Grapeseed Marketing’s audience contains a few wineries and other businesses who aren’t retail wine shops, but not so many that this topic would appear to be of interest. And yet … [level-members]
One quote sealed the deal for me in this Wine Industry Advisor article.
“Be true to yourself. Be sure of your vision. Don’t try to please the masses! If it’s an authentic product, they will come!”
That’s it in a nutshell. Forget being better than the competition. There is no better. And even if there was, too many people define “better” too many ways for you ever to really be better. Is Coke really better than Pepsi? Avis better than Hertz? Android better than iPhone? You’ll get vehement arguments in favor and against both sides of those arguments.
But you can be different. You can stake out territory that others are ignoring or appeal to markets that are underserved. Finding them may take some work, but once you do, success requires little more than discipline and dedication.
There’s little question that just about every industry is more competitive now than it was, say, 20 years ago. Technology has tilted the tables in favor of consumers. Working smarter at creating your business’ personality is the key to success. Working harder simply won’t get it done. So find your vision and remain true to it. [/level-members]