The essential guide to selling wine digitally

Open Imagination helps indies who are looking to claim their share of the online boom. To find out more, contact Howard Lee-Smith on 01865 922 112 or visit openimagination.co.uk

There’s no doubt that people love the experience of buying wines from bricksand-mortar shops. Wine merchants offer atmosphere, expertise and emotive experiences that might seem impossible to replicate online. But the web, and the inboxes of your audience, are important sales and marketing channels. They are there to be capitalised on, with the right approach.

Open Imagination has been providing e-commerce web development solutions to the drinks trade for 10 years. It has some insights into easy wins for independent wine merchants who want to improve their digital presence and make online retailing more prosperous.

The Personal Touch

You want your website to deliver a network of positive brand and customer experiences that funnel happy browsers through the front door to the checkout. So, it’s important to appreciate the virtual journey of your customers. Does the website, through its design and visual appearance, represent brand personality? Are customers welcomed and guided to the products they want?

While it is harder to offer a truly personal experience without face-to-face customer interaction, tools can be used to target customers with products they are more likely to buy based upon their journey, and the selections made. “We think you might like ...” provides recommendations that encourage a customer to browse further. Additionally, a virtual sommelier can offer useful pairing advice and tasting-note guidance for customers.

Optimise websites for mobiles

Today a mobile phone or a tablet is the device of choice for accessing the web. Some older websites are not adaptable to different screen sizes, and this will invariably deliver a mediocre online shopping experience that will turn visitors away. You definitely don’t want this.

The best “mobile-first” websites offer slick navigation with large buttons, concise readable text and simplified menus, with an intuitive search feature.

Shopping cart

Online customers love convenience, and 50% of shopping carts are cast aside due to overcomplicated checkout procedures or surprise charges. A friction-free checkout experience is the answer to this. Make the process easy: avoid unnecessary form filling and be up-front about shipping costs, with eye-catching incentives e.g. “free shipping for orders over £…”

Customers also have a habit of ‘wandering off’. In fact, 70% of carts in the UK are generally abandoned. Servicing your customer with a gentle on-screen reminder can prompt a sale.

Make use of data

There are some reports within Google Analytics that offer low-hanging fruit to give you insights on your customers. For instance, webpage traffic reports show attributes of your website that have helped your customers make a purchase. You can also inspect what aspects have turned prospective customers away. This strategy is great when planning online features and offers.

Use data to target specific customers in a mailing list based upon products previously purchased or browsed. Learn from the results of your campaigns for future marketing so you can be confident customers will continue to welcome receiving it.

Processing orders

So, your website is providing a virtual experience as close as is possible to a visit to your shop. Now you will be keen to find a solution to order processing, so that the task doesn’t distract you from your walk-in customers.

Order fulfilment processes can help to ease the load on the administrative tasks involved in online retail. You and your team can share the tasks while knowing who’s doing what. Bulk processing and printing of labels enables fast and efficient internal processes. Integrations can coordinate with delivery companies to provide competitive logistics and provide cost savings too.

The Finish

Take advantage of today’s technology. Run digital marketing campaigns with buying incentives tailored to your customers’ preferences. Look to provide online the great service and quality that you deliver in store. Celebrate virtually the personality and character of your brand and your online customers will demonstrate their loyalty too.

• Published in association with Open Imagination