There's Nothing Like The Personal Touch...

Want ideas for how to sell an extra 40 or 50 cases of your wine? Take a look at this article from Wines & Vines

Thomas explained that Donelan’s unique marketing program is based on the personal touch: “When you sign up for the mailing list, Joe (Donelan) makes a phone call,” he said. “When you buy a bottle, you get a handwritten note. These people become our continuing ambassadors.”

Even when people buy online, the personal touch can't be beaten.  This is one thing that small wineries can do that sets them apart.  Technology can help (e.g. giving you that list of people who get a handwritten note), but it's all in support of making that personal connection with someone who is interested in your wines.

Comments

[Mitch Tarr]

I've only known one other winery to make this effort. It was at least two years ago but I remember the hand written note. First one out of over 500 mailing lists I joined. Ted Elliott of http://www.elliottfamilycellars.com/ still has that personal touch.

[Jon Bjork]

Yep. I think if we winery owners can believe that we're really selling personal relationships, rather than just bottles of wine, it would be a significant help when making decisions.

[Mark]

I think these personal touches are especially important for customers you find online. Wineries and wine clubs need to do everything they can in order to build a positive relationship with these folks that they don't necessarily get to meet in person every month.

[Jessica]

We always write handwritten notes when we send wine to customers. Once a year, we take a whole week out to write personal handwritten notes to all our Mailing list people who receive it via the post.
We look them up in our Database, find our what they recently, or frequently purchase, and use that to right a note. Sometimes we talk about wine specials or recent awards, and sometimes we talk about upcoming events,all dependent on their file.
We find this has an amazing positive result in extra sales. Last year we even had people drive from out of state just to visit the Cellar Door after they received a hand written note. We also had a few customers write hand written notes back, thanking us for ours!

This is time consuming, which is why we only do it for one mail out a year. But in terms of the notes in wine orders, this takes just a few seconds each, and makes people smile.

Jessica
Small Winery in Canberra Australia

[Nigel]

Excellent customer service and hospitality goes a long way with customers but the extra touch of a personal note says " your our customer and we value you" Nice touch!