The 2023 Videocast is in the books, and what a performance from some of the smartest people in the business who do DTC all day, everyday. Thank you!
- Susan DeMatei, President of Wine Glass Marketing,
- Andrew Walleck, COO of Wine Access,
- Jessica Kogan, Partner of Connect the Dots Collective.
Each panelist shared openly about their views, offering incredible insights and ideas to help the industry and your winery move into the next decade of the business. Some of the highlights:
- We are approaching the end of the first DTC cycle that began with the Granholm decision, and a new cycle is set to begin.
- While tasting fees remain high, they can be used as an incentive to attract new consumers to the category.
- Email marketing will continue to be a part of the DTC trade for the next decade, but SMS text marketing is low-hanging fruit for improved engagement.
- The investment in, and emergence of digital marketing and decision-making will separate the winners from the losers in a lower-growth phase over the next ten years.
- Investment in the production side of the business is accepted, but success will require investment in digital information, systems, and process.
- By-appointment tastings are growing, which can help with data gathering and consequently club growth.
- In addition to the tasting room, the industry continues to look outside of the tasting room to add members to the club and develop new sources of revenue.
- By 2025, there will be 150M customers buying groceries online. Is that a trend the industry can leverage and develop?
- Investment in Customer Development Platforms is something to consider, as the costs of acquiring new customers are dramatically lower digitally than through the tasting room.
- We learned from COVID that if you are using other means besides the tasting room to gather clients, data, and revenue, a drop in tasting room visitation isn't as painful.
- Gifting subscriptions to heirs is becoming a new trend that can extend the lifetime value of a customer's family
- Tips are becoming more accepted in the industry, with almost 70% of wineries now allowing them.
- Shipping charges are moving from free shipping, back to discounted shipping.
- Urban tasting rooms are finding their footing as valuable sources for new consumers and consumer data.
- Wineries need to consider taking frictionless payment-free methods for payment, such as Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, etc.
- When considering discounts, we should understand what club members value. Perhaps they may see more value in special skus, unique access to the winery, and being known as a club member with every contact whether digital or physical.
- Predictive analytics are the next phase to increase the lifetime value of club members. For instance, if a customer hasn't opened the last five emails, it could predict their declining interest.
For those looking for the the 2023 SVB Direct to Consumer Report, you can find that in the hyperlink in PDF format.
For questions on the report, feel free to contact me at rmcmillan@svb.com.