Horse vs Engine, Disk vs Cloud and how it impacts your winery (or widgets)

If I had asked my customer what to build, he would’ve said ‘a faster horse.’ -Henry Ford

If you are buying traditional media instead of finding a way to crack the consumer code, then for you it may as well be 1915 when Henry Ford introduced the conveyor-belt assembly lines at Ford motor company and you are investing in a state-of-the-art horse and buggy factory. Instead you should be buying rubber plantations in Brazil.

So what does this have to do with your winery (or widgets)?

It’s simple, change is coming always – but it’s coming faster than you know, in fact it just past you.

Traditional media campaigns are still alive, but soon they will be as antiquated as the horse and buggy. At today’s speed, even Microsoft has to change, 80% of MS income comes from Windows and Office, and with Cloud computing and Open Source any business still using those systems won’t be in the near future. Even Microsoft has to retool to be nimble enough to conquer the new reality or go the way of the 8 Track.

Yesterday, only the biggest brands could afford to have a market impact. Now everyone can afford, and must afford, to be present in the market. The goal is not to be viral, but to be find-able. 

Being present in the market means actively using Facebook and Twitter, to have Youtube videos about your brand, to engage consumers on Yelp and to understand and use SEO, because if they can’t find you then they can’t buy from you. If you don’t have someone dedicated to this function then hire someone, or better yet, outsource it so you can do what you are good at and what you love, make wine, or widgets, or sales or whatever you do.

In short Traditional Media is going the way of VHS and TV antennas and even a traditional, stoic business like  wineries have to embrace this new reality.