SPECIAL REPORT
Strategy - Direct Interactive
Business-to-Business Online
June 18, 2001
by Bernadette Johnson
While the wine industry - considered the
world's oldest honourable profession, dating back 7,000 years
- may be steeped in tradition, that hasn't stopped one Ontario
vineyard from blazing a trail in the new economy.
"Today, when you think of high tech
and the Internet, people think of Bill Gates and all these
phenomenally successful entrepreneurs who develop amazing
technology. But it isn't just about them. The opportunity
of the Internet presents itself to anyone who is prepared
to adapt the technology to their own business," says
Paul-André Bosc, VP, marketing and administration at
Niagara-on-the-Lake winery Château des Charmes.
"I may not be able to replicate my
dad's pioneering effort in the vineyard or winery, but I've
always tried to find ways to maintain that pioneering spirit
on the marketing side."
Last month, the wine producer unveiled
its e-business strategy, a plan that included the launch of
cdcorders.com, a fully integrated Web portal targeting its
restaurant and hotel clients, created in partnership with
e-commatrix.com. The rollout makes it one of the first wineries
in North America to adopt and execute such a Web plan, he
says.
And while the winery has operated a Web
site since 1996 (www.chateaudescharmes.com), this is the first
time customers have been able to order wines online in real
time, review their order history and gather information, including
up-to-date pricing specials, information and product news.
Château des Charmes also puts out an e-mail newsletter
every two months to keep customers and connoisseurs abreast
of any new developments and wine releases.
In conjunction with the launch, the winery also unveiled its
Licensee Loyalty Program, available through Ernex, a division
of Royal Bank, which will allow participating licensees to
collect points from purchases made using the online ordering
platform.
"I belong to various loyalty programs
and I run all kinds of business expenses on my personal VISA
because I want to earn points. In the restaurant industry,
there are a lot of entrepreneur owner-operators [who] would
likely do the same," says Bosc. "In a more corporate
setting, a hotel could accumulate the points and redeem them
for trips or merchandise - something for the employee of the
year, for example, or for a gifting program for top clients.
"The site and loyalty program will be promoted on a one-to-one
basis by the winery's sales force.
Château des Charmes has been built
up over its 23-year history in a fairly conventional manner
- through a sales force in its home market of Ontario and
agents in other markets throughout Canada, as well as importer
agents in foreign markets. So, several years ago, when the
Internet began to transform day-to-day business life, Bosc
began to consider the potential implications on the wine industry,
which he felt was already falling behind. When the regulatory
environment in Ontario changed to allow Ontario wineries to
sell their VQA wines directly to hotels and restaurants, he
kicked his Web aspirations into high gear.
"Nobody needs to buy wine. It's an aspirational product
- people want to buy it. And if they want to buy it, they've
got a phenomenal amount of selection out there - there are
60,000 wineries around the world," he says. "So,
as a marketing tool, you start to identify yourself with certain
hot buttons. All things being equal (if your quality is good
and your price is right), you still need other things to get
people to connect with you emotionally, like being a family-owned
and - operated business vs. a mega-corporation, for example,"
he says.
"I want our winery to be identified
by individuals in the hospitality industry who are techies
- who see us as a leading-edge company and who say 'I enjoy
using the Internet, buying off the Internet and I see all
the benefits that computerization brings to my business and
personal life - and here's a supplier that's on the same page
with me.''
The new online platform is being presented
to potential clients in Ontario, of which there are 16,000
(licensed establishments) . He says while it wants to be able
to "preach to the converted" - those familiar with
the Internet and/or such a system - Château des Charmes
is also prepared to do its part to educate potential clients.
"If you're the first or second guy
into something, if you're a pioneer, it's not easy - it's
a lot of work, but the potential payoff is bigger," says
Bosc.
"If we sign up 100 clients, our goal,
whether it takes a year or two, we're predicting this will
be at least a $3-million new revenue stream. If you're IBM,
that's peanuts. But ours is a family business with 100 employees.
If we're right about this, we may have identified a new revenue
channel that could represent 25 or 30% of our revenues in
a couple years. That's enormous."
"We're convinced this is just a start.
One opportunity will beget another."
|
