In the world of wine, when the information is known about Social Media and what this tool can do for them, the initial idea to be drawn from this is that it seems like a proposal to substitute the personal presence activities by the Social Media. I personally do not think in that way, but quite the opposite. Both systems are complementary for two reasons:
1) Social network and Internet can be a filter and a tremendously powerful channel of communication, also a way of finding people with specific affinities. If someone, under certain circumstances gets acquainted with specific individuals through the network, and from those contacts, in function of their common interests, then the intention arises to meet with them personally. In another cases, if you meet someone in person, then you maintain afterwards the relationship via Internet.
2) There are situations were being personally present is better than Internet and Social Media. Basically what it means is that being in person, one has the ability to capture the attention of an audience, the ability to convey emotions and experience what men kind have been relating to each other from thousands of years . This experience allows us to know if we like a person in the first two minutes of conversation and if we are willing to learn more about that person and if we would consider doing business together.
At first, what new technologies have worked out, is in the way of trying to match them up with the personal presence way of activity, giving the emphasis in what Internet communications improves over those previous personal means of transferring information. New technologies have improved a lot, but will probably never fulfill and replace what brings the personal presence.
The first ones to recognize that Internet brings a lot but not everything are those Internet users who get together in many events and attend in person to conferences related to this subject. They are aware that the information received directly in person, is different from the information they would receive virtually, because it gives a chance to interact personally with other internet users.
There are two kinds of worlds that still are not very close together:
Hay dos mundos, que aún no están muy cerca, la de aquellos que no ven más que la tecnología y que todas las soluciones tienen que venir de la mano de la tecnología, y que, de alguna manera, casi diría que desprecian cualquier tipo de comunicación que no tenga que ver con la tecnología. Y un segundo mundo en el que están aquellos que viven en el mundo convencional, que las nuevas tecnologías les suenan a chino y que se asustan cada vez que se les acerca un freaky a ponerle la cabeza como un bombo.
Those people who see nothing else but technology and think that all solutions have to come from the hands of technology. And a second world of those people who belong to the conventional way of living, in which the new technologies will sound like Chinese to them and they will feel scared every time they are being approached by a freaky, who will end up putting their heads like nuts.
The world is neither one way nor the other, but a combination of the two, and with time, gradually will appear more and more people who enjoy both worlds.
To make this go faster, it has to be accomplished a greater transfer of people to the mixed zone. Agencies have to propose solutions both in the conventional and the digital way, in a full understanding that digital technology is not unable to coexist with the conventional way. After the passage of time, people will apply both systems by simply considering its effectiveness and bringing out their own ability and willingness to adapt themselves to the proposed changes suggested by the new technologies.
The digital approach is not better than the conventional one. In a similar way, riding a motorbike is no better than cycling, it all depends on what you want do.
How about if you enjoy the good things that have both worlds?
This image comes from: destinoespana.com
Thi post in Spanish: En Social Media (Internet) para ser más efectivo en el mundo real.
I do not really know how did it happen, but this is the way how I see it.
In the past there were telephones being used to do business, but mainly at local level. With the invention of the telephone, there was a huge boom in the economical activity. And when viewed from afar, it seemed that everyone came up on using it at the same time, but for sure it did not happen as seen. At first, someone came up to use it as a communication tool, but there were few telephones to reach communications, so the tool lacked effectiveness. With the passage of time, it began to have more and more telephone users.
The smarter companies, not necessary the best ones, simply the most innovative, (i.e., early adopters), plunged themselves on using this device that allowed them to contact their customers at remote distances.
These more innovative companies were approaching to people with whom their own competitors not even imagined that they existed and probably they weren’t offering better products. And then they started to sell. The use of the telephone did not mean being able to sell their product regardless of good image or quality. But of course, they had an advantage over their local competitors, as they were not an option for those new consumers.
And what were the new consumers doing after receiving a telephone communication? Some of them purchased merchandise and used the telephone to inform their acquaintances, about the new kind of suppliers that were using the telephone as means of communication, Were those innovative companies doing more business? Probably not much at the beginning, but gradually sales kept up getting better. Sales improved so well that the word of the usage of a new communication system, spread around, and after a while, all companies had to have telephones to do all the transaction business. What all this implied in business? Several things: 1) An award for the innovative companies that started to sell earlier and more quantity than others that followed them up in the new sales technique. Also they learned the do’s and don’ts of the media (get mistaken soon) 2) A general increase in consumption. 3) A gradual decrease of the competence within a good number of companies that had enjoyed the privilege of being high competitors previously. 4) A growing attention and concern about what new technologies could do for them.
Should we call this story over? No sir. There are many examples like the phone: i.e. the printing press, railway, television, fax. Those are examples alike the telephone, with many common facts among them. One of the facts is the invariable market share, that business people experienced doing their habitual way of sales. With the appearance of new technological developments, the playing rules of for the actual way of marketing could get changed, and those new advances also would become the fundamental variable to change the results of each of the players.
We are deep in a crisis and everyone wonders when we all will be out of it. Some hypothesize that within a year, others said up to ten. But when responding to this question they are actually thinking on a time average, considering that some will come out earlier than others.
What does the Internet and Social Media imply? Just like the invention of the telephone 100 years ago, but with a larger impact.
Are you actually producing good quality products? And are you giving a good service? Don’t stop doing it!!!
We are experiencing the largest moments of change in history. Consequently there are new deal of cards. What are you doing to get good cards?
Image Source: kalipedia.com
This post in Spanish: Con la invención del teléfono ocurrió. Ahora, Social Media.
I was approached by an acquaintance that is the responsible for a new advertising agency business. He says that even though his big efforts are directed to obtain new clients through interviews, the results are not much business obtained and when he finally gets an opportunity with a potential client, he is being asked to provide information with definite ideas for a later client’s evaluation. Up on returning to his agency, the boss refuses to move a finger on this kind of enquires until he returns with a more concise project and with a definite assigned budget. Would they get many projects with this attitude?
Making this kind of work is what always has been called,” to push”, this type of prospection is very well done by many wineries around the world. The problem is in the places where they want to sell the wine and there are too many vendors trying to do the same type of approach.
I have found suppliers with many original and specials products and services, all adequate for a very defined market, but not having a social media approach, they are wasting all their strength only in pushing, which is visiting people who unlikely are interested in the product being offered, this causes the speech to be repeated time after time, making it sound monotonous and tedious. When I get to talk to the products supplier, I find they have many differentiating factors not being used at all in the act of the sale’s promotion. They seem to keep visiting and visiting clients, doing tremendous efforts for worthless results. Of course you can kill yourself on doing this, but wouldn’t be worth to redistribute the effort?
It is been said that the domestic market is in a bad situation, consumption is falling down and we are in the middle of a crisis, therefore we have to focus on the export market. And what are the wineries doing? As much is possible, they pay a lot of attention to their importers, they try to be present at trade shows where ever they are and the final question is, what can it be done to appear more attractive to the importers?
Besides of treating the importers fantastically, I sincerely believe that the way to appear to them more attractive is to provide them with what they appreciate the best, and these are products that are readily salable. And what kind of products are these? They are products that have accumulated lots of awards and are highly valued by Parker. OK, this is playing pull in its classic form.
¿Y qué tal si logramos que sean los propios consumidores los que demanden a sus proveedores determinados productos? Pues de eso va el social media, de conversar con los diversos jugadores del sector del vino, incluidos los consumidores finales. Y dicen que el Social Media funciona. ¿Qué se consigue con los Social Media? Pues hacer más y más pull a tus consumidores finales.
But let’s question ourselves, what about if we manage to get the individual consumers to demand to the suppliers certain products? Well, that is Social Media and talks with various players in the wine sector, including end users. They say that Social Media works. What do you get with Social Media? To do more and more pull to your end users.
.So what to do? Push or pull? Push and pull, my friend. We must continue to push, because this is like the soldier’s courage which has to be presumed, but more resources to pull must be devoted.
Internet is a fantastic tool for wine promotion and sale, but is even better as a complement to face your actions throughout life.
Push and pull, my friend, and all your strength should be applied to it, because it doesn’t exists a free lunch. I think you don’t need anyone to teach you how to push, or do you?
Will you let me teach you new ways to pull?
These images come from: testigo.wordpress.com cormabiobio.cl
This post in Spanish: ¿Push o pull? Push y pull
Published in Mercados del Vino y la Distribución nº 63 from march 15th, 2010 to april 15 th 2011
The internet is becoming more powerful every day. Things are moving so fast that it’s essential to stay up-to-date and to go to many of the related events to keep up with what people are saying and doing. I believe that real effectiveness can be achieved by a combination of the virtual and the real.
Not many businesses are 100% virtual, especially in the wine world. No matter what the business, promotion and marketing involves a certain component of physical presence. Even on the internet, a buyer needs to trust the seller; and the most efficient, and possibly the cheapest, way of doing this is to establish a personal contact at some point of the relationship.
So, what are people saying at these events?
If you go to a lot of these events, it’s obvious that there is still a great digital divide! Some people are immersed in new technologies and can’t see beyond them; they have no experience of sales and consequently know nothing about marketing (assuming that marketing is defined as the science of promoting sales). And there are other people who just don’t get the new technologies.
A famous guru from the world of conventional advertising said that there was no organized creativity in social media and that this implied a lack of good creativity!
The internet rewards brilliant ideas more than ever, precisely on account of its amazing capillarity. It rewards you with audience and income, but as the majority of tools are free, an entrenched attitude of ‘everything is free on the internet’ has become established. It’s difficult to monetize that creativity at its true worth. This has discouraged conventional advertising agencies to get seriously involved in this new medium. They are tied to high income streams obtained from mass media communication.
This vacuum is being filled by agencies that were created along with the new medium, and which are not hindered by the baggage of the past, and which are willing to invest much more in human resources per Euro of income. To give a new twist to a phrase: It’s not so important whether the glass is half-full or half-empty, but to know if it’s filling up! In the case of large agencies, the glass in emptying; but in the case of new Social media based agencies, it’s filling up fast.
They are amazed to find that traffic on FaceBook is equal to that on Google. It will be these new agencies that channel the internet-based advertising. They are discovering that Social Media is not just for creating an image but that it’s also useful for SALES. And even if there are no direct sales, there are clear parameters for measuring its efficiency. Is investment in Social Media increasing? It’s nothing compared to what’s coming in the future. Is creativity not organized? It soon will be!
Experts in new marketing wanted. Anyone interested?
This image comes from: jenny-pics en flikr
This post in Spanish: El vaso está medio vacío. El vaso se está llenando
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