Club Update - July, 2007
How Important is the Customer Experience?:
The customer experience is extremely important.
It can be the very reason people continue to return to your business & make additional
purchases instead of going to the local convenience store. When customers visit a winery or
store it can be a full sensory experience. The beauty of the vineyards, the smell of the soil
& wines, the sounds of the wind & birds & the personal sense of kinship when talking to the people
in the tasting room.
The Importance of Tasting Room & Store Staff:
Staff members do not have to be certified sommeliers
but the difference in tasting room sales & the growth of club membership can be seen when
you have the right people behind the bar. If you have friends & family in the tasting room
that don't quite match your needs you may want to find a more important position for them
behind the scenes.
Secret Shoppers:
If you want to be sure that you have the right staff try sending a friend in as a
"secret shopper." Don't provide the friend with much information as you want to
have them truly report the experience. Some questions to consider asking would include:
How long did it take to be greeted? Was the staff smiling & friendly? Did you feel welcome?
Were you told about the club? Did they ask if you wanted to make a purchase? Was the tasting
room clean? What was the over-all experience? Would you return? Were you carded?
Secret Shoppers can provide valuable feedback to
which you can quickly respond. It may be as simple as adding an additional person behind
the bar or providing education to your existing staff. In any case, the sales can increase
& the customer experience can be enough to make your business "THE business" those customers
remember.
Extending the Customer Relationship
Beyond the First Visit:
Research consistently reports that it costs $ 7.00 to gain a new customer & only $ 1.00 to
keep an existing customer. So, how do you increase return customers without spending
thousands of dollars on advertising?
Newsletters:
The greatest hurdle that
I hear from people is that they don't have time. With today's technology, this should
not be the case. There are many tools on the market that ease the creation & delivery
of newsletters. An investment of just a few hours can result in professional results.
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Getting Started with Your Newsletter:
Set goals, measure response & refine your newsletter.
Plan & Mark Your Calendars:
Planning to send a newsletter each quarter is a good standard to follow.
By "planning" I mean commit. We recommend that you take the time to mark
the newsletter distribution dates on the calendar. Plus, when your calendar
is still open, go back two weeks prior to the newsletter distribution dates
& mark your calendar for the respective time to write the newsletter.
The Newsletter Recipe:
Composing a
newsletter can be a daunting task. If you break the letter into bite-size pieces it
will make writing the content much easier. Here are some suggestions: Vineyards News,
Current Events, Pairing Notes or a Recipe, New Releases, Promotional Offer, Industry
Questions & Answers
Provide Value in the Content:
Sending
newsletters is so easy that many newsletters wind up in the recycle bin. Increasing the
success rate that people open & read your newsletter is not difficult & newsletter recipe
can help. Make sure that your newsletter has value beyond the mention of what you are
selling.
Viral Growth:
Having your existing
customers receive your newsletter can do more than promote sales. It can extend your
business to new customers. If you provide value in the letter your customers may
pass along the newsletters to their friends. You can increase the viral growth
when you mention your customers in the letters. If you publish a question or
recipe of your customers they may pass it along to their friends.
Newsletter Lists Can Grow Quickly:
Don't make excuses - it does NOT take a long time to grow a powerful newsletter list.
We know of an example of a new winery who grew their list to over six thousand members
in 3 years. Take advantage of the locals & summer visitors. They all offer a great
opportunity to grow newsletter & club memberships.
Newsletter Services & Classes:
If you don't have an existing email solution which allows the distribution of mass
number of emails you may consider using a service which specializes in communications.
These services also provide feedback on both delivery & open rates. Constant Contact
is one of the companies which offer Free 60-Day Trials as well as a variety of classes.
A few classes to consider include Getting Started, List Management & Email Marketing
Makeovers.
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