The great Groucho Marx said, “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.” He might have changed his tune, though, if he’d known about the right wine clubs.
Wine clubs are a critical component of a winery’s revenue—contributing an average of nearly 50% of total direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales.* But, in recent years, clubs have been taking a hit: Fewer people are visiting wineries, so fewer people are signing up. We’ve all got our fingers crossed that visits will pick back up this summer. But what can you do, in the meantime, to keep club sales growing in the face of changing times and a challenging economy?
It comes down to a 3-pronged strategy: keeping current club members happy, converting occasional buyers into regular customers, and expanding membership to new audiences. Let’s take a look at some ways to spark new life into each of these areas:
Retention
You’ve already got these customers—make sure you hold onto them!
Make it personal: Keeping your club engaged means more than just discounts. Make sure you’re offering reasons to be a member beyond wine alone. Customization is key—with the right customer data at your disposal, you can personalize their experience. Present exclusive offers, based on their unique tastes. Let them build the box they want. Bring tastings to members who don’t live in your region (and have them bring friends).
Find out what really matters to members: The benefits you think are appealing to customers might not be the same ones they really care about. Survey members to discover what’s truly meaningful: why they remain a customer, what’s important to them and what might be missing. Then take action to address the concerns and do more of what’s working.
Conversion
They’ve tried your product. Now, let’s make it happen on a regular basis.
Show that being a member has benefits: If a customer is already occasionally ordering from you, a club might just seem like more of the same. By creating tiered incentives to joining—a points program, for instance—it becomes clearer (and more enticing) why they should upgrade.
Make it easy to join: Whether it’s a visitor to your winery or your website, a simplified registration process can remove those little barriers that stop audiences just short of signing up. Gather only the data you need, in as few screens as possible. There’s always time to learn more about them later.
Expansion
Find new audiences ready to jump on board with your club.
Find the lookalikes: As you gather member data, you’ll start to get a good idea of new audiences that might enjoy your club. Building off current member demographics, you can figure out where to pursue them—placing the right ads in the right locations, for example, or selling your products in the markets where they’re already shopping. From there, it’s the same process of conversion and retention.
These tips are a great way to make your wine club one everyone wants to join. To help you connect with customers at each of these different points in your club sales journey, check out WineDirect. We’re an all-in-one wine DTC platform that helps streamline and personalize each part of the wine purchasing process—from your website and POS sign-ups to club tiers, emails and promotions—so you’re sure to be a club that members remember.
* Source: WineDirect, Direct-to-Consumer Impact Report, 2023.
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