Wine Direct

April 30, 2007 | WineDirect Admin

Are you a niche brand? - then YOU ARE THE FUTURE

The long tail is the wine industry.

The world of wine is changing. There are more and more wine brands coming every day. Conversely there are less and less ways to access market due to wholesaler consolidation. But restaurants, retailers, and consumers thrive from this selection. The Internet has liberalized wineries. Never before have you had the opportunity to present your brands on the same playing field as larger wineries as now and the only way to capitalize on this Long Tail is Direct.

Direct will set you free. It will allow you to stabilize your brand and allow you, the winery, to have a DIRECT relationship with the customer. With Direct, you control your destiny. You have the ability to disseminate your message without playing the “telephone” game. With Direct you regain profit and you can truly realize the full lifetime value of your customers.

Direct to Trade sounds alien to many wineries but the reality is that you already sell Direct to Trade. For most of you in your local market your reps go and sell to restaurants and retailers. In Napa how many of you visit Angele or in Healdsburg how many people present to Barn Diva? Just extend this concept to other markets. They are there and waiting to sell your wine. I guarantee.
Moreover, if you have a wholesaler and you are a small brand you still probably perform Direct to Trade. What is a market visit if not you going and selling your wine?

Direct is so often tied to tasting room sales which are more of a hospitality sale. To grow, new money and resources need to be refocused on the growth opportunities DTC ecommerce, DTC phone sales, DTT ecommerce, and DTT phone sales. Yes it is more profitable. Yes it is more sustainable. But it does not happen like tasting room sales. Putting up a website is not like opening a tasting room on the local wine highway. It takes a concerted effort and energy to drive people to your brand. The good news is you have help - every time your wine is consumed, there is a chance they might “google” you to buy more. Every accolade (even from bloggers) is an opportunity to break down the barriers for someone to start a relationship with you.

Don’t let the laws or the investment scare you. It seems intimidating at first but imagine the possibilities:

A market where your brand can touch most of the US with the click of a mouse or by dialing numbers on a telephone.
An opportunity to interact with all your customers in real time.
A place where people feel they are part of something greater - your brand.

Is Direct hard? Absolutely. Is Direct worth it? Absolutely. The path is in front of all of us. We (the wine industry) just have to use it fast before it vanishes.

Apr 30, 2007 at 9:41 AM

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April 26, 2007 | WineDirect Admin

Thinking About and Understanding the Execution of Ideas

Ideas are easy. Execution is hard. That’s a simple truism that translates across all industry.

At Inertia we have a lot of ideas. In the landscape of technology service providers to the wine industry, nobody, I would argue strives to bring more ideas to bear in execution with clients in the name of service and support than we do.

It’s why we provide unmatched support to our clients on an ongoing basis. Your success is our success and all it takes is one good idea applied to move the needle.

Translating those ideas into a form that is understandable is where the magic comes in.

I’m thinking out loud here, but a colleague and I are kicking around the notion of creating a framework for how we work with and manage clients in the ongoing development of their DIRECT business—whether it be consumer direct or trade direct.

It may be that we don’t ultimately put this framework in place, it may be wiser to continue to enable in a more organic, intimate fashion, but general frameworks for execution of ideas are good for everybody who need to move projects forward.

Most frequently these frameworks have cutesy titles that make an acronym that in and of itself is easily understandable; ultimately the goal is to help create a construct for shared understanding and communication for work activities. Generally, though, without the artifice of the ‘cutesy’ here, almost all methodologies for execution include the following organizing buckets.

Define: Includes defining a business goal, opportunity and scope of activity like increasing club membership numbers by 15% or developing sales activity to four accounts in Florida for our Direct-to-Trade program.

Plan: Includes developing the detailed requirements, the objectives, resource requirements and timeline. This is the who, what, where, when and how of moving an idea into an execution phase.

Assess: Includes identifying existing and desired state of affairs with the end goal, analyzing the gap between the two and developing recommendations. This is a review of the plan and identifying gaps that may inhibit success.

Create & Implement: Includes developing the solution, testing and executing the program. Once this occurs, the solution should only be changed within the context of a new project or idea. This is executing the plan—you’ve planned your work and now the time is to ‘work the plan.’

Review: Even the best laid plans don’t go as perfectly as we would like in the define, plan, assess, create & implement phase. This review phase is a learning opportunity to gather and talk through what can be improved and enhanced.

Regardless of whether we implement a formalized framework for projects, we already do all of the above as defined by specific tactics, and you do to. Think about your direct sales activities within the above outline and see if it doesn’t help organize your thoughts into a more easily translatable and communicable outline for executing work and sharing results.

Apr 26, 2007 at 9:46 AM

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April 24, 2007 | WineDirect Admin

Paying it Forward

Mike Duffy, of the Winery Website Report, a blog that we have watched and been grateful for the knowledge he’s shared with the industry “tagged” us today in his post. He has been one of the unsung champions for wineries trying to help them succeed online. In the spirit of “paying it forward” here are some blogs that we anticipate will be useful or that we just enjoy reading:

I tried not repeating his choices but he had some many of the best listed. For me, I am mostly skewed to wine industry information that helps wineries and I couldn’t just do 5.

Winery Website Report - Mike Duffy (we wish he’d post more)

Wine Tasting Services - Chris Edwards - though they are just getting their feet wet and they are going to give some great information, especially about fulfillment

Fermentations - Tom Wark - loud and loved - what can we say

Pinotblogger - Josh’s journey with his new winery is great for all wineries to learn from

Good Grape - Jeff did such a great job blogging we hired him

Grape Thinking - Greg Mueller is a Millennial trying to make his mark but the content from his blog is promising

Stromhoek - The best Wine 2.0 brand - they are the posterchild

The Long Tail - it may not seem about wine, but it is.

More of our favorites just for wine enthusiasts:

Lendeavors

Quaffability

Apr 24, 2007 at 9:50 AM

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April 19, 2007 | WineDirect Admin

REthink Your Online Store – Merchandising

To ensure the success of your ecommerce plans this spring, a fresh look and new ideas are essential. The following suggestions will undoubtedly help you get back into the spirit of selling more DIRECT! To accomplish online what retail managers do with their brick and mortar business, you have to employ best practices and effective promotion tools that create the ‘look and feel’ of aisles in a store.

Creativity is Key:

Besides having a compelling layout, the way in which you present or even spin the products you sell is completely up to you. This is where you can get creative, and turn those visitors into buyers!
Try putting banners on products for emphasis on tactics like limited production, or have an image of a medal to highlight a high wine score or winner of a contest.
Other promotional methods may include: Pre-Releases, Ratings, Exclusives, Themes, Seasonality, Mixed Packs, Behind the Scenes/Educational Stories, etc. These methods have all proved to be great selling tactics in the past, but you can always dare to be different!
Identify the key business goals and ensure they are obvious on your homepage, with calls-to-action. Have these ‘kickers’ link to your wine club, wine store, and events on your homepage with complementary/compelling images.

Compelling Layout:

Identify key products and areas that you want to draw attention. Create your store design to specifically highlight notable products, and place these items above the fold.
Be sure you create the proper messaging to set customer expectations. Negative space or “white space” can add a sense of sophistication to your website, while too many products, text, and images can make a webpage seem busy and confusing for a customer. Graphics in strategic places tend to draw the eye and entice customers to purchase.
Keep the number of clicks-to-purchase low; more than 3 clicks and your customers will start to lose interest.
Make sure your store looks neat and fresh; your customers will find it much easier to purchase your products, and enjoy their shopping experience!

Create Strategies That Speak to Your Customers:

Don’t forget to up-sell and cross-sell. Feature exclusives or related products. This allows you to take advantage of the online medium, pushing customers to shop at your website.
Try merchandising categories that drive sales such as Limited Releases, Library Wines, Large Formats, Gifting, and Gift Baskets. Also, you can try strategies that create a feeling of scarcity or limited availability such as allocation and mailing-list only wines.
Anticipate the needs of your customers and provide the shopping experience to match.

Promotions that Drive Traffic:

No matter how good your store looks, and what great discounts you offer, you need to get customers to your site - before they can buy. Zero promotion equals zero sales.
Focus on marketing your website at wine club events, in direct mailings, and in the tasting room as well as email marketing. You can promote your store using online marketing strategies such as search engine optimization, email marketing, banner advertisements and affiliate marketing among others.
By constantly reminding your customers and contacts of your online store, they are more likely to buy your wine online when they aren’t close enough to visit.

Remember, direct is the best way to Communicate with, Acquire, and Retain your customers.

Apr 19, 2007 at 10:05 AM

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April 16, 2007 | WineDirect Admin

Unified Database

Perhaps you have heard the phrase Unified database mentioned a few times on this blog, or from Account Management, Sales or the Client Services & Support teams. It is the idea of one central database containing your customers true order history, account preferences, wine club data, and all other information that pertains to your customers.

So what is the true value of the unified database? Many times, customer data and information is dispersed amongst multiple incoherent databases. You may process your wine club through one tool and your ecommerce direct purchases are recorded in another database. And also your tasting room purchases are recorded in yet another disconnected database. A true 3-dimensional look at your customer records is truly impossible in this scenario. Viewing the order history of someone off of your tasting room database is not a true reflection of their purchasing patterns. It does not include data such as club shipments, ecommerce and phone purchases. You have limited visibility to their true purchasing patterns. How do you determine who your best customers are or who should receive your next pre-release email for a particular varietal? Understanding this data is imperative in regards to marketing and creating a lifelong relationship with your customers.

Inertia has worked hard at building relationships with companies in the top of their business such as Wine Tasting Network and POSR and we consistently improve our tools to ensure that managing the Unified Database aspect of your business is a reality. Utilizing the partnerships and tools we offer gives you the ability to understand and get that true 3-dimensional look at your customers and guarantees your success.

Over the next couple of weeks, the Client Services & Support department will be posting methods and true life examples of ways that you can ensure that you get that 3-dimensional look at purchasing patterns and all other aspects of your customers.

Apr 16, 2007 at 10:08 AM

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April 13, 2007 | WineDirect Admin

Do not Be Scammed When NOT to Sell Your Wine By Jennie Haug of Titus Vineyards

Preface by Michael Coffey- IBG

Jennie Haug represents one of our favorite wineries, Titus Vineyards. Not only do they have great wine, but they are a winery that truly cares about the wineries around them. Early this week Jennie asked me if I had heard about a possible scam that was being played through out the valley. Once she heard that I had not been advised of it, she asked if she could post a blog about her experience.

In my opinion, this is what this industry is about. In a lot of ways, we are family and we are here to help each other out. Thank you Jennie for taking the time to warn all of us of possible threats.

Cheers!

I am passionate and enthusiastic about selling Titus Vineyards wines. With all the effort I put into sales promotions, it is gratifying when people contact me out of the blue to buy wine. Last week I received the two following emails inquiring about purchasing wine. Instead of bringing excitement, they both sent off quiet alarm bells in my brain.

From: james_miller@unionplus.net [mailto:james_miller@unionplus.net]
Sent: Monday, April 02, 2007 6:39 AM
To: sf@yahoo.com
Subject: Wine Enquiry

Hello .
We are intrested in ordering your wines . Kindly quote me for :-
2005 Merlot
Qty : 90 bottles
750 ml

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
Qty : 90 bottles
750 ml

Also let me know if you accept credit card payment .I will arange the pickup of the wines as soon as payment goes through via my shipping company . Let me know the total weight of the bottles to enable to get the quote for shipping from my shipping company.
Regards.
Seth Smiles.
From: billjohnson_24@highdesert.com [mailto:billjohnson_24@highdesert.com]
Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2007 5:24 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: Order Enquiry……………….

Good day Sales
i will like to place an order from you and will like it delivered to my new residence in Japan cause i need them for a special occassion coming up there ,so i will like to know whether there is anything i need to know before i can place my order and again i know you may have problem shipping internationally or to my location there,so there is a courier i used in the past for an order like this that can handle the shipment and they will pick the package up from your door and deliver it to my door,so i will be expecting to hear from you in regards to this and lastly i will be making payment with my credit card,so i hope you accept credit cards.
So let me know if you will like to sell to me then i can choose what i want.
Regards
Bill Johnson

I have a strongly honed suspicious streak and continue to learn to trust my gut instinct. Several things seemed unusual about these emails:

The broken English, poor syntax and improper punctuation.
Reference to vintages not yet released, indicating they hadn’t even looked at our website.

Not sent to our direct email, but instead blind copied to us.
Both asked if we accept credit cards. Again, if they’d looked at our website, they’d know. Besides, what winery doesn’t accept credit cards these days?
Both referenced making their own shipping arrangements.
Alone in the office I racked my brain for someone to consult. I decided to reach out to a fellow Silverado Trail Winery Association member and forwarded the emails to Stephanie Trotter-Zacharia at Casa Nuestra. I explained my suspicions and asked if she’d ever seen anything like it. Here swift reply confirmed it was a scam and indicated that she regularly received emails of this kind. The buyer purchases the wine direct from the winery, including shipping. When the shipper arrives to pick up the wine, the winery then gives them the wine and pays the carrier via cash or check for the shipping charges on behalf of the buyer. A month later when the winery’s bank calls to inform the winery that the purchaser’s credit card is bad, the winery is out wine and shipping costs. Sort of like the Nigerian 419 scam with a wine twist. Subsequent industry people I spoke with had never heard of this scam.

As busy Direct Sales professionals with active email boxes, big sales goals, overflowing paperwork and no tech staff - how do we protect ourselves from scams? In addition to the clues listed above:

Be alert to international references (Japan etc).
Be aware of Social Engineering, which involves using the right sounding words and phrases to make you think it’s a valid scenario. For example, an email with the heading, “From Beth – about shipping the order”, which appears legitimate until you review pending orders and realize you don’t have any from someone named Beth.

Google key phrases. In this case, “email wine scam” didn’t bring up relevant hits, but it’s helped me identify scams in the past.
Don’t respond or unsubscribe. These actions only confirm to the senders that it’s a valid, active email account.

Ask around. Talk to your co-workers, your acquaintances at other wineries, the associations you belong to, your tech consultants or your IBG contacts. Kevin Onesko was tremendously helpful in suggesting ways to identify and fight email scams.

Please share this with friends and colleagues. Let’s make sure no one gets ripped off in their quest to sell wines. In the meantime, I’ve got to get back to this Nigerian Princess currently exiled in the UK who wants to buy 90 cases of our 2008 vintage.

Apr 13, 2007 at 10:11 AM

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April 10, 2007 | WineDirect Admin

Dual Sales Channel Development

What are the benefits of dual sales channel development? The obvious answer is that your products would be available to customers at both retail locations (wine shops, restaurants, etc.) as well as for direct shipment to their homes and offices. This is a core market development strategy which many wineries do not take advantage of because they believe the initial investment of opening the second sales channels is too high. Development of any new market requires a ground investment of dollars, employee resources and administrative overhead to establish. But, promoting your products through both the direct-to-consumer and direct-to-trade channels will provide you with efficiencies. The second channel does not double your market development costs and in many cases developing your second channel can be quite modest in cost. For both channels you will be managing a targeted email marketing campaign, merchandising your products online, updating your website with tasting notes, product accolades, news and events, coordinating winemaker dinners, attending events, etc. The importance of maintaining dual channel sales increases when one channel suffers or is put in jeopardy. This is particularly true when the security of your direct-to-consumer channel is in jeopardy as it feeds and promotes the health of your retail accounts. Some wineries choose to develop their DTC channel first because of a large barrier of entry into a state’s wholesale marketplace. This is particularly true in states which require the use of a distributor. The good news is that the need to seduce a distributor, which can be a quite humbling and sometimes frustrating experience, has been eradicated in a number of states where Inertia has launched its Direct-to-Trade Initiative.

If you are looking to strengthen your reach into a particular state, and are interested in the Direct-to-Trade Initiative, just drop me a line.

Onward and upward,

Apr 10, 2007 at 10:14 AM

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April 4, 2007 | WineDirect Admin

Calwineries said what I didn’t (with numbers to back it up)

Unfortunately I didn’t have time to give more detail but Ryan did a great job of talking about the recent consumer direct survey. Check it out here.

He is right though - I do like the way it indicates good news for Direct despite it not being fully representative of the DTC business.

Apr 4, 2007 at 10:16 AM

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April 3, 2007 | WineDirect Admin

Investing in the Direct Channels

Today our press release went out announcing great news about our new Series B investment. What does this mean? It means that this team will be working even harder to build the Direct channel (both direct to consumer and direct to trade) for the wine industry. It also means that once again, the VC community is investing their capital into the wine industry to make it better.

The last time this happened there were companies left in the rubble; wineshopper.com, wine.com, etc. Part of the reason is the models had significant flaws but the other part was the wine industry did not embrace the opportunity to help increase their business. We believe in wineries and we believe in Direct. It is not our revolution, it is yours. We hope you’ll believe in us and work together to ensure that the wine revolution helps change the industry for the positive. We live in the most exciting times in the US wine industry since Prohibition or since Mondavi put CA on the map. Let’s make history together.

Apr 3, 2007 at 10:23 AM

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April 3, 2007 | WineDirect Admin

Mailing list – Snail mail vs. Email

In today’s more technologically advanced world, we are beginning to see a transition from the traditional “snail mail” to email. With this transition comes the obvious debate - “Which is more personal?” And more importantly - which method is more effective in turning contacts to customers?

There are arguments both for and against each side of the question. It remains to be seen if there is a solid reason to choose one over the other. I believe there is validity in each argument. Finding the happy medium between email and printed mailings, is finding suitable occasions for both. Some customers need to have something tangible to feel they are truly appreciated. Others would rather have your communications delivered to their phone, PDA, or computer so that they can be informed of an upcoming event or offering with minimal interruption.

With that said, how do you go about segmenting your customers?

Form a plan to effectively communicate to both groups of consumers, separately.
Design a mailing which specifically tells your customers to choose their preferred method of communication. Make sure to include a return mailer for “snail mail” customers and a web address directing your tech savvy to sign-up online.
Send the direct mailing and wait for the response. For contacts that don’t respond, put them on your email list.

After segmenting your customers, you will be amazed at how much time and money you will save by cutting down your mailing list. This simple task will help you better understand your customers and their preferences and help you establish a clean email database.

Michael Coffey

Sr. Account Manager

Apr 3, 2007 at 10:18 AM

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