Stop Wasting Your Marketing Budget
Whether you run a winery cellar door, a restaurant, or a boutique food tourism experience, marketing often feels like a mix of habit and hope. Budgets are tight, decisions are reactive, and offers from local or industry publications regularly drive action, even when they don’t align with a broader business strategy.
Here’s the truth you might not want to hear: chasing ad placements or one-off promotions without a clear plan is unlikely to move the needle. In my experience, it’s one of the main reasons food and wine businesses feel like their marketing just isn’t working.
It’s probably not that you’re spending too little. It’s that the spend is spread too thin across too many tactics, without direction. You’re trying to do everything, and ending up doing it badly.
Stop Reacting, Start Planning
Many businesses in this sector jump on ad opportunities that land in their inbox. An EDM placement here. A half-page in a glossy magazine there. But rarely do they stop to ask, is this what the business actually needs right now?
The solution is strategy. Once you're clear on your goals — whether it's driving visitation, increasing repeat bookings, or growing your mailing list — you can start investing in tactics that directly support those outcomes.
This doesn’t mean saying no to every offer. It means testing first and committing later. Ask for a trial. Monitor the results. If a digital listing or campaign drives traffic and shows engagement, it’s worth building into your long-term plan. If not, you’ve got the evidence to move on.
Optimise Your Investment with Testing
The strongest brands in this space don’t just do marketing. They invest with purpose. They spend less time creating more content and more time optimising what already exists.
If you're sending email campaigns, don’t just blast a list. Test subject lines. Segment your database. Try different calls to action. A bit of A/B testing helps you understand what’s working and improves results without adding effort.
The same principle applies when buying advertising. Ask if you can track clicks from their site to yours. Use that data to build a case for, or against, future spend.
Know the Budget Benchmarks
Marketing budgets vary by business model, but these are the most common benchmarks I see:
Wine retail and small local operators: around 3% of annual revenue
Restaurants with a tourism audience: closer to 5–6%
Wineries with a strong wine club or e-commerce focus: up to 10–12%
Once revenue climbs past $5 million, it’s time to consider in-house marketing capability or agency support. But at any level, understanding your numbers and setting a budget is essential.
Too often, business owners haven’t looked at their marketing spend over the year, let alone calculated return on investment. Taking ownership of your P&L, coding things correctly, and setting a defined percentage — even if modest — gives your team or suppliers the ability to plan and act with clarity.
Where the Biggest Returns Are Coming From
In food and wine, the highest performing marketing tactics are usually the simplest:
Local SEO – Optimising your Google Business Profile and location listings. Most guests find you via Google Maps and local search.
Content Marketing – Photos, videos, and storytelling that convert browsers into bookings and buyers.
Email Marketing – Still one of the best tools for repeat business, product launches, and event attendance.
Website Performance – This is not a digital billboard. It’s a revenue channel. If it’s slow, outdated, or confusing, you’re losing sales.
Digital Advertising – When paired with great content and clear targeting, digital ads scale reach efficiently.
Each of these performs best when part of a broader plan. They become exponentially more effective when backed by good data and a clear direction.
Empower Your Team, Don’t Handcuff Them
One final note for business owners. If you’re delegating marketing to a team member or contractor, give them a budget and some autonomy.
The fastest way to stall momentum is to require sign-off on every small decision. It’s inefficient and disempowering. Set a clear budget. Outline the goals. Then let them deliver.
A good marketing partner will want to be accountable for results, but they need room to move. That’s when performance improves, creativity flourishes, and the plan comes to life.
Marketing doesn’t need to be complex. But it does need to be intentional.
Cut the noise. Focus on what works. Take ownership of your budget. And give your team the clarity and tools they need to drive real results.
The people who are meant to find you are out there.
Need 1:1 support with your marketing budget? Let’s Chat.