Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/646485
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m M a r - A p r 2 016 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 1 7 wine club members join while visit- ing a tasting room. Building your wine club is impor- tant. Retaining membership is more critical still. The 2015 Wine Business Monthly/Silicon Valley Bank Tasting Room Survey of near- ly 600 respondents found that it costs five times as much to recruit a new member as it does to retain an old one, yet the average length of time a member stays in a club is only 25.9 months. Why do wineries lose club mem- bers? "The members don't feel the love," says Ron Scharman, COO of Chatterbox Wine Marketing Ser- vices in Napa, Calif. "Wine clubs are about engagement, retention and loyalty. They're about reward- ing the people you already have in your club." Chatterbox's mission is to bring best-of-breed solutions from out- side the wine industry into the mainstream of DTC wine market- ing, helping wineries sell more ine clubs are more than an opportunity to increase direct- to-consumer (DTC) sales. When managed successfully, they let you foster future growth by building long-term and even lifetime rela- tionships with your best customers and brand ambassadors. As a sales channel, DTC repre- sents more than $2 billion annually, according to DTC Wine Symposium organizers Free the Grapes!, a national grassroots coalition that seeks to remove restrictions in states that still prohibit consum- ers from purchasing wines directly from wineries and retailers. Wine club and tasting room sales typically account for more than half of a winery's annual sales. According to the 2015 Silicon Val- ley Bank State of the Wine Industry report, wine club sales, on aver- age, account for 22% of a winery's total sales. Tasting room sales rep- resent 31% of total sales. Silicon Valley Bank also notes that 90% of Building Wine Club Loyalty Will they still love you tomorrow? + Wine club and tasting room sales typically account for more than half of a winery's annual sales. + While building your club is important, retaining member- ship is even more so. + Offering a menu of different clubs and personalizing from there is a current trend. + Keeping club members engaged and making them feel special is the way to their hearts. + Let club members opt in to what type of communica- tion they prefer from you and request feedback when appropriate. + Your entire marketing program should have the same authentic feel. AT A GLANCE WINE WISE MARKETING JENNIFER STRAILEY Research shows that 90% of wine club members join while visiting a tasting room.