Wine 2.0 Minifesto

1. The most passionate and loyal wine customers are members of the tribe of the internet. Via wine forums, email newsletters, websites, blogs and podcasts they are consuming information and recommendations that carry almost as much weight with them as Parker scores.
2. The new “wine experts” are anyone with a passion for the subject and the means to express themselves online. These manifest themselves as blogs, aggregators, wikis, mash-ups and podcasts.
3. Millions will join this tribe in 2007 as RSS goes mainstream in Windows Vista, IE 7, Firefox 2 and Mac OS 10.5 “Leopard”.
4. Customers are looking for great wines at the lowest price. They are using search engines to find them. Wineries need to be plugged into what these networked customers are saying and actively join the conversation.
5. Bad news travels at the speed of light around the world. Wineries need to be a part of the online discussion or they will pay the price in lost sales and damaged reputations.
6. Wineries need to treat all customers like an old friend whether they buy a single bottle in the tasting room or 10 cases in the wine club. You never know how your reputation spreads via word of mouth, but some will likely share their opinions online.
7. eCommerce does not equal Wine 2.0. Online sales is a key channel of Wine 2.0, but the essence of this new online wine conversation are communities who share information. Online sales only comes after this interaction and the social promotion of recommendations.
8. Wine 2.0 includes feedback that can be measured and quantified. It is based upon sound direct marketing practices and technology platforms.
9. Customers are making their own choices and are not blindly following critics scores, traditionally marketed and distributed brands or the winery with the most impressive website or print ad.
10. On the internet, there is unlimited shelf space and the means for customers to find your “porch“.
11. Wineries can sell 100,000 cases a year without spending millions on marketing.
12. However you join the conversation about your wines, do so with a pure heart, speaking with an honest voice. And never stop responding.

- Version 1.0, by Tim Elliott, November 24, 2006

This Minifesto was inspired by Hugh MacLeod’s call at gapingvoid.com that was inspired by John Dodds’ “J Train” Minifesto who seemed to have read The Cluetrain Manifesto and is familiar with ChangeThis.com

This is a draft for discussion that I hope will be carried forward to version 1.1 after the Wine 2.0 event in Second Life next week. Comments, trackbacks, etc. welcome.

Rock on, Hugh!