In the competitive world of wine clubs, loyal and satisfied club members are gold, and your communication strategy is the key. It‘s more than sending emails; it’s about building lasting relationships.
What if you could turn every club notification into an opportunity to delight and upsell? And how do you avoid credit card failures and wrong addresses? Read on and explore the strategies and tips that can reduce churn and boost engagement.
Why Communication Matters in Wine Clubs
Club members expect timely details about their deliveries, and they appreciate personalised touches that make them feel valued. Ineffective technology and poor member communication can lead to frustration, including failed payments and unwanted deliveries. That’s how revenue and customer loyalty evaporate.
On the flip side, effective outreach increases email open rates, encourages updates to preferences, and even drives additional sales.
Consider this: in a typical wine club setup, members might receive their curated dozen every three months. Without reminders, they may forget to tweak their selections or update their payment details, leading to time-consuming administration for the Cellar Door or Wine Club team. Prioritise clear, multi-channel communication and you can streamline operations, foster loyalty, and turn one-off buyers into brand ambassadors.
Email vs. SMS: Choosing the Right Channel for Notifications
When it comes to shipment reminders, timing is everything. Aim to notify members about two weeks before their next delivery. That’s ample time to review selections, addresses, and payment methods. But which channel works best?
Email has been the go-to for wineries, offering space for detailed notes, tasting profiles, and promotional content. However, with increased spam filtering and overcrowded inboxes, engagement can suffer.
If these crucial updates go unread, it results in returned shipments and frustration for customers and Wine Club Managers.
Enter SMS: a game-changer for urgency and engagement. Text messages boast open rates upwards of 98%, making them ideal for actionable alerts like “Your Next Wine Club Delivery is due in 2 weeks. Log in now to customise!”
They’re concise, immediate, and less likely to be ignored. Tools like Klaviyo or MailChimp integrate SMS seamlessly. Remember to address privacy considerations early and request explicit consent for SMS contact during sign-up.
Pro tip: Use a hybrid approach. Send a detailed email first, followed by an SMS nudge closer to the deadline. This helps your message get the attention you want, reducing failed payments and freeing your staff to focus on selling, rather than chasing members for information.
The Power of Segmentation: Personalising Your Outreach
Gone are the days of blanket emails to your entire database. Segmentation allows you to tailor communications based on member behaviour, preferences, and history, making your winery feel more personal.
Start by adding tags to your CRM or Shopify setup. For instance, tag members as “red wine enthusiasts” if they’ve frequently selected Cabernet or Shiraz. This enables targeted campaigns, like offering 20% off the end of vintage Merlots to your ‘red lovers’ segment, and excluding them from generic promotions. This helps to increase open rates, conversions and foster a closer rapport with Members.
Other segmentation ideas:
- New members: Welcome them with tips on managing their online member account.
- High-engagement subscribers: Exclusive invites to events.
- At-risk churners: Gentle reminders for those with paused subscriptions.
By leveraging tools like MailChimp or Shopify’s built-in segments, you can exclude club members from broad sales blasts, reserving those for casual shoppers. At the same time, send your Club only offers to those Members whose loyalty you wish to reward. The result? Higher relevance, better open rates, and increased lifetime value.
Embedding Upsells in Transactional Communications
Transactional emails, like order receipts, have some of the highest open rates, often over 80%. Why not capitalise on this by weaving in subtle upsells?
For example, in a shipment confirmation, include a line like: “Do you love this Pinot? Sign up to be the first to hear about our new vintage Pinot.“ This respects opt-in rules (always require explicit consent for marketing) while encouraging further engagement without feeling pushy.
Receipts are also perfect for reinforcing benefits: “As a club member, you’ve saved $50 this delivery. Explore more perks in your portal.” Keep it classy, relevant and on-brand, aligning with your winery’s voice to build trust.
Privacy laws often require clear opt-ins. For example, the inclusion of phrase checkboxes, such as “Yes, send me exclusive wine offers and updates,” during the sign-up process helps keep you compliant, safeguards open rates, and provides promotional opportunities to increase customer lifetime value.
Reducing Churn Through Proactive Follow-Ups
Finally, don’t let cancellations catch you off guard. When a member pauses or cancels via their portal, trigger an automated email to your team for a personal follow-up. Take this as an opportunity to get to know the Member better and ask for feedback. Making a quick call asking “What can we do better?” can reveal insights like affordability issues or timing mismatches, which can often save the relationship or turn a cancellation into a pause.
Incorporate feedback loops: After each shipment, send a short survey via SMS. Questions like “How did you enjoy your Chardonnay?” feed back into segmentation, refining future communications.
Wrapping Up: Elevate Your Wine Club Today
Mastering notifications and segmentation isn’t just about technology; it’s about understanding your members’ journey. By taking advantage of both email and SMS, personalising through segmentation and smart upselling in receipts, you’ll create a wine club that feels effective and worthwhile.
Ready to implement these strategies? Start small: audit your current communications and test an SMS reminder on your next shipment cycle.
At Tectalic, we’re passionate about helping wineries like yours run a simple and affordable wine club with their Shopify store. Keep an eye out for our new wine club app. Interested? Just sign up, and we’ll keep you up to date.