Customer involvement management – Empirical observations of explorative studies on enrichment activities of German wineries

◦ Purpose: This research explores the status (extent), instruments (ideas), and outcome (impact) of customer integration in the wine business. Customer involvement, defined in the sense of “more active clients”, reflects a shift in paradigm from the historic production and marketing focus to a new focus on client relationships in the current business world. The boundaries in ancient producer-consumer business models have shifted to increasingly integrate clients in the world of production. To date, we lack a collection of empirical evidence regarding such a shift in paradigm in the wine business, the approaches and ides being implemented, or the success and impact of such activities. This study uses interviews with consumers and producers to explore the enrichment of the wine buying experience through greater integration into the world of production. ◦ Design: Three distinct empirical studies serve to assess customer involvement in the German wine business from both the supplier and the consumer perspectives. Consumers were (a) interviewed as participants of a wine fair and (b) addressed by a winery providing their client portfolio for research purposes. The third study to analyze the supplier side exploits an extensive panel research of German wineries (c) on innovation and strategy. ◦ Findings: Consumers are predominantly interested in being actively involved. Interest exists for downstream but also for upstream producers ́ activities. Involvement increases loyalty, thereby counterbalancing currently observable diminishing client loyalty in the wine business. However, not all consumer groups are interested in more intensive integration – hence there is an inherent risk of overinvestment beyond a certain level in this strategy. Examples of extended integration of consumers could be identified for all steps of the value-chain. Creative and extended involvement of consumers in the wine business is today mainly used to draw attention and build awareness. Creative involvement management to reduce costs or as a strategic vehicle seem not to be extensively exploited. ◦ Practical implications: In the wine industry, with a product of high emotional benefit for the clients, customer involvement can yield a positive impact. Increased interaction with clients creates buzz, awareness, communication, loyalty, and, depending on the business model, economic reward if approached correctly. Creative and extensive integration models are suitable for all steps in the value chain and can have a positive effect on loyalty and sales. Winery owners can profit from “first mover positioning” via extended involvement to win over and retain customers. Practitioners can use a framework derived from the interviews to guide their entrepreneurial activities and decisions how to best structure their own portfolio to engage consumers. Entrepreneurs should be aware of the limitations of these approaches and of particular customer groups where such activities could have negative effects.