Vineyard & Winery Management

May/June 2014

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1 8 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | M a y - J u n e 2 014 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m here's a lot of talk about C u s t o m e r R e l a t i o n s h i p Management (CRM) in the wine industry. While CRM originally meant the soft- ware that allowed us to track our customers, it has since evolved into a philosophy that should be practiced by everyone in an organization. As much as customer relationships are talked a b o u t , m o s t w i n e r i e s remain product-centric in their approach rather than customer-centric, where the focus is primarily on customers, and the inter- actions with them are dif- ferent from one person to another other. The cus- tomer-centric goal is to learn as much about each customer as possible, in order to help him or her learn about your wines and winery. That's not happening in most wineries now. I realize that when the tasting/retail room is busy, it's harder to create an indi- vidual experience for each customer. Yet there are certain things that can be put into play to ensure that at least part of the experience focuses on the customer. Think of your tasting room as the stage for improvisational theater. There may be parts of the performance that are the same each time, but much of the time the actors are suiting their words and actions to those of other performers in the play, without the benefit of a script. QUIZ TIME To understand whether your tasting room is product- or customer-centric, ask yourself these questions: + Do I know who my customers are (demo- graphics and psychographics)? + By the end of a visit, do I understand my customer's wants, needs, desires and expectations? + A r e w e a s k i n g q u e s t i o n s o f o u r customers? + Do the website, social media efforts, advertising and events focus on attract- ing our target audience? + Is being customer-centric a company- wide strategy that increases profitability and reduces costs by solidifying custom- er loyalty? It's not about presenting your products. It's about creating a balance between dis- covering the needs and expectations of SHORT COURSE + Change from a product-centric model to a customer-centric model. + Invest in a CRM system that tracks your customers. + Get buy-in from employees. + One-size-fits-all customer service does not work. Invest in a CRM system to focus sales efforts WINE WISE MARKETING ELIZABETH SLATER Do You Know Your Customers? Customer service should not be an impersonal experience. Photo: Thinkstock/Ryan McVay

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