5 minute read
Direct to customer
Direct Hit
The value of an online relationship
SOPHIE PREECE
Cloudy Bay seeks to create a long-term connection with visitors. Photo Richard Briggs
MARLBOROUGH HAS a “tremendous strategic opportunity” to benefit from direct sales to international consumers, according to nzwinehome founder Grant Rimmer. Data from nzwinemetrics shows that 87% of direct to international consumer sales of Marlborough wine are at the cellar door, with the remaining 13% in online sales. That’s compared to the national average of 71% at cellar door and 29% through e-commerce, says Grant. “If we looked at Central Otago independently, they would show 48% in e-commerce activity versus cellar door sales.”
The two “benchmark” regions for online sales are Central and Waiheke, which have both been successful in implementing a “two-point sales objective”, says Grant. “Their first objective being to secure case sales directly at the point of visitation. Simultaneously, their second objective is to achieve commitment within a club, subscription or similar wine loyalty programme.”
That takes time “and there is always churn”, but if producers build a sufficient depth of members and “offer a genuinely compelling and unique proposition”, the sales rewards can be significant, says Grant. “Wine clubs and subscription programmes are the main drivers of e-commerce for wine.” While some people will “jump on a website and randomly buy”, a commitment programme is far and away a better option, he adds. Some programmes are a casual ‘friends of’ arrangement, where a customer signs up to receive a newsletter, including updates on new releases and a link to buy. Others are structured, where a brand fan, tempted by the status of a label and the rarity of its wines, hands over credit card details and opts to buy automatically in the future. The “ultimate” situation is for producers to establish a “cult” following for their brand or a specific label, with a waiting list to join the mailing list, says Grant.
Regardless of which situation a producer is in, a digital connection with international ‘direct to consumer’ reach is “a modern necessity”, he says. “In addition to the obvious profitability benefits, direct to customer sales offer a rare opportunity to learn about the
consumer and understand what they are looking for.” One of the reasons Marlborough has fewer direct sales could be the perception that the region is all about Sauvignon Blanc, and that all its wines can be easily sourced overseas, Grant says. Both are erroneous assumptions, and cellar doors have perfect opportunity to correct them, by inviting customers to discover their wider offering and to connect for the
long term. “The invitation to purchase is critical and it does start at the cellar door. But it doesn’t have to stop there… There is so much opportunity to continue.”
Higher performing wineries, seeking better returns on their cellar door investment, understand that international consumers have a strong intention to purchase more than just “a bottle or two”, he says. “Australian, American, Singaporean and Hong Kong nationals are actively seeking new wine discoveries. Many of these customers are already well accustomed to club type programmes.” Grant started nzwinehome in 2006, after identifying the challenges of to-door global distribution. “Since our inception we have set about building a fully inclusive solution that is e-commerce aligned, encompassing specialist thermo-eco packaging, compliance, taxes and duties.” The sales interface is directly between producers and their customers, with the logistics platform an unseen element, “which is key”, he says. The company immediately received support from Cloudy Bay, along with a handful of other Marlborough producers, says Grant.
Cloudy Bay brand experience manager Julie Delmas says it is important to the company to offer visitors the opportunity to order wines for delivery to their homes around the world, especially as many wines are only available at the cellar door. “We want our guests to be able to experience a taste of our world when they get home, so the door-to-door offering is a key part of our service.” Over the past 18 to 24 months, a growing number of Marlborough producers have taken a “leap of faith” by embracing international direct to client and developing their
Thermo-Eco New packaging at nzwinehome is putting the warm and fuzzies into sustainability. The Thermo-Eco export packaging is made from recycled sheep wool from New Zealand, blended with a composite cardboard material. Company founder Grant Rimm says the product replicates the cushioning qualities of polystyrene. “For a number of years, we had been very uncomfortable with the impact that our polystyrene packaging was making on the environment,” he says. “Our social conscience and our genuine desire to closely support our producer partners to achieve their own sustainability goals, drove us to develop this new, fully unique design.” nzwinehome delivers more than 10,000 cases of wine to the doors of consumers around the world each year, and needs strong, lightweight packaging with a high level of thermal resistance, says Grant. The company employed design engineers
e-commerce channel, Grant says, noting a “general change in outlook across the region” as companies recognise the potential to leverage far more off their cellar door and hospitality investment. That’s been good for the region and for nzwinehome, so in 2018 the company became a sponsor of the Wine Marlborough Cellar Door of the Year competition, taking Forrest Estate cellar door staff to Waiheke Island for two days of cellar door exploration. Late last year, Grant hosted the joint winners of the 2019 Cellar Door Personality of the Year competition - Blair MacDonald and Nina HuriaBryce - to Central Otago for two days to experience some of the best wine tourism offerings in that region. Grant says the “mini-holiday” is a great chance to give motivated cellar door staff a great learning opportunity.
to “kick-start” the thinking, “but in the end, after a couple of well timed light bulb moments, our in-house team collaborated and collectively developed our very own environmentally sustainable wine packaging”.
