10 Reasons Why Wineries (and Other Businesses) NEED a Mobile Website – Part 1
August 28, 2012
It’s only in the past few months that I’ve started to take mobile websites seriously. The first time I realized the full potential of a “mobile-optimized website” was last year at the Wine Bloggers Conference in Virginia. They had their whole website optimized for mobile, something which I personally found particularly useful when is came time to check the seminar and guest speaker schedule. I just remember thinking: “Wow! This is so much easier to navigate!”
I have to preface this by saying that technology very rarely impresses me. Seriously. I’m a geek for the latest and greatest tech products and software, but since I was a kid I’ve never been impressed with the speed of progress we’ve been making. With that being stated, 2012 can go on record as begin the year when I changed my opinion on mobile websites from being: “nice to have” to being critical for the long-term success of wineries (and pretty-much EVERY business)! Hell, even the presidential nominees have started taking mobile seriously!
These are my top ten reasons, in no particular order, why wineries (and other businesses) NEED a mobile website:
#1 Your current website is NOT mobile-compatible
This may come as a big surprise, but mobile devices currently HATE your current website! Hate seems like a strong word, but they do. They hate it! The problem is that if your current website isn’t mobile optimized, it will be a complete NIGHTMARE for your mobile visitors to navigate, compared to one that is “mobile-friendly.”
I don’t know if you’ve ever viewed your website from someone else’s computer, but if you have, you’ll notice that it displays differently. I, for example, had to have a complete overhaul on this website when I realized that it displayed terribly on Internet Explorer. I found this out months after launching, because I always use Google Chrome, and I never noticed a problem until I viewed my website on someone else’s computer.
Because the screen on mobile devices is generally so much smaller, the aforementioned problem is only made worse, as users will constantly have to resize the screen, scroll around, and click into pages to find the info they’re looking for. The harsh reality is that if you are making your website visitors work to find your info e.g. email, phone number, address, etc., they will quickly get bored and go somewhere else.
#2 More consumers are purchasing mobile phones than desktop computers.
This should speak for itself, but it’s a fact which warrants a little further investigation.
Within the past few years, there’s been a huge shift in the way people access the Internet, in that handheld devices are seeing more use than ever. Wineries, even more-so if they have a tasting room attached, should pay particular attention to these statistics. The reason “brick and mortar” businesses should be extra concerned with their mobile presence, is that they’re the most heavily reliant on people walking into their actual business location. It’s therefore fair to say that they have the greatest number of users searching on mobile devices for their information i.e how to get there, hours of operation, contact phone number etc.
I’m Starting to Notice a Theme Here…
August 27, 2012
Government Report Finds Wine to be Cheaper than Water in Australia.
August 25, 2012
A Government-funded report in Australia has found that the price of wine needs to be raised to combat growing levels of alcoholism, after it was found that wine can be purchased for as little 30 Australia cents a drink (about the same in US$), making it cheaper than water.
The report comes in the midst of growing public concerns about Australia’s binge-drinking culture.
The Australian National Preventive Health Agency has been asked by the Government to set a floor price on not just wine, but alcohol across the board.
Under the system, the cheapest bottle of wine would be AUS$9.75, and the cheapest four-liter cask would be AUS$52.
Western Australia’s Police Commissioner stated in the report that there were links between alcohol prices and traffic crash outcomes, violence, crime and alcohol-related disease and injury.
The Consumers Health Forum wants the alcohol price raised, but says it should be done through the tax system – so the money raised does not go to retailers and manufacturers but can be used by the Government to address the harm caused by alcohol misuse.
Click here for the full article from the Herald Sun.
My Thoughts…
Maybe I’m in a minority when I say this, but countries always seem to come to the conclusion that raising the price of alcohol (through taxes), rather than placing more of an emphasis on alcohol education in the first place, is the way forward. Certainly the latter is more of a long-term goal, and the former has some blatant immediate perks for the Government; however there’s no doubt in my mind that stricter penalties for businesses serving underage drinkers and emphasizing alcohol education (from a young age, both in the home and at school) is a much better strategy. I just hope the Australian Government spend the funds that they’ve collected on alcohol wisely!
Posted in News | Tagged Australia, Wine is cheaper than water | Leave a comment //Big Wine Trouble in Little China: Counterfeiting Ring Busted.
August 25, 2012
The news coming out of China is that the Shanghai police have arrested a wine counterfeiting gang, seizing thousands of bottles of “fake Bordeaux” in the process. The ringleader had been running the scam since 2010, using Chinese wine whilst the labeling process was being completed.
Allegedly, the bottles were not direct copies but so-called “funny” bottles which use the names of famous first growth estates; however, the bottles still infringe on trademark laws.
The wine was priced around Y6,000-Y7,000 a bottle ($940-$1100) when it had cost a mere Y80 (around $12) to produce.
The police officer in charge of the wine counterfeiting raid has conducted over 900 similar operations this year alone, arresting over 1,900 people and seizing over US$47m in fake bottles.
Click here for the full article from The Drinks Business.
My Thoughts…
Chinese wine bottled as Bordeaux? I’m sure whomever was conned into buying those bottles would have been pretty upset when they cracked it upon and poured themselves a glass! I know the quality of Chinese wine is improving, but having it masquerade as a First Growth Bordeaux, ANY First Growth Bordeaux, is a bit of a push…
Posted in News | Tagged Bordeaux, China, Chinese Wine, Counterfeit wine, fake wine, France | Leave a comment //Blackened Tilapia Baja Tacos Paired with Fish House Sauvignon Blanc.
August 24, 2012
“A wine named ‘Fish House,’ paired with a fish recipe? Wow, BRILLIANT!!! You’re a GENIUS!!!”
Alright, give me a break! I was in the mood for tacos, and I felt like I wouldn’t be doing the wine justice if I didn’t give it a fair shot at pairing with fish….since the wine is named FISH HOUSE!
In all honesty, I don’t mind saying that Sauvignon Blanc has quickly grown to become one of my favorite summertime whites, more precisely, Washington Sauvignon Blanc. Don’t get me wrong, it’s tough for a SB from any wine region to beat a decent French Sancerre or Pouilly Fume, but you’ll pay the price! It’s no secret that New Zealand SBs have been boring me, and a large amount of wines made from the grape coming out of California (especially Napa) miss the mark and end up being too aggressive. At least in my opinion.
With that out of the way, here’s a Tilapia montage…
Mount Vesuvius.
August 24, 2012
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