The most important variable to Boutier winery, in regards to marketing, is foot traffic because, from there, stems all other aspects of their commerce: sales, word-of-mouth marketing, business partnerships, etc. Boutier relies on the organic interest of their patrons in their products; they do not use gimmicks to get people in their door. I am the sole creator of content, and several times I have told Victor that I did not want to make the purpose of a post the sale because it felt cheap, and his response has always been that he fully agrees. For example, we offer a wine of the month deal, if the customer pays for a tasting they can have one bottle of the wine of the month for half price, but the post for Instagram and Facebook highlights the wine, not the sale. I make the post centered around the wine’s notes, body, and finish, and I include pairing options. Then I mention the sale in the caption, but I do not make it the purpose of the post. I keep it classy. I believe that because the nature of social media is so casual, some companies have forgotten about or decided to forgo sophistication. That is something that I like about Boutier and that aligns with my values, that we must not sell out for the sake of clicks. Seeing this approach in action has been very inspiring, and it has also forced me to change my strategies to accommodate this unconventional method. For example, in this scenario, paper fliers and brochures will probably be more effective than they would be for a business that is not so community-centric. That idea brings me back to the idea of word-of-mouth marketing; that is something Boutier relies heavily on because it gives authenticity to their mission of making the winery feel welcoming and homey. Everyone feels surrounded by friendly familiarity because they are.

This week I spend some time editing existing photos from years past to put the finishing touches on the website by adding a gallery page.