Three ways to grow your DTC business in 2018

WineDirect (formerly Vin65) has over 1,600 wineries using their wine club, point of sale, and ecommerce software.

According to Wine Business Monthly, wineries who offer members a choice experience higher club conversion (six per cent versus four per cent for wineries who offer no choice). Gone are the days when merely offering a “White Wine Club” and a “Red Wine Club” was sufficient. Today’s customer wants to be able to customize their own shipments.

As direct-to-consumer (DTC) wine sales continue to grow, there are big opportunities for Canadian wineries to thrive. But selling wine DTC isn’t as easy as one might think. The modern consumer wants it all: endless personalization, easy online ordering, fast and free shipping… the list goes on. As a small winery, it can be hard to keep up.

At WineDirect (formerly Vin65), our goal is to enable wineries to succeed in this challenging landscape to create delightful customer experiences and sell wine in the way that makes most sense for you.

With over 1,600 wineries using our wine club, point of sale, and ecommerce software, we have access to some great winery-specific data. Based on that, we’ve compiled three top recommendations for how you can take your DTC business to the next level in 2018.

Offer yo ur club members a cho ice

Gone are the days when merely offering a “White Wine Club” and a “Red Wine Club” was sufficient. Today’s customer wants to be able to customize their own shipments. In fact, two of the primary reasons people leave a wine club is that they are sent wines they don’t like, or they aren’t satisfied with the selection.

According to Wine Business Monthly, wineries who offer members a choice experience higher club conversion

(six per cent versus four per cent for wineries who offer no choice). And, user choice club members also tend to stay longer in the club, pushing up lifetime value.

WineDirect’s wine club management tools make it easy to offer and manage customized clubs, so you can minimize your administrative headache and maximize your sales.

Send mo re emails

Emails are the single most effective marketing channel to drive sales. At WineDirect, our average email conversion rate is 2.75 per cent, triple the average conversion rate for organic search. And just like you always want your tasting room staff to ask for the sale in person, you should do the same via email.

Emails are the single most effective marketing channel to drive sales. WineDirect’s point of sale platform makes it easy for you to collect customer data, and built-in email tools enable you to automatically follow up after their visit with a personalized note, encouraging them to shop online.

The first step to sending more emails is to collect email addresses, and the easiest place to do this is in the tasting room. WineDirect’s point of sale platform makes it easy for you to collect customer data, and built-in email tools enable you to automatically follow up after their visit with a personalized note, encouraging them to shop online. In fact, this “thank you” email converts at 7.5 per cent – almost three-times the rate of a normal email.

Optimize fo r mo bile

It’s critical that customers have a similar experience at each touchpoint with your winery, from the tasting room, to your website, to package delivery. This includes the mobile experience.

Almost half the traffic and one quarter of sales on winery websites built on WineDirect occur on a mobile or tablet device. If it’s not easy to shop on your website, you’re leaving money on the table. Make sure your website and emails are

If it’s not easy to shop on your website, you’re leaving money on the table. Make sure your website and emails are responsive – meaning they look great no matter what size screen or device you’re using.

responsive – meaning they look great no matter what size screen or device you’re using – and shop them regularly to make sure they are working correctly.

At WineDirect, we offer 20+ free website templates that are fully optimized for mobile and designed to drive sales.

Want more tips for 2018? Visit the Knowledge Center on our website for free DTC eBooks, articles, and more. To learn how we can help you sell wine on your terms, visit our website at www.winedirect.com, or call 888-437-7064.

But don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what one of our clients has to say about how WineDirect has helped them succeed:

“Having the power and features of WineDirect to support our ecommerce and wine club fulfillment makes us look like superstars. Excellent platform, good support, great people to work with,” says Terry Meyer Stone from Tinhorn Creek Vineyards in Oliver, B.C. o