ForumsAdvertising, Sales and Marketing

Yummy! You're right up my ally with the wine thing.

You could do ads in wine mags, but that would probably be rather expensive. A better strategy would be to do some local Google ads to get the word out there - if you're going for the online community. Check out www.Divapreneur.ning.com for a great social networking site for women business owners.

Do you have your own incentive programs for your current clients? What about having a referral contest for your current clients? I'm sure you can buy leads as well. It's the old adage - you have to CONNECT before you CONVINCE. Look at creative ways you can connect with your ideal clients. Don't be afraid to give before you get as well.

Just as a brainstorming idea - what if you went to your local NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) Chapter and offered to do an open-house wine-tasting for the members? Great way to get your name out and get them sampling your products as well as showing them ways they can use you.

Just thoughts...

Tammi
Fruition - Graphic Design & Marketing

Offer wine bar so people can test your wine, eat sandwish and buy case of wine. When selling one case of wine offer a different wine free.

Another ideas is giving a free wine guide with order form and coupon after a tour of vineyard or cave.

I love wine, this is a part of my French culture and I know a lot about them

Good luck

I think your "corporate gift" has the widest audience versus wine lovers.

Pick a 3-4 markets to try and stick with it a while; keep the top two, drop the bottom and then try two more.

Some example:

1) Target real estate professionals who might want to provide a private label bottle of wine as a house warming gift to clients. You can promote this to local realtor meetings

2) Accountants/financial planners - again as a gift to clients; "Thank you for being a client"

3) Local banks - loan officers, again as a thank you to someone who just took out a loan

4) Mortgage brokers (any left)

Look for other professions where they have a large numbers of clients on a regular basis - I'm sure other members might have ideas on this

The goal is to find peopel who cab genertae a recurring revenue stream.

How do I find Wine Lovers

I Think that we lost WineLady.

There have been 7 posts (answers) since May 25
and nothing from her.

Again, LUCKIEST

Dear Winelady,

If you found some of the posts helpful, please "credit/mark" ' the posters with "Correct" or "Helpful" .

Thanks,
Greg Dupuis

Bonnie,

There are various mediums that I would utilize:

1. Target "after-work" restaurants where you know a lot of decision-makers eat meals and have a few drinks of wine in your local area. You can make a deal with the restauranteur that you will give a certain amount of wine for free in return for advertising. These restaurants could place your ad when the check arrives, as well as a small stand-up flyer on the table (you should supply these and make sure they are elegant and refined). This won't work if you do not choose the right restaurants, but in this economy every restaurant wants to increase their profit margin and if you can find a way to make your advertising non-intrusive to the dining experience you could have an inexpensive advertising solution. I would focus on your private label solution.

2. Go through employment ads on monster.com and similar sites and find out which businesses in your area are hiring for sales executives. You should look for companies that target their products and services to other businesses. If these companies are hiring sales executives then most likely they would be willing to spend money to retain their existing customer base. Many companies list sales directors, or other related positions online. Simply address a package to various Sales Executives and let them know about your private label solution that can help customer retention.

3. Talk to local local wedding planners and let them know about your product. In addition to having a couple of bottles of wine in a ice chiller next to each table the wine bottles would be a great memento for the wedding occasion. I wouldn't limit marketing just to wedding planners - any business that helps with weddings such as fashion stores, stationary stores, cake stores, etc... and create a sort of "affiliate program", by giving them a percentage of each sale that they help you aquire. Everyone is looking to increase revenue without increasing overhead. This is a great opportunity for any company that facilities weddings, or other similar functions.

4. Last, but not least - I would utilize local & national television advertising. My company, Tonangi Media (http://www.tonangi.com) is a full scale video production and advertising agency. We can create your concept, record a custom video complete with professional voice overs and original animation sequences that will make your advertisement stand out. We could create a television ad that would speak to wine enthusiasts, as well as businesses. In addition to advertising we could also create a video that could be seen online or on a DVD that explains how your private label wine program works. This would be great for anybody that sees a quick URL or ad at a restaurant but does not understand what is involved. They would just note down the URL and hope that there is enough information online without having to research the product on your site. If you have a video a potential customer could simply click and watch a video that briefly describes your company, your wine selections, and the details about your private label program. You could also send DVDs to potential clients when you send them a free bottle of wine.

For more information please visit http://www.tonangi.com or you can contact me directly at vinod@tonangi.com

Vinod Tonangi
Tonangi Media
http://www.tonangi.com

Video Production and Advertising for Small businesses

You'll have all clear in your head after you browse the site. http://pardonthatvine.com to find some near you currently there are many wine events listed. He is very flexible as fas as structure of the event. I am sure you too find the site very helpful.