Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/70680
MARKETING POS ECOMMERCE MARKETING WINE CLUB FULFILLMENT COMPLIANCE SOCIAL NETWORK EMAIL VinTank maps out elements that create an effective CRM program. (DtT) only. GreatVines is touted to integrate successfully with legacy systems such as AMS, QuickBooks and JD Edwards. The standard price is $150 per month per user with a 10-user mini- mum. Implementation costs range between $5,000 and $15,000, which includes customization, data import and training. Jim Thompson, executive vice president of technology for GreatVines, said, "The whole reason people use these systems is to better understand their customers. It's having the ability to log every click and touch point and quickly profile a customer's likes and dislikes. You need to understand and react quickly to your data." Thompson highlighted the need to be able to gener- ate reports on demand rather than wait for month's end. "Live, real-time data should be accessible online to all users. If sales goals drop, an email warning can be generated." This assures best practices for sales activity tracking where tasks can be set and followed up. Record points of contact Brent Johnson, sales manager of Abbotsford, B.C.-based Vin65, said, "You really want to get the full 360º view of the customer. To be able to tie in all of your points of contact with one con- sumer in one platform is essential." All points of contact include: an online form or response via the winery website, orders, club membership, up-to-date order history, credit card information and point-of-sale details from the tasting room. Another important feature of CRM software is native email analytics of clickback information, how often a user opens email, what links they clicked on and what emails they received. John- son advised, "Marketing managers need to make sure the infor- mation they're communicating is relevant to the customer. For instance, if you have a wine event on the West Coast and the cus- tomer lives on the East Coast, it's irrelevant to them. Managers must be engaged with each communication." From his personal experience, Johnson cites a three-email window of opportunity. "After the third email, they'll start ignoring and deleting you. They don't take the effort to read it if it doesn't regularly apply to them." The CRM effort must dive down and segment groups with personalized communications. The monthly subscription fee for Vin65's software package is $250 per month. Initial setup can cost up to $6,000 for a small- to medium-sized winery and $8,000-$20,000 for a larger winery. For $100 more per month, Vin65 can develop a smartphone version of the winery's site. This enables the winery to use an iPad or similar tablet device in the tasting room to track a cus- tomer's wine preferences and ratings with a spectrum of one to Wines & Vines MAY 2011 49