Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/74662
NA VIGA TION MARKETING man increase its direct sales by over 10% in the last year," Weir said. An in-depth review of trade metrics is outside the scope of this article, but having a clear understanding of number of cases sold, placements, types of accounts and in- centives delivered are a few. In addition to knowing your web orders in terms of cases sold and revenue gener- ated, measuring your website and e-mar- keting efforts is rendered much easier with the readily available online tools. Google Analytics will tell you the number of visits, unique visits, referring sites, most popular pages and length of visit, plus much more. Your e-marketing platform should provide information about number of subscribers, campaigns, open rates and links visited. As for direct phone marketing to custom- ers, on the simple end adding a column to your club spreadsheet to track date and conversation notes will work. Investing in software such as BLoyal can help wineries notate all types of consumer communica- tion in one platform. Catherine Douglas, marketing and com- munications manager for Adelsheim Vine- yard in Newberg, Ore., combined e-mar- keting with consumer events to produce a "significant increase" in DtC sales this "Direct contact with our best customers is a great way to sell wine." —Catherine Douglas, Adelsheim Vineyard Hypac_Jan11.qxp 12/1/10 12:10 PM Page 1 spring. "We began by looking at markets with the highest concentration of wine club members and supporters. Then we planned winery dinners in five markets across the U.S. and used Vertical Response to send e-mail invitations." David Adelsheim, presi- dent and co-founder, and Katherine Stal- mann, director of consumer sales, attend- ed each of the five sold-out events, which meant that attendees were able to establish or re-establish a direct relationship with winery principals. "We took orders during the event and monitored increase in web- site and phone orders during the following weeks. This experience reminded us that direct contact with our best customers is a great way to sell wine," said Douglas. Monitor social media efforts is a hybrid of advertising and website measurement. Gentle pressing solutions for the highest quality wines Basket Presses Made in the USA and Australia Design innovations include: • Baskets from 8HL to 30HL • Four press frame sizes • Stainless steel baskets • Minimal maintenance • Easy to use and a joy to operate Train your staff to ask how fans "found" the winery when they visit, plus count the number of followers and successes of any online-only promotions. In the tasting room you should be measuring number of visitors, total sales, sales per visitor, wine club sign-ups and success of any staff in- centives you're offering. Determining sales generated from print- ed material is a tough one. I recommend an internal review of everything the winery is using and then seeking qualified feedback from the trade and trusted colleagues. A marketing expert can be of assistance in this arena. Doing the same for your brand story and USPs may be in order as well, since they are foundation of your market- ing efforts. In closing, gaining perspective as to the effectiveness of your DtC marketing efforts is the first step in creating a plan of action for improving them. Focus on continued improvement over time to grow awareness and sales in this lucrative channel. Dixie Lee Huey, proprietor of Trellis Wine Con- sulting LLC, provides strategic guidance from the ground up: exceptional branding, strategy and com- munications solutions to wine businesses. For more information, visit trelliswineconsulting.com. North America Roanoke, Virginia +1 540 857 9871 wineryequipment@hypacusa.com www.hypacusa.com Australia Adelaide, South Australia +61 8 8333 0222 wineryequipment@hypac.com.au www.hypac.com.au QSEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #317 Wines & Vines JAnUARY 2011 143