THEWINEMONOLOGUES.COM: Personal attention can go a long way. . .

Personal attention can go a long way. . .

I am a blogger.  I am constantly working on my "brand". I am the Wine Monologues. . . the only one (as far as I know). I am always looking for the next topic, the next varietal, the next wine experience to write about, to entice readers and increase my analytics. I am also constantly seeking ways to connect with others in the wine world, to learn from their experiences and hopefully develop relationships with some of them—to expand my brand.

One of the tools I use to expand my brand is Twitter (@WineMonologues). I use Twitter to expand my network with others in the wine world (and world in general) and keep up to date on wine news. Through Twitter I have come into contact with many people and wineries from around the world that share my interest in wine. Just yesterday though, I came upon one in particular that reminded me about just what "branding" is supposed to be— Mollydooker in Australia.

My last post was about Mollydooker's "The Boxer". I tweeeted about that blog post, inviting people on Twitter to come take a look. Well, word got all the way around the world to Australia that I had tried The Boxer, enjoyed it and wrote about it.  To my surprise, I received a Tweet from Mollydooker that they were glad that I had enjoyed The Boxer and were glad that I could now find Mollydooker in Michigan. Now, before yesterday, I did not follow Mollydooker on Twitter— I did not even know they were on Twitter. I follow them now though— and they follow me— sending me a second message when I followed them— that they looked forward to continuing our relationship from Australia to Michigan through their wines. Now that folks, is "branding" at its best!

The world is a big place.   It is though becoming smaller—fast. Social media, internet, cell phones, and Skype are only a few of the tools making the world a smaller place where it is easier and easier for companies to become more personal with their customers. So why don't more take advantage of these tools?

Many do and are wonderful at interacting with customers and followers. They do not only "sell" or "hype" their products, but they take the time to touch base with customers. Locally, Coryn Briggs at Black Star Farms does a great job "branding" the wineries and Black Star businesses through Twitter (@bstar2009) and Facebook, networking with customers and letting us know what is up next at the winery and at the Inn. Allie Merrick at The Reserve in Grand Rapids and with her blog "My Wine Words" is constantly in contact with followers on Twitter (@ReserveGR and @MyWineWords) and Facebook expanding her network and telling us about her passion for wine and what is coming up at Reserve. On a national level, the KING of branding and "hustle" is Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) at the Wine Library in New Jersey. He took his family liquor store and transformmed it into a multi-million dollar wine store in a relatively short time, mostly through internet sales, his video blog called Wine Library TV and his presense on as many social media sites as he could (yes there is a lot more to social media than Twitter and Facebook). What made Gary the success he is though, is his "hustle" to try to personally interact with anyone who wants to interact with him. He personally tries to answer all of emails to customers/fans on a daily basis. Now, Gary is a "force of nature" that has more energy than most people I know, but he is a big believer in the "personal touch" of business— and so am I.

Back to Mollydooker. . .

Will I be more inclined now to seek out other wines from Mollydooker to try? You bet. Why? I may be a "sap", but the personal tweet from the Mollydooker group, will stand in my mind for a very long time. More than visiting there website, or even a great rating from Wine Spectator, I will remember the personal touch of the tweet. The same with Black Star Farms here in Michigan and Allie at Reserve in Grand Rapids. All of these businesses have a great product, but they take the time to interact with me as a consumer (and not just to "sell" me something)and that relationship will guide me toward their products more than any other advertising they may do. Even Gary Vaynerchuk has taken the time to give my daughter a "shout-out" on his video blog viewed by thousands of people and then took the time to email back and forth with me the day after the post, when I sent him an email to thank him— AND I CANNOT BUY WINE FROM HIS STORE. Its the little personal touches in networking that work—trust me.

How. . .

To any businesses out there, wine stores, wineries, bloggers or anyone trying to build a brand, follow these simple ideas from Gary Vaynerchuk: First, have good content (if your product sucks, it will not take long for people to realize it); Second, "be real" (nobody likes to be suckered or sold on an item— be authentic in your approach); Third, choose a platform by which you are going to get your word out (the internet, social media etc); Fourth, "hustle" (it's not easy to create and maintain a brand); Fifth, interact with your consumer base (personal notes, respond to phone calls, emails, Tweets. . . personal attention goes a very long way!); Lastly, be patient, it does not happen overnight and requires a lot of work, but in the end, if you have a passion for what you are doing, it will work out. This method may be overly simplified, but, sometimes keeping it simple (stupid), is the best method!

Trust me. Send me a tweet or a comment and I will get back to you