Let’s not lie to ourselves, this is a serious time. You are a winegrower, a wine, Champagne and spirits professional and you have suffered the arrival of the Coronavirus like an electroshock. You survived the first lockdown but the media leave you no illusions. Neither do the major wine players… How to overcome the economic crisis? A true debacle fed by a second interminable wave, which may be followed by a third one, and so on. Stop! Don’t dive into the slump. I’ll show you 3 steps to export your wine in the post-Covid era and get you out of this nightmare.
1°/ Take a step back
This is a crucial point! If you don’t distance yourself from this upheaval, the anxiety will not fail to paralyse you. Ask yourself how your ancestors reacted in such situations. Remember one of the most serious events in the world of wine: the phylloxera crisis. A voracious aphid introduced into France by mistake and growing at full speed, causing the massive destruction of millions of vines hectares. Just like a bad virus.
If you take some time to think about it, such a comparison can help you feel better. Why is this?
Because the French vineyard in agony is a much more serious picture than idling activity.
Because Premium wine, Champagne and spirits have finally come through this catastrophe to thrive again.
Here is iD ViN philosophy! Here we choose results rather than excuses!
Now that you have put things into perspective, let’s move on to the next step.
2°/ Analyse the situation
If you follow me on YouTube, you know the name I give to the Covid-19 and how calm I remain in the face of the economic situation:
- Cocoloco doesn’t stop us from producing our wine;
- The Cocoloco does not prevent us from consuming it (quite the contrary!);
- Cocoloco only deprives us of the traditional marketing channels.
Is this a big deal?
Frankly, these “traditional marketing channels” have been panting for a while, haven’t they? I keep repeating that they force us to waste a lot of time, money and energy.
So why the panic?
Simply because what is happening today leaves us no choice.
Which brings us to the third point.
3°/ Change your habits
We need to roll up our sleeves to act in a radically different way:
- No more trade shows;
- No more easy deals in bulk markets;
- No more direct contact with customers or sales via wine merchants and restaurateurs, at least for the time being.
In the majority of cases, human beings prefer to remain in a problematic (but familiar) situation rather than take risks, make an effort or venture into the unknown.
A simple example: you have put on weight and have to stop chocolate till you come back on track. So you have to postpone your pleasure in order to continue to enjoy it in the end. There are two possible reactions:
- You pose as a victim. You become anxious and cling to the smallest crumb of chocolate. Maybe you even eat more chocolate? Until the day when it’s no longer the scales that panic but the chair that cracks!
- You make a decision. You decide to change what needs to be changed and you set up a strict discipline to achieve your goal.
Unsurprisingly, only a minority manages to change their behaviour.
This is what we offer you in our clubs, those of talented winemakers who do not hesitate to innovate.
Go on wine exportation: possible or not?
Of course, it is possible!
In the Talented Winegrowers’ Club, we are developing our export sales without attending trade fairs. In one year, we manage to work with 6 to 10 new importers. Tell me, which trade fair allowed you such a result, even before the Coronavirus disaster?
In Club 20, we sell online, massively and with good margins. We are progressing in France but also abroad through direct sales, with increased profitability.
However, these clubs are not for you if:
- You like to complain;
- You always have good excuses and other more urgent concerns;
- You prefer to wait for the day when your cash flow is sufficiently restored to react.
Sorry to be harsh but we can only help those who want to be helped. By this I mean professionals who dare to change and learn new methods. Because they have understood that to do nothing is to run the risk of bankruptcy, or even to ruin a land heritage patiently built up over generations.
Has the electroshock of the Covid woken you up? Have you felt the wind of change?
If so, you know that in order to make all your past investments and efforts profitable, you must innovate, market your wine differently, surround yourself and intensively use Internet.
Take action. Make an appointment for a strategic session. Take advantage of it, a new year is coming…
Cheers,
Galatée