Direct Wine Sales Blog

DTC Wine Case Study #5 – ROI of Social Strategy & VinTank

November 3, 2015 I had the opportunity to meet with Craig Camp, Managing Partner at Cornerstone Wine Cellars and Brandon Farley, Community Manager at VinTank this past week.  I get a lot of questions from wineries throughout the nation about the true ROI of using VinTank and social media to […]

Winery Leadership Development Webinar

In case you missed it, we are sharing DTC Consultant Network Introductory Webinar featuring Ken Majer’s. Ken shares best practices for Winery Leadership Development and Executive Coaching.  Ken also reveals his 5-step process for developing a “values driven culture.”  To learn more about Ken and set up a complimentary introduction, […]

Guest Blog Post by Ken Majer – “How to Create a Successful DTC Culture”

There are many programmatic approaches that can enhance Direct To Consumer wine sales. These can include a focus on building your wine club; establishing partnerships with the hospitality industry, transportation companies, travel companies, and destination management companies; an efficient tasting room strategy; systematic personal outreach efforts; and an efficient use […]

DTC Wine Case Study #4 – ROI of using ShipCompliant

In our fourth episode of the “DTC Wine Sales Case Study Series,” Sandra Hess, founder of DTC Wine Workshops, met with Ernie Veniegas, Wine Club Manager Grgich Hills and Jeff Carroll, VP of Product Development ShipCompliant, to uncover the true return on investment (ROI) of using ShipCompliant in combination with exceptional customer service to sell wine direct to consumers nationally.

One key take-away from this informative case study: there are clear advantages in maximizing the use of ShipCompliant to ensure customers receive wine orders on time and that wineries can ship the maximum amount of wine direct to consumer to 43 states nationally.

Ernie and Jeff share valuable insights and reveal their “Words of Wisdom” in this informative case study.  We learn that online buyers are 20% more likely to become repeat buyers if wine is delivered ON TIME THE FIRST TIME. Grab a notepad and get ready to learn best practices from these two industry leaders.

 

Guest Blog Post by Ryan Clark – Tips on DTC Wine Marketing

One of the few ways to have a successful winery comes down to DTC (Direct to Consumer) sales. It’s crucial to draft a marketing plan and have the operational tools in place to execute your plan. Drafting a plan: Take some time away from the daily duties that can easily […]

Guest Blog Post by Rick Morgin – Winery Dashboards

What is a winery dashboard and why should wineries use them? Three hypothetical wineries are committed to investing to grow their direct to consumer (DTC) sales. Each winery has segmented their target market based on price. In this example, target consumers who spend more than $20.00 per 750ml bottle of […]

DTC Wine Case Study Series #3 – “Customer Care”

In our third of the “DTC Wine Sales Case Study Series,” Sandra Hess met with David Crum, Loyalty Marketing Manager at Duckhorn Vineyards, and Terry Hegarty, General Manager at WineDirect Outbound, to uncover the true return on investment (ROI) of contacting customers by phone in between visits. One key take-away […]

DTC Case Study Series #2 – “E-Commerce Website Design, Part 2”

As wineries are realizing the clear advantages of selling direct to consumer, now is the time to ensure that winery websites are e-commerce ready, mobile optimized and responsive to be viewed properly from any device (desktop, tablet or smartphone). John Gavin, on of our DTC Network Consultants, is a winery […]

Direct Wine Sales Evolution Series – Part Two

Greetings! I was invited to speak at Start Up Grind North Bay last month about direct to consumer (DTC) sales and marketing trends in the United States. John Starr, President of Start Up Grind North Bay, asked me to share insights about how to successfully sell directly to the consumer and also […]

Guest Blog Post by Marc Engel – Perspectives on Wine Marketing Research

Conducting wine marketing research in the wine industry is like hugging a porcupine. It’s hard to wrap your arms around, and you better know what you’re doing or else you can get hurt. The challenge is endemic to wine itself. With what other product do consumers get so overwhelmed by […]

Winery Hiring is UP as Direct Sales SURGE!

There has never been a better time in history to sell wine direct to the consumer. The recent Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) “Secrets of a Successful Tasting Room” report, released in conjunction with a live video stream by Rob McMillan and guests discussing the report, details interesting trends. One key takeaway for me […]

Guest Blog Post by James Davenport – Is Your Website Mobile Friendly?

Is your winery website mobile friendly? In case you missed it, on April 21st, Google implemented a new algorithm for search on mobile devices that will alter mobile search engine optimization (SEO) results. Developers usually take note when Google changes their algorithms, but this one has caused more questions and […]

Introducing the “DTC Wine Case Study Series”

Greetings! I have the pleasure of serving a variety of winery owners and managers throughout the nation. I have frequent discussions with winery staff at onsite workshops and industry events, to identify their training needs for growing direct to consumer (DTC) wine sales. There is one common thread in most of my conversations—the […]

Guest Blog Post by John Gavin – Winery Websites

I’m a web developer who builds and maintains websites for wineries, so naturally I’m going to be talking about winery websites – how they work, how they don’t work, what’s new in the field, what’s coming in the future. For my first guest post here on the DTC site, I […]