DTC Wine Sales News – September 2016

 

Finish the YEAR STRONG with an ideal blend of Conversion Tools, Customer Touch-Points and Retention Best Practices

Greetings!

As we wrap up Q3 and dive right into OND, we have a lot to celebrate. Not only are we seeing exceptional yields in the midst of this year’s harvest, but we have also learned that direct wine sales results are growing in a fast past direction upward. As stated in the article publishes on September 15, 2016 in Wines & Vines, “All of the key wine industry metrics tracked by Wines Vines Analytics had solid, positive growth in August, with the most impressive increase occurring in direct-to-consumer wine shipments. Compared to August 2015, DtC shipments this August rose 39% to $112 million. While it does appear more wineries are entering the DtC channel and improved temperature control for wine in transit is boosting summer DtC sales, this particular jump is more likely because August included a fifth Monday, which is a popular day for shipping. DtC sales in the past 12 months came to $2.2 billion, which is 14% more than a year ago. By volume, DtC shipments totaled 291,944 cases in August and 2.8 million for the year”*.

Hiring is also up according to the same article in Wines & Vines, “As wineries enjoyed brisk sales this summer, they have also continued to add staff. According to the Winery Job Index based on postings to winejobs.com, hiring activity increased 10% in the month of August and was 8% higher over the past 12 months.

So with all of this good news, how is your team preparing for Q4? CUSTOMER RETENTION AND IMPROVED CONVERSION RATES are top of mind for winery stakeholders and managers this month. Now is a great time to conduct an all staff meeting or workshop to review direct sales results for the past nine months, share what has worked and what hasn’t and ensure all team members are aware of your TOP THREE GOALS for finishing the year strong. The “Social CRM Workshop” taking place on October 5th in St. Helena provide managers with the TOP FIVE TOOLS for retaining loyal customers and staying connected in between visits with meaningful customer touch-points leveraging CRM and Social data. If you can’t make it to St. Helena, join us for an online workshop or schedule a customized workshop at your winery. You can also review the DTC Cased Study Series for a bit of extra inspiration HERE. We look forward to hearing from you and helping your team finish the year strong.

Cheers!

Sandra Hess
Founder
DTC Wine Workshops 

The “Social CRM Workshop” takes place 8:30 – 12:30 at Farmstead/Long Meadow Ranch is located at 738 Main Street St Helena, CA.

In this workshop Sandra Hess, founder of DTC Wine Workshops will present best practices for leveraging social media platforms and improved processes to create more meaningful conversations in between visits, improves customer retention and drives customer loyalty.

Each attendee will learn the TOP 5 TOOLS for leveraging customer relationship management systems, receive a Social CRM Checklist, review latest Case Studies and participate in two break out sessions with hands-on exercises. Workshop series co-sponsored by CANVAS (Concierge Alliance Napa Sonoma).

Groups of 3 or more save $20 on registration. CANVAS members use with promo code: CANVASMEMBER3. Non CANVAS members use promo code: NONCANVASMEMBER3. $65 for CANVAS members and $80 for non-members.

DTC Consultant Network NEWS

DTC Wine Workshops is pleased to announce the addition of three members to the DTC Consultant Network, now a group of 14 specialists serving winery teams nationally on a  project-by-project basis or by monthly retainer. Interested? Schedule an Introductory Call. JUST RELEASED – “WINERY LOYALTY PROGRAMS” INTRO WEBINAR RECORDING FEATURING KEVIN SMITH. Kevin is a DTC Strategic Planning and Loyalty Programs Specialist and is the Business & Marketing Director at Fresno State’s 6,500 case Winery and also lectures in Winery Business and Marketing courses at Fresno State University. Read FULL BIO.

REGISTRATION IS OPEN for the “Winery Operations and Financial Health” Intro Webinar featuring Cynthia Beebout on October 4th 11:00 – 11:30 a.m. PST.Cynthia will share best practices around Winery Accounting and Operations. Cynthia supports wineries in the areas of software system implementations, financial and operational systems development as well as management of fiscal activities. Webinar is complimentary to the first 25 attendees. Read FULL BIO 

 

About Sandra Beals

Sandra Beals, founder of DTC Wine Workshops and the DTC Consultant Network, is a subject matter specialist and public speaker on the topics of direct to consumer wine sales and consumer engagement strategies.