Compare and Contrast.
I’ve watched with interest the start of Gary Vaynerchuk’s Empathy Wines. Yes, I’ve been much more of a Micro Beer and Single Malt type of guy. Living where we do now, we have contact with a local grape grower, The Wineries on Betzold RdThe Wineries on Betzold Rd, producing wines here in Northern Wisconsin.
The difference between the two is palatable. Now yes, Empathy has a tremendous backing with all of the needed things for a new enterprise to succeed. I’ve met on a couple of occasions, the owners of our local winery. Great folks and I applaud their desire to break out of the mold of the more traditional businesses here in the area.
For those of you who aren’t aware, Bayfield is a town of fewer than 500 residents. We’re on the northern part of Wisconsin, on the shores of Lake Superior. Bayfield isn’t a place that people immediately gravitate to when they think of wine. So there are some basic things that any business owner needs to do from this geographical location.
When you go to Empathywines, you see two essential buy facts; free shipping and a link to shop “now.” The Wineries on Betzold Rd presents you with links to shop and their wine club. The shop page is nearly blank with no way for me to shop for any of their wines. The Wine Club page has a breakdown of the levels of participation in the club. However, there is no sign-up page or way for me to complete a transaction on the page.
Now, I’m in a unique position in that; I can get in my car and drive the seven minutes to The Wineries on Betzold Rd, and purchase wine face to face at their farm. I can also share with those in my social media world how wonderful their wines are. Now, I can do little else to encourage folks outside of the local area to enjoy this local treasure.
I applaud The Wineries on Betzold Rd and their initial efforts. Now it’s time to move to the next step and take their business national.