Video Replay: Secrets to Successful DtC Sales

On May 17th we presented several of the findings from the most recent Direct to Consumer survey. This year we again had good participation from the wine business community both in region and by case production. Many great observations were offered from the panelists:

Last Chance: SVB Live DtC Videocast

I wanted to title this post with something like, "Jaw Dropping Evidence You Won't Believe !!" Then I was going to send you to another site that would have you click through 75 random pictures. Don't you hate it when you get pulled into one of those links? They never get to the picture you wanted to see. It's a form of internet fraud and torture.

Well I actually do have more than 75 slides we've just finished putting together. They're from the most recent Direct to Consumer survey; hardly a fraud. I think you would really appreciate all of the information, but the total deck of slides are only for original survey participants. There are some slides and information anyone can get though.

Among many interesting metrics and findings, the conclusions on Urban Tasting Rooms were pretty remarkable ... we could even say the discoveries are 'jaw dropping?'

Support Animals and the New Napa Hillside Initiative

This past weekend I went to Trader Joe's to get supplies for making pizza. When I entered the store, I noticed an old yellow Labrador mix wearing a vest that said "Service Dog," the kind anyone without any proof can buy from Amazon.

Rover was wandering around with a middle-aged woman who outwardly didn't seem disabled in the least. I felt a tinge of guilt with being politically insensitive to even wonder inwardly about the animal's legitimacy, so I just moved on to the pepperoni.

Soon thereafter I noticed a Standard Poodle, also with "Service Dog" emblazoned on his vest and once again, the owner didn't show any outward disability. I'm still not used to the frequency with which I see animals in restaurants, grocery stores and other public places. But again trying to be politically correct, I put the questions out of mind and paid attention to the mozzarella.

      Unintended Consequences

Then an interesting thing happened right while I was fondling the pizza dough. The two dogs decided to get into a full-fledged dog fight with snarling, snapping, foaming jowls and biting ...  right there, in middle of Trader Joe's, right between the pizza dough and prosciutto! Right next to the baking potatoes.

Both owners jerked at their dog's collars and screamed, "NO [insert dog's name here]!" At the same moment one of the dogs yelped and limped away; the clear loser in this month's Trader Joe's Service Dog Battles.

Vegas had the Standard Poodle with a bite over/under at 3. Had I known, I would have put money on the old Lab to kick the poodle's ass, but ... shouldn't there be regulations about this bad behavior?

      Measure C and Dogfights

These weren't trained service animals, but that only became clear AFTER they became territorial over the baking potatoes. The animals owners were abusing ADA regulations for their own ends. Obviously the name on the animals vest doesn't make the animal a trained service animal.

It reminds me of the current dogfight we have on our hands in the upcoming Napa elections where a ballot measure has an appealing name that would lead a person to believe there is an imminent threat to the County's water supply from agriculture. But just like the vests on the dogs in Trader Joe's, the title of this initiative doesn't reflect the true intent and if passed, most in the County will only discover the real bite after this dog of an initiative is approved.

Estado de la Industria Vinícola de Estados Unidos 2018

Autor: Rob McMillan, Vice President Ejecutivo, Silicon Valley Bank

PREFACIO

Esta es una traducción al español del estado anual del informe de la industria vitivinícola de los Estados Unidos que utiliza Google Translator. Por favor, disculpe los errores en la traducción literal. Si usted desea leer el informe original en inglés, por favor haga clic en [este enlace.]

Si alguien quisiera editar las traducciones al español usando el informe original, le agradecería, al igual que a todos los lectores de habla hispana. Si está interesado y tiene tiempo, envíeme un correo electrónico a mis contactos al final del informe.

This is a Spanish translation of the Annual State of the US Wine Industry Report utilizing Google Translator. Please excuse errors in the literal translation. If you would like to read the original report in English, please click [this link.]

Are you Irrelevant to the New Consumer?

I hit my drive this far from the hole.

When released, the SVB Annual State of the Wine Industry Report gets wide coverage both domestically and internationally. In concert with the release, we also present a live videocast of the report, followed by the on-demand replay.

Despite a full hour of content from the original telecast, every year viewers ask for more content and added sessions. That's been hard to schedule but we're trying something new this year.

Last Chance to Get 2018 DtC Metrics

The Direct-to-Consumer Wine Sales Survey closes March 23

 

Take the survey

How do you know you are performing at the top of club performance, or even above the average? What percent of revenue, relative to total revenue do your neighbor wineries produce from just the tasting room or just the club? If I asked you how many wineries pay for data capture within their comp structure in the tasting room, what would be your guess? What percent of revenue comes in through web sales in your region?

What's the reserve tasting fee in your region? How about the average tenure of a club member sorted out by average bottle price? Would it help to know the average gain in club members in your AVA last year?

What Will the Wine Business Look Like in 2028?

I've recently been thinking about the changing metrics we've had available to manage the wine business over the years. What metrics existed 30 years ago for small wineries? How was wine sold then? What was the atmosphere like? How did we get information?

With daylight savings time upon us, I also started daydreaming today while looking out at the pool and thinking about summer. That brought me back to a trip to Mexico I took 40 years ago, so Mexico met up with metrics in this post as I pondered what direct sales will look like in 2028.

In 1988 my wife won a sales contest at work that provided for an all-expenses paid three days at the Fiesta Americana in Puerto Vallarta. I had never been to a foreign country before, except Canada and I didn't count Canada as foreign. But Mexico? Well going there would make me an official world traveler!