Go Away and Come Back Tomorrow!
October 15, 2009
You may recognize that line from The Wizard of Oz, when the wizard tries to send Dorothy away after she’s killed the wicked witch. But the line also has some relevance in our marketing…
We recently returned from a great trip to California. We visited some close friends from college who live in San Jose, and then headed north and spent about five days doing one of our favorite things: drinking wine, and, more specifically, finding new wineries – preferably small, family-owned, off-the beaten path places you wouldn’t even hear about unless you knew what you were looking for.
Our old favorites are RustRidge (which has a great little B&B where we stayed), and Nichelini (the oldest continually run family-owned winery in Napa valley).
On this trip, we were fortunate enough to add four new wineries to our list: David Bruce and Testarossa in the Santa Cruz area, Summit Lake in the hills above Napa Valley, and De La Montanya in Sonoma Valley. All of these are worthy of a visit if you’re in the area – tell them I sent you!
And, although it didn’t make the list, one winery took “first place” for marketing: Joseph Phelps. This one had been recommended by some friends who had just returned from a similar “wine-hunting” trip, and they said that the views, in particular, were outstanding.
We knew we needed an appointment, but we happened to be driving right by the place, so we stopped in to take a look. We really did need to have an appointment, so they couldn’t do the full tasting with us, but they did two things that are worthy of mention here.
First, they pulled out the schedule for the next day to see what might be available. Second, they gave us a coupon for a free tasting (normally $20). And third, they asked if we’d like to take a glass of wine to sit out on the terrace and enjoy the view.
Booking the appointment, a “bounce-back” coupon, and “try before you buy” – all in about 30 seconds. Well done! And while the wines were good, they weren’t quite what we like to drink, and, having already enjoyed the view (which was spectacular, by the way) we decided not to come back the next day.
Still, there are valuable lessons here, and remember – great marketing examples are all around. You can find them anywhere – even while drinking wine in California – if you’re paying attention.
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