HOW TO GET MORE REVENUE FROM YOUR WINE CLUB

HOW TO GET MORE REVENUE FROM YOUR WINE CLUB

Where do wine clubs belong in today s highly personalized online economy, where almost every imaginable thing can be purchased in a matter of minutes? Contrary to what some people may think, wine clubs are stronger than ever. 16% Growth According to the 2016 Wine Business Monthly/Silicon Valley Bank (WBM/SVB) Wine Tasting Room Survey Report, wine clubs across the United States continue to thrive, growing at an average net rate of 16 percent in 2015. Revenue from wine clubs also account for about 33 percent of total directto-consumer (DTC) sales, which make up about 60 percent of a winery s total revenue. This makes wine club sales second only to tasting room sales, which represent about 47 percent of a winery s total DTC sales. 33% of DTC Sales Plus, average conversion rates of visitors into wine club members have increased considerably over the last three years as well. According to the same report, these conversion rates, which averaged only 2 percent in 2013, reached 4 percent in 2014 and 6 percent in 2015, effectively tripling in a two-year span. 6% Conversion Rate Converting new wine club members is a top priority for many wineries, but to stay ahead of the competition, it s important to look for innovative ways to keep your existing members happy and engaged. Simply offering discounts and complimentary tastings are no longer enough. Here are five ways to increase sign ups, decrease attrition and get more revenue from your wine club. 2017 Wine Direct. All rights reserved. / WineDirect.com / 2

1 / Offer customization. In April 2015, California Winery Advisor conducted an online survey to find out why members leave their wine clubs Around 26 percent of the respondents indicated they left due to being sent wines they didn t like. Another 11 percent did so because they were not offered enough wine selection options. These issues, which ranked first and third place in the poll, can actually be resolved through a simple solution: customization. Club customization provides members more input regarding the wines included in each shipment and, often, the manner by which each delivery is made. Flexible membership options may attract more members and earn the loyalty of existing ones, but managing a custom wine club can be an administrative nightmare. It takes a lot of manual work just to fulfill special instructions for individual orders. The best way to go about it is by making special offers a standard feature of the wine club. Begin by researching the wine preferences of the club s existing and prospective members. Based on the findings, you can provide a limited set of special choices and create options that cater to different demographics. Wine swaps can be offered, too, but the club management has to be very consistent with the way this kind of request is handled. A customized club can also provide its members subscription options to help them make the most out of their wine club membership. For instance, you can let your clients decide how much wine they want with every delivery, how often each delivery should be made, and if they want to receive complimentary products and services. If a customer thinks that six bottles of wine per month is too much, consider having a twoor four-bottle club. HINT: WineDirect s wine club management tool has a User Choice Club functionality that makes it easy to offer and manage customized clubs. To complement the wines, also consider including wine pairing recipes, or nonwine products such as food items and wine accessories. Another option is to let members decide if they want to be alerted to reviews or videos of the club s featured wines. By incorporating these types of features, your members will receive products and services that actually cater to their individual tastes and preferences. 2017 Wine Direct. All rights reserved. / WineDirect.com / 3

2 / Make it easy. Attrition is unavoidable, but making your club more convenient can help lengthen member tenure, and make it more attractive to prospective ones. Consider convenience in all aspects of your wine club, from membership signups, to the wine purchasing process, and order fulfillment. Wine club signups typically happen in the tasting room, so wineries may not think about their website as a place to drive club memberships. However, having a seamless, mobile-friendly website is crucial for not only strengthening awareness of your club, but also for signing up new wine club members, maintaining connections with existing ones, and efficiently managing orders. Wherever your membership signups may occur, allow them to join effortlessly by employing a streamlined one-page signup form, and only ask for relevant personal details. It s also important to allow existing members to manage their membership online. Make it easy for them to access information about their membership and update their details including shipping and billing addresses, credit cards and club preferences. 2017 Wine Direct. All rights reserved. / WineDirect.com / 4

Another opportunity for convenience is automatic credit card updating for lost, stolen, and expired cards. We all know how hard it is remembering to update all your accounts when you get a new card, and that many club members are lost due to a credit card decline. Automated credit card updates make all that obsolete, and are included for WineDirect Plus clients. Before each club shipment, it s a great idea to send out pre-shipment reminders to let members know what specific wines they ll be receiving, in addition to allowing them to edit their choices, if desired. These reminders should also allow club members to ensure their shipping and billing information are current, thus reducing administrative work for you. A winery-centric platform like WineDirect allows you to implement all these functions. We also offer a proprietary program called Easy Ship, which enables automated shipping label generation. 2017 Wine Direct. All rights reserved. / WineDirect.com / 5

3 / Provide personalized service. Once your wine club members express a strong affinity with your brand, it s essential to think of ways to cultivate that loyalty. Remind them of the benefits they ll get when they join your wine club by sending personalized communications and invitations to take part in exclusive offers. Here are some of the ways you can do just that: DESIGN INCENTIVES AND PROMOTIONS THAT CATER TO YOUR MEMBERS Make sure your club is providing promos your members will love by looking into customer data. Do your club members prefer to order more bottles at longer intervals? If so, try putting up a rewards program for bulk purchases, like offering one-cent shipping for orders that exceed X bottles of wine. What if your members prefer to buy few and often? Invite them to seasonal or year-round sales so that they can get more bang for their buck. Let red wine lovers know if the club has a killer deal on Merlot. Is there an upcoming concert at the winery? Offer your local members first crack at tickets, or give them discounted rates. According to research conducted by comscore for UPS, shipping is the top deterrent to buying online, so encourage your customers to make purchases by offering shipping incentives, especially during the peak holiday season. Your wine club can also take part in shipping programs like 46Brix. Wine clubs that participate in this WineDirect initiative give their members the option to enjoy year-round $0 ground shipping for every purchase of two or more bottles, encouraging them to buy more often. At the same time, your club can promote the program to drive membership signups and lessen the occurrence of abandoned carts. 2017 Wine Direct. All rights reserved. / WineDirect.com / 6

ENRICH YOUR MEMBERS WINE CLUB EXPERIENCE WITH EXCLUSIVE CONTENT You can also provide a richer wine club experience for members by using video messages from winemakers and connoisseurs. Videos provide an incredible amount of information, build brand credibility, and do a great job of relating to people s emotions. It also helps that, according to a survey conducted by video creation service provider Animoto, 96 percent of consumers see videos as helpful references when deciding on online purchases. Videos that showcase a particular wine or a tour of the winery will delight members who value the hard work that goes into creating their favorite wines. Videos that feature wine reviews, tutorials, and pairing tips, on the other hand, will certainly appeal to members who are looking to try out new wines and new ways to enjoy them. CONNECT WITH MEMBERS AND PROSPECTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA Your happy members are your best ambassadors, and engaging them via social media is a great way of strengthening that relationship. Even though you cannot gather your entire club inside a brick-and-mortar tasting room, effective use of social media can help you foster a sense of community among members. When a club member posts a photo of their latest shipment, be sure to comment and say thank you. If they post about a major life event like a new job, marriage, or baby congratulate them and consider sending them a special offer or gift to celebrate. If you host annual club pick-up parties, make a buzz by announcing it on social media beforehand and posting pictures of it during and afterward. This way, your members will feel involved even if they weren t able to attend the event. In addition to serving as a virtual gathering space for club members, social media platforms can also help your club drive referral signups. Highlight the perks and benefits of joining your club by announcing exclusive promos, loyalty programs, and incentives on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Give your future members a taste of your wine club s culture by posting images of your club activities. Pique their interest by posting bite-sized videos of your club s featured wines, tasting tips, and tricks. You can also personally engage your top social media influencers in conversations that positively promote your brand in the mediasphere. This way, you can both further your reach and increase your chances of finding people looking for the exact experience your wine club offers. WineDirect s social media tools allow you to easily identify your top social influencers as well as the platforms where your customers are most active. Engaging these influencers is a great way to strengthen your relationships with them, and reach new audiences. Additionally, if you see that many of your customers are more active on Instagram than Twitter, that s a good indication of where you should spend more of your efforts. 2017 Wine Direct. All rights reserved. / WineDirect.com / 7

4 / Communicate, communicate, communicate! Don t let members go for months between emails. These are your most committed customers, and they want to hear from you. According to McKinsey, a research firm, email remains the most effective digital marketing tactic for keeping in touch with your members, proving to be 40 times more effective than social media when it comes to achieving conversions. Based on research by MarketingSherpa, 75 percent of adults prefer email over other forms of communication. However, you should not focus too much on the frequency of emails; instead, pay attention to sending out the right content to the right people. One of the benefits of joining a wine club is getting personalized service, and your members should notice that thoughtful touch with the messages they receive from your club. Sending out highly targeted emails that feature personalized content not only fulfills the expectations of your members, it also increases your open rates from 28.9 to 40.5 percent. Email 75% Adults prefer email over other forms of communication 40x More effective than social media 40.5% Open rate for personalized emails 2017 Wine Direct. All rights reserved. / WineDirect.com / 8

Let your members know you value their club presence by sending emails to acknowledge personal events and club interactions. Action emails, also known as trigger emails, are pre-written messages that are triggered by events related to or actions taken by your club members. Consider setting up action emails for key milestones such as: NEW CLUB MEMBERSHIP Recognize a new club member by sending them a welcome email with an offer or an introductory combination of wine. TASTING ROOM VISIT Thank your members for visiting the tasting room by sending out paperless, eco-friendly receipts, and maybe a photo or a quick note. CART ABANDONMENT If done thoughtfully, quickly, and helpfully, this type of follow up email can turn abandoned carts into conversions. EXPIRING CREDIT CARD To ease up on phone calls and personnel time, setup an automatic email that alerts your members 60, 30, or 10 days before their card expiration. BIRTHDAY / SIGNUP ANNIVERSARY Keep track of key dates and use them as an opportunity to treat your members like a VIP. Offer them a special discount or gift to celebrate the occasion. In order to personalize your members wine club experience through email, you ll need a CRM system that s centered on creating customized content and mailing lists. WineDirect s CRM, in particular, supports both mass and highly targeted email campaigns. This database records every interaction you have with your club members, including profile updates, orders, product reviews, and credit card details, and then automatically syncs that information via a cloud-based storage system. At the same time, WineDirect features an intuitive interface that makes it easy for you to create email lists based on member location, preferences, or purchasing behavior. Also, WineDirect s CRM lets club managers send out customized content that can be tracked and reported on a crucial feature in getting to know your club members and making educated marketing decisions. 2017 Wine Direct. All rights reserved. / WineDirect.com / 9

5 / Equip your staff to effectively sell club memberships. It may seem obvious, but it s critical to arm your tasting room staff with the tools to effectively promote your wine club. More than ever, club members are looking for a wine club that offers personalized service. While customized emails and mobile-responsive interfaces can help enhance interaction with your club, nothing beats the tasting room when it comes to giving your existing and soon-to-be members the personal touch they crave. As such, it s vital to train staff to deliver a unique and innovative wine tasting experience. Here are some important areas to cover: 1 2 3 Your wine club s value proposition. What are the benefits that your tasting room visitors will enjoy should they choose to join your wine club? What tiers and other options are available? Make sure your team knows all the ins and outs of your offering. Also, review the leading questions your staff can ask to get to a club suggestion. Make it easy for interested customers to sign up and give you their email. Whether it s a paper form or an ipad, only ask for the information you need and, wherever possible, make it fun. Nothing dampens a prospective member s enthusiasm like lengthy, dull paperwork. What do you have in store for visiting members of your club? Your staff should always know when a club member is coming in, be able to greet them by name and provide them their membership perks without having to ask. WineDirect s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools and proprietary Carrot engine make it easy for your staff to offer this kind of personalized service. With easy access to members preferences and order history, they can also use this data to upsell, mention discounts, and make wine pairing suggestions. Like anything, it s not enough to set it and forget it. Periodically review tasting room performance to see what kinds of wine club promotions are working or not working. It s also a good idea to mystery shop your tasting room by sending in a friend, or hiring an outside agency. 2017 Wine Direct. All rights reserved. / WineDirect.com / 10

Conclusion Far from being outdated, or more trouble than they re worth, wine clubs across the U.S. netted an average growth rate of 16 percent last year, and their revenues accounted for 33 percent of DTC sales for wineries. However, today s wine clubs are facing a new challenge: providing their members with a personalized club experience. To keep up with the times and meet expectations of members, a wine club must provide personal touches at every point, from customized signup packages for new members, to highly targeted emails sent to existing members. But, most importantly, this personal touch must be felt in the tasting room. Of course, a customized club is always in danger of turning into a management nightmare. Fortunately for club personnel, WineDirect is a powerful, winery-centric platform that includes user-friendly management tools fully integrated with CRM and POS systems. WineDirect s innovative software take the headaches and stress out of club management, while simultaneously allowing for greater flexibility and customer service opportunities. Find out more about how we can help you create a unique experience for your members as your wine club grows. 2017 Wine Direct. All rights reserved. / WineDirect.com / 11

Better DTC sales start here. At WineDirect, we empower your winery to succeed with a range of innovative, easy-to-use software tools so you can scale up, reach out and take sales further. WineDirect is a winery-centric, fully-integrated solution that streamlines all DTC functions, including clubs, CRM, reporting, and more, into a single, powerful platform that s both user-friendly and intuitive. Empower your winery with all the innovative tools it needs to thrive and succeed, as you make running your business easier and smoother. Ready to increase your wine club revenue? Speak to one of our DTC experts today. REQUEST YOUR DEMO or call 888-823-8301