Here at WineDirect, we know the important role that data plays in running your direct to consumer (DTC) business. We want to set you up for success – and that’s why we’ve partnered with Enolytics, serving up customized data that is easy to digest. Enolytics takes your winery data from within the WineDirect system and creates simple to navigate reports and dashboards from which wineries can find the data that is most important to them to help guide decision-making. The ability to perform customer segmentation and data cleansing is just the beginning. With Enolytics, wineries benefit from advanced reporting for immediate results, and support resources available 24/7.
We recently connected with DTC sales leaders at three wineries, Ancient Peaks Winery, Scott Harvey Wines, and Early Mountain Vineyards to learn about the impact that Enolytics has made on their operations, and uncovered four common themes in each discussion. Here, we’ve outlined these four themes, all demonstrating the boost that data can give you to engage and inspire your employees and help you establish growth in your DTC program.
Let’s address the most commonly perceived barrier for wineries: DTC employees are not your typical ‘data’ people. It may be overwhelming to delve into the data. This is why we recommend having a nominated in-house advocate for data; this person will champion the insights available and enable communication with teams across the organization to introduce new programs and stimulate changes needed.
Transparency and communication across the organization also means less reliance on speculation. With consistent and reliable data, you can identify and understand areas of concern, as well as your strengths. This offers a high-visibility vantage point to make better long-term decisions.
Once you collect that data and have made those decisions, data points can and should be regularly communicated around progress towards those goals. You can highlight key metrics by using ‘Daily Flash Emails’, a daily email with data summary from Enolytics that includes top line information to keep ownership informed.
Now that you have the data, how do we bridge the gap between being a wine expert and using that data?
In general, employees want to succeed at their role, and want the business to succeed; and therefore, employees are eager to adopt new ideas and practices to help the company. There will be factors at play that are outside of immediate control (seasonality, increased competition, natural environment, or a global pandemic), but you can always look inside the data to identify something that you can get better at! One thing we always encourage at WineDirect is to collect the email address for everyone who enters your tasting room. This practice paid dividends for wineries collecting that data when the Pandemic hit as they were able to pivot and offer incentives and stellar email marketing campaigns, growing their ecommerce by over 300%.
Having insights into the performance of different areas of your business makes it easier to identify areas of weakness and opportunities to grow, which in turn, makes for a straightforward goal-setting process. Take the time to acquaint your employees to the information available (average account spend, club attrition rates, for example) and work with them to create programs to solve problems. Ask your team, 'Now that we know this information, what changes are we going to put into practice?', and the ideas that arise may surprise you! Data will serve as a critical talking point for team meetings, but the real progress comes from the subjective interpretations, uncovering new and unique ideas.
Save time by employing a program that automates your work, reduces the workload on your bookkeeper and the need for intricate excel spreadsheet creation and analysis.
Insights from the data are right at your fingertips so you can act fast and strategically to activate new campaigns. Let's review a few examples shared in our conversations:
You may be hesitant to introduce another platform into your mix of services you use, but the growth and direction can pay in dividends.
It is evident that data is a driving force behind forecasting, goal-setting, and decision-making in many industries and the wine industry is no exception. Commenting on the recent surge in awareness of data literacy,
We know it is not enough to just have your doors open, or to send the re-purposed email again and again to your customer list. Using the insights from your data, elevate your efforts to be seen and remembered by today’s modern consumer.
The changing landscape of ecommerce over past two years have clearly demonstrated the need for new technologies and embracing change to continue moving forward. Not reserved only for the tech-savvy folks, growth is accessible to anyone who is willing to try. Enolytics makes that easier than ever – reach out to them at cathy@enolytics.com to get a demo.
