when it comes to Google’s search engine. This guide will take you first through improving your website with content and then next week, we’ll cover steps you should take with SEO.
No tricks!
Websites that just show a bunch of keywords at the bottom of the page, are not going to put you at the top of Google search. Google constantly refines their formula, so if you are relying on tricks it may work one week, but there is no guarantee it will work next week. I was at a networking event once, when a guy said the key to show up on Linkedin or Google was to have his keyword “photographer” show up 12 times in his profile. Next time I saw him he admitted that it worked for 3 days and then it didn’t. Instead of spending your time relying on tricks, website owners should focus their time on their content.
Create content focused on your niche
Businesses can only stand out from other businesses on three strategic levels: price, innovation & by targeting a certain niche market. If you are a small business, you can’t survive by being the cheapest. Innovation only works if you are the only one selling your product. For example, you created a tool that makes crushing apples easier. But realistically the only way most of us can stand out is by picking a niche and creating content people need in the research phase.
Many people, books and websites talk about SEO like its a magical formula, but in reality it all comes to down to compelling content based on your niche. A book I recently read called “A Website that Works” by Mark O’Brien shared this tip – if you add a minimum of 2,000 words per month to your website, Google will automatically place you higher than your competitor that has a static website that never changes. If you often update your content, Google knows to send out its Google bots often to check for new update.
While content marketing does take a lot of work writing content, O’Brien estimates that you can easily get 20% of your leads through your website. No more cold calling and hoping the next networking event gives you your next big break. And really the information you are writing is what you are most likely already telling your clients in person, by phone or Skype. You know why your product or service is better than the competitor, so think of a blog as a letter to your potential client.
But this only works if you pick a niche and specialize in creating content that your targeted niche wants to know. This can be in the form of a blog, video, ebooks, podcasts or even a webinar.
Have a blog
A blog is the BEST resource you have to get to the top of search engines. Google rewards the websites that publish at least 2,000 words per month. Creating content that brings people to your website is called Content marketing. Wouldn’t it be great if you could get 20% of your leads online? With a regular blogging platform it can.
To illustrate how this works, let’s take a real world example from my own website. My most popular page is “How much does a logo cost?” Why is it the most popular page? Because I chose a headline that people are actually typing into Google. When customers fill out my contact form asking for a logo design estimate and I ask how they found me – the most common answer is “I googled ‘How much does a logo cost’ and read your article & liked the way you explained it.” What is the phrase that your customers are typing in about you?
Think of a blog as a way for you to get free advertising. While a Facebook ad will get you X results for 30 days, blog posts will last a lifetime.
Tell your brand story
Part of the amazing thing about blogs, is it allows you to tell your brand story every week. Part of a brand story is the tone of voice and blogging is the perfect place to let this shine. Is your company personality fun & geeky? Write that way. Is it more of a hippie cultural where anything goes? Write that way. Just make sure it matches the same message you convey in person, in your marketing materials and in social media.
Your website needs to sound well, human. I just read a book called “The Story Wars” that says that the most successful brands are based on moral myths. The author “offers three simple tools any brand can use to break through, earn fans and become an icon: Be Interesting, Tell the Truth and Live the Truth.” Every human being has a unique story, just like every business has a unique story. Are you telling yours? Read more about How to Create your brand story.
Keywords
Make sure your keywords are listed in the copy on your site. If you are a winery near Chicago and do not have the text that says “winery near Chicago” your site will not show up in search engines when people search for “winery near Chicago.”
For example, one of our clients came to us and asked “What can we do to show up as number one Authorized Disney Vacation Planner in our Collinsville, IL area?” I suggested they blog at least 2,000 words per month and start putting in locations of their clients into their blogs posts. But most importantly make it sound natural. No one wants to read text on a website that sounds like a robot. Now, we are excited to share, they are number one for their key phrase “Authorized Disney Vacation Planner” in her area:
So, how do you find your top keywords? Next week we’ll give you free sources to help you find them.
Many of the most popular articles have three things in common. One, they reference your keywords. Two, they are short and three, many have a number in them or say “How to”. For example, my: 10 ways to increase your web traffic and How to create a fantastic Facebook page.
Before you start any new marketing platform, it is essential that you have an online marketing strategy. This process will help you define your ideal customer, your goal, who is going to manage it, and budget concerns. Is your goal to get people to sign up for your newsletter? Then include an email sign up box through out your content. Do your customers love Facebook? Then make sure you use Facebook Open Graph for commenting and include a Facebook like box with fan’s photos.
You can do this by creating a detailed color-coded calendar or make it as simple as a list of topics to talk about that month. If you work better with deadlines, like I do, you could also put on your calendar “Blog due.” This way I see it on the calendar every day and can brainstorm while I go running or am driving. (Two of my best places for ideas!)
In the next post, we’ll get down to the nuts and bolts of how SEO works and what you need to pay attention to in Part 2.
For almost all of human history we communicated in the oral tradition. Stories were passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years before reading and writing became common place. Every culture or society that exists has passed down powerful myths that are universally shared and explain how the world works.
For the past couple hundred or so years, we have moved away from an oral tradition, but with social media we are starting to move back towards it. Interesting stories are the ones that get shared and go viral. How many times have you seen a funny video or moving story on Facebook and share it with your friends?
I’ve recently been entrenched in the book, Winning the Story Wars: Why those who tell (and live) the best stories will rule the future. Author Jonah Sachs says successful stories have explanation, meaning, story, and ritual. What makes a good story is:
“one that moves people emotionally, replaces facts with characters, speaks to people’s highest values and makes them believe they can be their own hero. The most powerful stories are based on The Hero’s journey, where they start in distress and become the hero.”
Think Star Wars and Harry Potter. People love these movies, because they can see themselves being the hero. Plus, they show the classic good vs. evil. Good standing up for the greater good. Sachs goes on to say:
“In the marketing realm this is called, empowerment marketing. Humans want to stand up for justice. They want to seek truth. They want beauty & self expression.”
Let’s look at an example. Nike, which is ultimate example of empowerment marketing, promotes this message: Just do it. Everything you need is already inside you. Every advertisement or video follows the storyline of you, the average Jane becoming an athlete. Do they say buy our shoes because we are having this great sale? No, they put the power within each person. So, to create a successful wine brand, you need to create a story of empowerment.
Sachs goes into much more detail in his book about what makes a good plot, but basically successful stories are broken down into these different components:
1. Hero:the audience (notice the Hero is not your company, but someone from your audience)
2. Your Brand: You are mentor (For example, Nike telling you to Just do it)
3. Gift to help the hero on his journey (For example, Tom’s shoes 1 for 1 program, where they donate 1 pair of shoes for every one bought)
4. Villain: Your nemesis (Think Darth Vadar. Or Apple pitting against giant Microsoft.)
5. Moral of the story (What lesson is your Hero going to learn?)
6. The Values (What values does this teach your Hero? Drink local and support their community?)
Each of these things will help you define what your true story is and help you stay in the memory of each person that comes across it. Not all empowering brands have a villain, but see below how Chipolte generalizes their villain in the below video. Chipolte’s president posted the following video of his passion for sustainable food when he took back the helm after moving away from his values. See video here.
Make your wine brand human:
In order for people to connect to your brand, people must feel like they know you. As we like to tell our clients, when a visitor comes to your website they should have the same feeling and connection as when they come to your place of business. If you have stunning panoramic views, by all means put that on your home page. If the owner or winemaker is the funniest person you have ever heard, take a video and add it to your website. If your owner was a pilot in Africa, talk about what inspired him to open your company. If your tasting room server can speed recite every wine on your menu in under 30 seconds, spread the word. The more people feel like they are getting to know you, your winery and your staff’s personality, the more connected to your brand they will become. And this is what leads to sales and more importantly your customers spreading the word about how they love your products and services.
Another words, once you create a solid wine brand story keep your story consistent and tell it over multiple channels. Your website, social media, email marketing, wine events, wine club, and if you have the budget print, TV and radio. Think about how Nike might show different athletes, but the core message (Just Do It) is the same across all media.
We can help! We love to help boutique wineries just like yours with their brand stories, marketing, social media, graphic and web design. Take our free 7 week email course, Sell More Wine, to learn how to create your brand and jump start your marketing.
Are you going to be at the Midwest Grape and Wine Conference Feb 7-9? Stop by booth #210 and enter for a chance to win a Kindle Fire!
We want your brand to succeed in 2013! Every winery has a unique story – what's yours? We will help you create a strategic vision to hit your goals, whether they are to sell more wine online or to create more awareness about your special events. Visual Design with you in Mind. Bauerhaus Design provide design of packaging, print collateral, websites and digital media.
Schedule a private 30 minute 1-on-1 session with owner Becca Ritz by emailing becca@bauerhaus.com.
According to The Beverage Information Group, women accounted for 58.1 percent of wine buyers in 2011. So, how come most wines are create by and targeted towards men?
I recently wrote an article for Midwest Wine Press, called Women Prefer Wine with a Story to Tell, that shows three examples of labels targeting women. An excerpt:
While many men look to ratings to give them advice, women are much more influenced by the stories behind the bottle and the entire social experience of wine. In the Sommelier Journal, Liz Thach, who teaches wine classes at Sonoma State University’s School of Business and Economics, said, “Our latest study shows some basis for the idea that men are more influenced by authoritative ratings and the prestige of name brands, whereas women are more concerned with the social experience of drinking wine and the stories behind the bottles, as provided by labels and personal recommendations. Men collect wine, women share it; men use wine to impress others, while women use it to create memories.”
So, when it comes to wine labels, how do women choose? A wine label should communicate your brand, your uniqueness and increase the perceived value of your wine. A wine label is your biggest piece of advertising and the first contact most people will have with your wine. Is your label communicating to women? Using a script font with girly colors is not the answer.
Read more at: http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=features&content=50291&ftitle=Designers%20Take%20On%20Label%20Trends
Copyright © Wines & Vines
1. Have a unique memorable wine label design that compliments your other labels. Many people forget names, but do remember artwork. For example, a friend of mine will often ask her favorite restaurant for the wine with the girl riding a bike.
2. Tell a story that women will want to share. Is your wine label inspired by your trip to Europe? Share it. The story should compliment your brand, whether it’s funny or classy.
3. Ditch the wine ratings. Instead describe what it really tastes like and what mood it will evoke. Girl’s trip to Vegas or a night around the bonfire?
4. Promote an interactive experience.Since the above research shows we women are social, encourage us to share our favorite stories about your wine on Twitter, Facebook or your website.
5. Donate a portion of sales to a favorite charity. Women love to rally behind a good cause.
If you are considering a wine label re-design, remember these four things: Keep it simple, differentiate from your immediate competitors, tell your brand story and have consistent branding. When you don’t have the luxury of personally selling a bottle of your wine, your wine label needs to convince that undecided shopper to “buy me!” and convey your winery’s brand story. What does your wine label say to women?
Do you have plan on targeting women in 2013 with your wine labels? Email becca@bauerhaus.com to schedule your free 30 minute consultation.
Why? Check out these stats from Facebook:
Think about this: your clients are not going to log onto your website everyday, but more than half of all users log on to Facebook in any given day. That is over 400 million people you could potentially reach with a daily status message. Plus, a Facebook fan page offers these advantages:
1. Fan pages are visible to even those without a Facebook profile account. If you send a Twitter message or email with a link, anyone can view the page.
2. Fan pages are indexed outside of Facebook. Meaning, if someone does an online search of your company, this is one more link that will come up.
3. Not sure who your target market is? Facebook fan pages can help you figure that out. Each page keeps statistics of who your followers are and who is participating. It will tell you if they are male or female, their age range, where they are located and what language they speak.
4. With a regular Facebook profile you are limited to 5,000 friends. With a Facebook Fan Page the number of fans is unlimited. This might not be a huge thing if you are just starting out, but always plan for your growth.
5. You can further establish your brand. People do business with people they trust. Social media is all about building the trust over time and Facbook is a great way to do that.
Are you on Facebook or Twitter?
Connect with us on Facebook and for daily tips on growing your brand, follow us on Twitter.
What's on your wine marketing list for 2013? Here are 4 trends that will help your wine business increase sales in 2013. How do you plan on getting the attention of your wine lovers?
Marketing trend #1: Content Marketing
Content is King is a phrase that was often heard in 2012 and will be continued to be focused on in 2013. While a Facebook ad only lasts a limited time, content on your website lasts forever. Think of your website as a bicycle tire - the more spokes leading to the center, the more stable it is. Just like this, the more content and links pointing to your website, the higher it will come up in search engines. As I wrote in my article, "Why your business should use content marketing," content marketing lets your customers find YOU online instead of you having to cold call, send direct mail or hope someone shows up at your store each weekend. By building content people are searching for in Google, you'll become the go to leader of your wine niche.
Marketing trend #2: Social Media
For 2013, social media will continue to play a large role in growing your business. It's not enough to post a message twice a week. Instead focus on having a conversation with your customers. People buy from other people they like, so let your customers get to know you. In 2013, we will also start seeing more engagement through cross-social network promotions. For example, run a contest on Facebook that requires consumers to post photos on a wine based Pinterest board.
Marketing trend #3: Think Mobile
More and more consumers have smart phones and that means, more and more are finding you through Facebook check-in's or Google Maps. Think of this scenario: A wine lover is at a different winery and wants to go to one more before they hit their Bed and Breakfast. What do they do? They get on their phone and search for nearby wineries. For you to come up in Google Maps, you must be registered on Google Plus. It's also essential that your email newsletter and website are mobile friendly. Meaning, your newsletters need to be primarily text based and your website should have a separate mobile platform or be responsive, so it automatically adjust to different browser sizes.
Marketing trend #4: Combine direct mail + email
Recent studies have shown when you combine direct mail with a follow up email, you have a much higher response rate. Think of it this way - you get home from work, you open your mail and you see a wine event you like and you stick it in your "follow-up" pile. Two days later you receive an email newsletter from the same wine company, while you are in front of the computer and you sign up immediately. While regular email newsletters are important, repeating the message on Facebook, Twitter and direct mail can push you a step ahead of the competition.
Do you have a plan for marketing for 2013? Email becca@bauerhaus.com to schedule your free 30 minute consultation.
Having an easily recognizable brand will help you stay in the forefront of your customers mind. Bauerhaus Design believes every winery has a unique story and we want to help you tell it across packaging, print collateral and digital media. Every winery has goals and it is our mission to get you results.
Strong Brand = Strong sales
Every winery should have a brand, even if you are a one person company. Why? In order for consumers to make a purchase, they need to feel an emotional trust in your product or service. Below you’ll learn how to create this perceived trust and loyalty from your customers.
What is a brand?
A brand is not just your logo. Everything you do as a winery influences how people perceive your “brand.” Your history, who your customers are, your reputation, and what the press says about you. It’s how your employees act and how they answer the phone. It’s the logo, color palette and images you use. It's essential that when you do or create anything for your winery, you keep in mind what makes you unique.
How do you create your brand?
Every winery needs to be able to fill in the blanks in the following sentence: Only (XYZ winery) delivers (unique differentiating benefit) to (target audience). For instance, there are a million different Pizza places out there, but Domino's skyrocketed because they promised "30 minutes or it's free." Not sure of what you offer that is better and different? We'll show you how in the next sections.
Know your audience
Who is your target market? What do they do for a living? What do they read or watch? How old are they? What is their personality? How do you find out? Ask customers that come in to fill out a survey while they participate in a tasting. These answers will help you figure out who your target audience is and in turn how they like to be marketed to.
To read more, sign up for our our FREE seven week email course,“Sell More Wine!” to jump start your wine marketing for 2013.
We love helping our clients reach their goals, whether it is to increase bridal events or to increase Facebook followers. Bauerhaus Design provides logo design, marketing, social media, graphic design and web design. Email becca@bauerhaus.com to set up your free 30 minute consultation on how we can help you grow!
Women like to partner and support other women business owners. Web design is no different. As a female business owner, I understand you have a million things to do and think about – what’s for dinner, whose picking the kids up or if your next business deal is really going to go through. The last thing you need to do is pile on your plate one more thing, but you really really need a new website.
This is where I come in. While I design websites for both female and male clients, I’ve found many female business owners or female marketing managers come to me because I am a woman web designer. Plus, I am someone they can trust to hit their deadlines, stay within the budget and return phone calls and emails promptly.
According to She-conomy, while over 85% of all brand purchases are made by women, amazingly only 3% of advertising agency creative directors are women! Thinking back to my agency days, I don’t doubt this fact.
I know that women business owners may make changes to their website after the kids go to sleep, in the middle of the night when you can’t sleep, or while waiting at the airport from your phone. And guess what? The websites I create are in a Wordpress Content Management System that can be easily updated anytime of the day. Plus, there is even an app to make changes from your phone.
Can men design and market to women, sure. But I’ve found many of my female clients like supporting another woman. Plus, if your target market is primarily female, why not go to the direct source? Below are a few things that clients regularly tell me that they really like about working with a female web designer:
• Beautiful designs that appeals to female consumers
• Easy to update & make changes
• Return phone calls promptly
• Hit deadlines
• Fun to work with
• Stay within estimated budgets
• Midwest based, so reasonably priced
What type of web design work do I create?
• Custom Wordpress website designs for women
• Custom Wine websites designed and integrated into your favorite e-commerce platform: Vin65, Magento, WP E-commerce, etc.
• Custom designer jewelry websites with e-commerce
• Custom landing pages
Plus, we also provide these services to create a cohesive brand for your company:
• Logo design
• Print collateral (brochures, rack cards, etc.)
• Wine label design
• Marketing
• Social media
Here are some comments from my clients:
“Becca is extremely creative and dependable. When Becca says a project will be done…it is done and within budget. I would highly recommend Becca for any graphic/visual project. She has a great, natural talent.”
“We contracted with Rebecca to design our new company logo. I was so impressed at how she was able to capture the essence of our business in an elegant yet simple visual depiction. She listened carefully to our needs, quickly and expertly created a range of options, and responded quickly and expertly to our comments and questions. I highly recommend her!”
Read to get started? Click here to tell me more about your company and project. Or check out my portfolio.
A wine label should communicate your brand, your uniqueness and increase the perceived value of your wine. A wine label is your biggest piece of advertising and the first contact most people will have with your wine. Is your label communicating who you are?
Yes, your wine is delicious and others often tell you so. But who are you really targeting and how do you get those people to buy your wine? How do you tell consumers that are standing in the wine aisle “pick me!” First, you must decide who is your target market and what will they be buying your wine for? Do you want your wine bought for immediate consumption, aged with collectors, given as a gift to a boss, or as a present for a girlfriend’s house-warming?
Here are a few of the main categories of wine labels:
1. The Traditional/conservative wine label designs:
These wine labels often have a pen and ink drawing of a chateau or a small town, paired with a serif or old style font. This style communicates we are classic, well-known, prestigious and often a sense of nostalgia. If you were going to look into a collector’s wine cellar, you would most likely see many wine labels that follow the below pattern:
Take for instance the wine label we designed for Thousand Oaks Winery, located in Patton, Missouri. We combined a serif font with a high school photo of the winery owner’s wife. The owner wanted to give tribute to the summer they met and Theresa’s Indian heritage.
2. Type focused wine labels
Type focused wine labels can help communicate a lot of information. Words that describe these type of wine labels are often: cultured, creative, aesthetic, refined, and elegant. Below, the label for Warehouse Winery, in many respects, the plethora of information on the label resembles multi-faceted history of “Renaissance man” winemaker and winery owner Billy Smith. During his career, Smith has been a sculptor, photographer, potter, an industrial real estate developer and property manager. Now his urban winery has won over 20 wine awards in three years. For a full review of this wine label, read the article “Warehouse Label stocked with Treasure” I wrote for Midwest Wine Press.
3. Wine label design with a sense of humor
Let’s face it, many winery owners are hilarious to be around. A wine label can be a perfect place to translate that humor, like the below Oliver Winery’s Bean Blossom Hard Cider shows. The bottles were drawn by illustrator Kevin Pope and are part of an entire series.
4. Artist Series Wine Label designs
Another type of wine label design is having an artist series for your winery. This shows the public that you support local artists and many times can turn into collector additions. Elk Creek Winery in Kentucky did an entire spin off series featuring marine artist Carey Chen. How does marine translate to Kentucky? The owner is also an avid sport fisherman. This label also appeals to the demographic looking forward to vacation snorkeling, diving and fishing. To read my review on the Riesling label, visit Midwest Wine Press for the article I wrote “Elk Creek Winery hooks Marine artist for Labels.”
5. Elegant wine label design
Elegant wine label designs will normally have a rich color palette and have minimal design, another words lots of white space. These labels describe your winery as classical, beautiful, delicate, fancy, graceful, majestic, refined, and stylish. Elegant wine labels can also be alluring, ornate and peaceful. I really like how the below design positions the ornateness of the letter vs. the clean lines of the tree and type.
These are just a few niches of wine label design. If you are considering a wine label re-design, remember these four things: Keep it simple, differentiate from your immediate competitors, tell your brand story and have consistent branding. When you don’t have the luxury of personally selling a bottle of your wine, your wine label needs to convince that undecided shopper to “buy me!” What does your label say about your wine & winery? Email me at becca@bauerhaus.com to set up a free 30 minute consultation.
1. Pick a Niche
A niche let’s you attract targeted readers to your website. It let’s you become known as the expert. Are you the expert in your field? St. James Winery from Missouri has risen to the largest winery in the state by promoting itself as the “fruit wine” leader. All of their materials in print and online focus towards this goal. While it is good to have variety, being known for a type of wine or specific product makes it easier for customers to remember you. If you know your Chambourcin or Vidal Blanc is the best, don’t be afraid to make that your focus in your marketing.
2. Know your current customers
How do you get more customers? The answer often lies with your existing customer base. Who are your most loyal happy clients? Call them, ask a few questions and then listen. Find out their exact demographic and what they like to do in their free time. This will give you ideas on what type of partnerships or places you should be advertising. Are your clients 5k runners? Or are they huge Iron Chef fans? Are they more interested in local Bed and Breakfasts or are do they dream of traveling the French countryside? Did they google a search term to find you or where they a referral? These answers will help narrow down where your marketing focus should be.
3. Partner with a company
In order for this to work, you need to know your niche and partner with a company with similar demographic and have an already established database of contacts. This could be anything from partnering with a nonprofit or a food vendor. Why would they partner with you? In return either give them a portion of the sales or give them free products/gift cards in return.
I just read a great example of a partnership between a BMW dealer and a women’s boutique on Entrepreneur.com:
One startup that successfully used this technique was a high-end women’s clothing boutique. The store arranged to give a free silk kimono to every female customer of a local BMW dealership who brought in a letter sent by the dealership offering the gown as a gift for their past patronage. The kimono had to be picked up at the boutique.
More than 600 women responded, picking up $100 kimonos that cost the store just $16 apiece. Those 600 women spent an average of $400 on other merchandise during their initial visit. Do the math, and you’ll see that the startup spent $9,600 to generate some $240,000 in sales–and, not incidentally, to begin building its own clientele.
4. Write weekly on your website
I read a great quote the other day in Inc. magazine by Hubspot founder Brian Halligan, talking about how it’s not necessary to spend tons of money on online ads, like Adwords:
A smart blog post or online tool, he argues, can attract new customers for years to come: “Success is about the width of your brain, not the width of your wallet.”
I really love that quote! Blog posts will work for your company forever, while Google Adwords is a one and done deal. Instead of spending all that money on online advertising, try spending your hourly rate writing a blog. For example if you bill $50 an hour for your services and normally buy $300 in Adwords, try this: Spend 6 hours writing a few blog posts about common question your clients may have. To read how my own business has grown through my blog, read Why your business should use Content marketing.
For 5 more ideas, read How to increase online retail sales. Need marketing ideas or help with branding your own company? Contact me at becca@bauerhaus.com
Is your brochure design up to par with your industry? Does your brochure design make you look like a professional? Does your brochure say “trust me” and you’ll be around next year to new clients? We only get one chance at a first impression, so make sure it tells your brand story at first glance.
In this digital age, more and more companies are relying on email, social media and websites to tell their company story. But there are certainly times when a company will still use brochures. Maybe it’s an in person one-on-one meeting or you are at a trade show or you want to tell people that visit your location about an upcoming event.
Let’s break down the most important elements to a brochure:
Original cover
One of the most important elements to any brochure is the cover. You only have a second to capture the interest of the passerby. Does it make you want to open it and find out more? Does it look professional, like you are the expert in your field? Does it contain brand elements that are consistent with your other materials?
Compelling content
Once you open the brochure, it’s important that you have compelling photos and content. Does the text make you want to find out more? Do the photos represent the beauty of your location? Is it age appropriate? Is your brochure typo free and grammatically correct? Does it tell your brand story?
A call to action
Every piece of marketing material should have a call to action, including your brochure. Just like when they visit your website and you direct them to sign up for your email newsletter, your brochure should likewise include a “call now” or “email for a free estimate.” Two methods I use for my company, include directing people to sign up for a free 7 week wine marketing email course with a QR code, plus for general email subscribers I offer a free workbook on how to build your brand.
Consistent branding
The 5 branding elements – logo, color scheme, fonts, tone of voice and images – should be consistent on all of your branding, including your brochures. This is especially important if there are multiple pages to your brochure. The same color scheme should be used throughout, as well the same font, style of photography and layout. For example, on the below Impex brochure, while the photos at the top change, the space it occupies is the same. You’ll also notice that the layout, fonts, color scheme and tone of voice also repeat.
Do you need a professionally designed brochure? Email Becca at becca@bauerhaus.com for a free estimate!
Logo design is not just about making an identity that is visually appealing, but it also needs to be easily recognizable, scalable, readable, memorable, work in black and white as well as color, and be relevant to your audience. It’s tough work being a logo!
Part of being a good logo designer, is being a good listener. A good logo designer will ask the general questions about your company, like “what are your goals?” as well as questions like, “if you were a brand, what kind of car would you be?” They will also listen and read between the lines.
Coming up with a logo that the client adores and meets the above is a hard task that I truly love. It’s part detective, part artist and part formula. You must take into consideration what the client wants, but also be able to suggest more fitting logo options that will wow you, the client.
Each logo should be:
Simple
I have always had the design philosophy of K.I.S.S., or Keep it Simple, Stupid. I think this may have developed from growing up with a father who in his spare time made Shaker styled furniture with clean lines and only “necessary” pieces of wood, like dovetailed corners.
Just like Shaker style furniture only uses “necessary” pieces of wood, a logo design should only have “necessary” artwork in it. Another words, part of my time is debating – is that line or dot really necessary to make that a great logo? What elements are going to convey this company in a simple visual depiction?
Many business owners can easily get caught up in putting too much in a logo. For example, a business owner could make kitchen sinks, so they want that in the logo. But what happens if the owner later decides to also sell kitchen counter tops? Now, they’ll need a new logo.
Let’s look at some of the most well known brands – Think Apple, Fedex, Nike, and Target. These logo designs are simple, timeless and memorable. Another important point – they also don’t show what the company’s sell.
Easy to read
There are a million fonts out there, but that doesn’t mean they will all work in a logo. Logo type should be easily readable within the first glance. Plus, the easier it is to read, the more memorable it can be. Consumers are bombarded everyday with hundreds and thousands of logo’s each day, and if they can’t read it in seconds, your company will be forgotten.
Try this with your logo: Tape your logo on the wall and walk past it. If you can’t read it, its not going to be effective on a sign, in a supermarket aisle or on a shirt.
Scalable
Can you read that icon at the web favicon size of 16×16 pixels? Does it look good on a billboard and a T-shirt? A logo must work across all media and be easily identifiable.
Black and White
Even though we don’t use fax machines that often (ok, I don’t at all), it is still very important for a logo to work in black and white. Why?
First, in my experience, if the logo does not work in black and white, it’s not going to work in color. This is why when I take my client’s through my logo design process, the first round I show are logo’s designed in black and white.
Second, it’s cheaper to print one color on promotional items. Plus, there will be cases when a vendor or partner specifically asked for a one color logo. One place I see them all the time are on 5k race shirts and trade show booklets.
Relevant to your audience
In order for a logo to work, it must be relevant to your target market. A logo that is designed for 10 year old boys is going to look different than one targeted towards women in their 30’s who love wine. So, before a logo can be designed for your company, you need to be able to describe your ideal audience with specific keywords. Is your company modern and sleek? Or is family oriented? These categories alone can produce drastically different results.
Memorable
If someone needs a bottle of their favorite Norton wine, do they think of your wine shop? In order to get past all of your competitors, your logo needs to be easily distinguished from your competitors.
Part of a larger brand
Every company has a brand and it’s not just your logo. The following core branding elements need to be on all print and online collateral: logo, color scheme, fonts, images and tone of voice. Remember, consistency over time creates trust, which in turn creates sales. And isn’t increased sales the goal of most every business owner?
Want to know more about logo design? Read How much does a logo Cost? Or feel free to browse my logo design portfolio.
Content Marketing lets your customers find YOU online instead of you having to cold call, send direct mail or hope someone shows up at your booth each weekend.
To illustrate how this works, let’s take a real world example from my own website. My most popular page is “How much does a logo cost?” Why is it the most popular page? Because I chose a headline that people are actually typing into Google. When customers fill out my contact form asking for a logo design estimate and I ask how they found me – the most common answer is “I googled ‘How much does a logo cost’ and read your article & liked the way you explained it.” What is the phrase that your customers are typing in about you?
Joel Comm, an online marketing consultant, describes the modern consumer’s four step decision-making process as: “Like me. Know me. Trust me. Buy from me.” Today’s consumers want to know your story and what makes you unique before they buy from you.
Taking Joel Comm’s steps, let’s break it down into 6 steps:
1. Like me:The potential client reads your article they found through a Google Search & like the way you explain your product or service.
2. Know me:After the first article they peruse your website for related material and recognize you are the expert and thought leader in your niche.
3. Trust me: Potential customers voluntarily give you their email address
4. Trust me: Over time you develop a relationship through compelling content delivered to their inbox or with social media.
5. Buy from me: The potential thinks of you first, when they are ready to buy.
6. Analyze & Adjust
Let’s break those steps into more detail:
Like me: Create content focused on your niche
Businesses can only stand out from other businesses on three strategic levels: price, innovation & by targeting a certain niche market. If you are a small business, you can’t survive by being the cheapest. Innovation only works if you are the only one selling your product. For example, you created a tool that makes vine management easier. But realistically the only way most of can stand out is by picking a niche and creating content they need in the research phase.
Many people, books and websites talk about SEO like its a magical formula, but in reality it all comes to down to compelling content based on your niche. A book I recently read called “A Website that Works” by Mark O’Brien shared this tip – if you add a minimum of 2,000 words per month to your website, Google will automatically place you higher than your competitor that has a static website that never changes. If you often update your content, Google knows to send out its Google bots often to check for new update.
While content marketing does take a lot of work writing content, O’Brien estimates that you can easily get 20% of your leads through your website. No more cold calling and hoping the next networking event gives you your next big break.
But this only works if you pick a niche and specialize in creating content that your targeted niche wants to know. This can be in the form of a blog, video, ebooks, podcasts or even a webinar.
Know me: What’s your Story?
You know your niche is wine, now what? It’s not enough to just simply insert keywords into your website. Your website has to tell your brand story to your niche and sound well, human. I’m currently reading a book called “The Story Wars” that says that the most successful brands are based on moral myths. Think of Star Wars: Good vs. the Dark Side. The author “offers three simple tools any brand can use to break through, earn fans and become an icon: Be Interesting, Tell the Truth and Live the Truth.” Every human being has a unique story, just like every business has a unique story. Are you telling yours?
Trust me: Lead nurturing
Once you get customers to your website (great job by the way!), now you need to engage them. They like the article content that brought them to your website, but they aren’t ready to buy just yet. This is where it is very important to have Call to Actions on your website, to convert your readers to followers. We often tell our website design and development customers that before we even start on the design phase, we need to know what the goal is for the website. Is it to get more email newsletter sign ups or for more webinar sign ups?
A few call to actions are:
1. Subscribe to our Newsletter
2. Register for a webinar
3. Get in touch with us
4. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter
A call to action is not a “contact us” page. You want a call to action to encourage an ongoing relationship and to do that you need the viewers contact information, whether that is their email or through social media.
Trust me: Develop your relationship
Once you have the customer in your email funnel, it’s essential that you create regular content that is delivered to them at least once a month. Even if they don’t open the email, you will be reminding the client that yes, you are the ideal person to help them with the product or service when they are ready to buy.
If they also are following you on Twitter or like you on Facebook, make sure you interact with them. I just heard this comparison about dating and social media by Gary Vaynerchuk: Don’t propose on the first date! Another words, get to know your buyers and don’t lead with sales talk. It’s human nature for people to prefer to be educated instead of sold to.
Buy from me: Customer conversion
When customers are in the researching stage they turn to Google. But when they are ready to buy who are they going to think of first? The company whose website they were on 4 months ago, but they can’t remember the name? Or the company that has been delivering regular emails to them throughout the year?
Last step: Analyze and adjust
Maybe you have great content, but you aren’t getting 20% of leads to sign up for your email or webinar. What are you missing? Log into Google analytics regularly to see the whole picture. How many visitors do you have each month? Set up goals in Google Analytics to see which pages convert the best and the worst and adjust.
Is your website bringing in leads each month?
Does your website follow this content marketing formula to get more leads? Or is your website stale with static content? Email owner Becca Ritz at becca@bauerhaus.com to set up a free 30 minute consultation.
Yesterday I read an article in Inc. magazine that said 62% of small businesses don’t send marketing emails. Wow, that is a huge number! This got me thinking – do wineries realize how consistent email marketing can increase their sales?
Let’s take a look at a couple of the pluses:
1. Keeps your brand in your customer’s mind
Email newsletters are great at reminding your customers that you are the expert in the local wine industry. Even if your customer doesn't read your email newsletter, they are still going to see your winery or company name each month in their email inbox. This way when someone is ready to buy, they will think of you first.
2. Helps build a relationship with your customer
If a customer has never met you, you need to build their trust online before they will make a purchase. How does one develop trust towards a company? Just like a personal relationship, customers want to get to know you. In your email newsletter, share the owners bio, the winemaker's philosophy and the story behind your wine names. When people read articles they like and believe in, this builds trust and makes people more comfortable to make a purchase.
3. PR helps build credibility
By letting your customers know bloggers and media outlets think your wine is fantastic, this also helps build your credibility - which in turn translates to more sales. Don't be shy about tooting your own horn. Talk about that recent wine award you received. Feature links to stories written by news media and wine bloggers.
4. Showcase your new products
An email newsletter is a great way to introduce your products one by one to your email list. We are all guilty of getting distracted by the day to day running of a business and forgetting, that not everyone "knows" about the cool new t-shirts we just got in. Do your customers know your full wine list? Customers may only be ordering your Norton and not realizing they would also love your new Vidal Blanc. Set up a year long calendar to help you plan out which products to feature.
5. Email analytics
Email newsletters can also help you narrow your service or product offering to what sells best. Log into your email client and view what your customers are clicking on. For instance, one of our clients found out that a new jewelry piece she had in an email newsletter got clicked on 10 times more than 3 other pieces that were also featured. This lead us to feature that piece of jewelry in a new upcoming print ad in a magazine. So, also think of your email newsletter as low cost market research.
Through the above, email marketing can increase your sales by helping you better target your customers and staying fresh in their minds. Plus, as you build that level of trust with your customer they are more apt to use your service and recommend you. And aren’t referrals the best form of flattery for a business?
But remember email marketing should just be one part of a larger marketing program. It can be tempting to put all of your energy into email newsletters, because after all, they are rather inexpensive. But the most effective marketing plans use a variety of advertising – online ads, print ads, pay per click, direct mail, TV ads and radio – to drive traffic to their business.
Contact becca@bauerhaus.com to set up a free 30 minute consulation to discuss your specific needs.
Do you have an online e-commerce store, but aren’t sure how to increase sales? Many wineries and wine related businesses rely on Holiday sales to provide up to 40 percent of their income, according to the according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the nation’s largest retail trade association. But what about the rest of the year?
Unfortunately, if you build an e-commerce site, people don’t automatically flood your website. The philosophy of "If you build it, they will come" is not normally true. So, how do you get customers to buy? While large retailers use TV, magazine ads, and radio, those avenues can be expensive for small businesses. Below are several tips on increasing Online retail sales, while not breaking your advertising budget.
Think of yourself on a crowded city sidewalk with large signs every way you turn. Now think of a country road with one sign on it. Which one would get your attention more effectively? Now translate that idea to your website. If you have a busy pattern with lots of neon type or type in many different colors, are people going to know where to click? Or what you sell? No, they will be overwhelmed and leave your site.
But if you have a clean site, such as Amazon.com, you know exactly where to click or where to search. There are so many different websites that sell the same product as yours, so do everything in your power to get them to stay. Keep it simple. Have an end marketing goal for each viewer - do you want to get more e-mail newsletter signups? Or spend a minimum of X dollars? For more design tips, read 7 tips on creating a stellar web layout.
E-mail marketing is a very low cost way to reach your customers each month. But don’t expect one email around the holidays to turn into huge sales. This is the perfect time of year to re-visit your marketing goals and make that monthly or weekly e-mail newsletter happen. Part of developing customer loyalty is staying in touch, so you are fresh in their minds. You don’t have to run a sale each month, but you can show your latest product or details about a special event or contest. For more on e-mails, read Can email newsletters increase your sales?
In order for your Online sales to go up, you obviously need online visitors. While every site should use SEO (search engine optimization) key words to rate high on Google’s search engines, another way to gain customers fast is to use Online Advertising. You set the price per day you want to hit. Can you only afford $5 per day? Two of the most successful I have found for my customers are Google Adwords and Facebook ads. Hit two birds with one stone and promote an upcoming festival or event at your winery.
In this Inc.com article, they state that more and more customers are coming to expect free shipping. Plus, if you offer free shipping, the average customer buys more of your products. Are you not a fan of offering discounts? Try this strategy: when someone signs up for your email newsletter, offer them a Free shipping code. That way you aren’t giving away something for nothing in return. You’ll gain their contact information for e-mails down the road and possible future sales.
More than 50% of people with Facebook accounts check their account everyday. Take advantage of this by posting weekly messages that can range from look at our new wine, a special event, and most importantly engage your customers and ask for their feedback. For more information on a social media plan, read How to create an Online Marketing strategy.
An event or contest doesn’t have to be just be part of your in-store wine retail strategy. You can have a one day only online event on Facebook, blog or create a custom landing page on your website with the info. By having a contest or event, you can also utilize another great low cost way to get more business – a press release with all of the details. If you get picked up by your local News channel or paper, this can be a great way to increase your traffic to your website.
Bauerhaus Design loves helping our winery clients reach their goals, whether it is to increase bridal events or to increase Facebook followers. We provide logo design, marketing, social media, graphic design and web design. Email becca@bauerhaus.com to set up your free 30 minute consultation on how we can help you grow!
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