Roadblocks to Internet Marketing

A major roadblock to internet marketing for wineries is a lack of understanding of all the new and effective, social media tools that are available.

The wineries that I talk to are so busy doing their day-to-day jobs that they just don’t have the time to learn about or keep up with all the new developments in internet marketing.

Many feel they just don’t have the time to fully educate themselves on the many applications and tools available that make Internet marketing easy and affordable.

Then there is fear caused from a lack of comfort level with web topics and technology and a fear that they might make a mistake, which they feel could be a disaster in such a public forum.

And then there’s denial, “if I don’t know about it, it doesn’t matter. “

In an earlier post I explained the importance of building a yearly marketing plan with specific strategies and tactics to use as a road map. Having a detailed plan, and doing regular, systematic analysis, will help you reach your goals. If you didn’t create a marketing plan at the beginning of 2009, now is a great time to do it. And it is critical to include a some aspects of internet marketing.

It’s important to assess your current internet presence. There are many tools available such as HubSpot’s Website Grader. While this is a great way to get started, it is a good idea to work with a professional that can help you get a full assessment and build an internet marketing plan that makes sense for you.

Here’s a great post from HubSpot on roadblocks to inbound marketing directed at Small Medium Business (SMB). Many wineries fall into this category and it is a relief to hear that they are not the only ones that have delayed entry into the Web Sales Channel. Interestingly enough it is for similar reasons:

Trying to do everything at once can overwhelm wineries; so I agree with HubSpot that it is best to crawl before you run. Find a professional to help you select those options that will provide the biggest bang for your buck and then add in more internet approaches as you go along.

Tagged as: @MyVineSpace, internet marketing, social media, social networking, Web 2.0, wine, wine brand loyalty, wine marketing