WHY WEBSITE UPDATES ARE IMPORTANT (AND HOW TO KNOW IF YOU NEED ONE) I can feel your eye-rolls and hear your inner voice about this topic. You already have a website. It works fine. You spent good money to develop it two, three, maybe four years ago. Why do you need to worry about it when so many other priorities are vying for attention and budget? YOU WILL NEVER BE CURRENT The only constant thing about technology is that it is constantly changing – and at a frightening pace. Would it surprise you to know that since 2010, new technology and data have increased so fast that it is estimated that 90% of the world’s data – like, since forever – was generated in the last two years alone? When new operating systems are released, they push new hardware to be created (or vice versa), which then mandates software has to be updated, which then requires all the plug-ins and ancillary functions and code must be updated. This all ultimately feeds an environment in which we a

Technology is a time-saver for wineries—and a moneymaker. It helps them build relationships with consumers while smoothing the path for customers to buy wine and make reservations. However, integrating these technological solutions isn’t always as smooth for wineries as it appears to the consumer. When wineries need a new point-of-sale (POS) system, they typically choose between two options: buying an all-inclusive solution or building a custom tech stack. Creating a proprietary tech stack can be complex, as it involves combining diverse technologies. On the other hand, choosing a pre-existing POS system requires matching the winery's needs with the system's capabilities and relying on the provider’s technical support. The functionality needed varies but can include shipping, fulfillment, compliance, inventory management, reservations, email management, loyalty points, gift cards, accounting and more. When considering the tasting room experience, associates ne

—In at the beginning of the DTC revolution, eCELLAR Celebrating Innovation— (CALISTOGA, Calif)—The year 2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the launch of eCELLAR, the Napa Valley-based e-commerce and customer management platform that has delivered numerous innovations during the winery DtC revolution that occurred over the past quarter century. Founded by computer scientist Paul Thienes in 1999, eCELLAR early on took the All-in-One approach to e-commerce platform creation and has not looked back.  Over its 25-year history, eCELLAR has introduced numerous innovations to winery DtC technology including The first domain hosted online store The first 100% web-based Point of Sale system, rather than hard-drive located system The First internal reservations management system for tours and tastings The First PCI-Validated Security system for protecting winery credit card data The first platform allowing wineries to search across 100 data points for customer segmentation

CURIOUS GEORGE:A REVIEW OF MAILCHIMP’S SMS MARKETING SOLUTION SMS Marketing is one of the fastest growing avenues to contact your prospects and existing customers. From a survey done across more than 1,300 consumers, business owners and digital marketers, SMS marketing has resulted in 98% open rates compared to emails which land around a 25.77% average open rate. It is statistics like these that make even a skeptic raise an eyebrow and take notice. When evaluating SMS marketing providers, the competition is ramping up in this area. Mailchimp has recently released SMS marketing tools. Many of our clients have asked about it, so we compared Mailchimp’s SMS marketing features with the two industry leaders RedChirp and Vinteractive to see if there was anything worth going bananas over. LET’S GET DOWN TO MONKEY BUSINESS Let’s start with the basic features. A texting platform allows you to send messages out to a group of customers, like an email. Besides pricing, all

Bank Feeds allow you connect your QuickBooks account to your bank accounts. This is available for both QB Desktop and QB Online. It allows you to see your deposits within QuickBooks and saves you having to look up paper statements or login to your bank account in another tab. Your account balances and transactions show up automatically in the software – no manual data entry is required from your bank. QuickBooks supports 20,000 local and international banks, so getting setup should be fairly straightforward. To do this in QuickBooks Desktop, follow these steps: Go to the Banking menu.  Hover over Bank Feeds and select Set Up Bank Feed for an Account.  Select your QuickBooks account and then select Next.  Select the Financial Institution for this account and then select Next.  Follow the onscreen instructions on how to connect your account. Note: If you download transactions from your bank and import them to QuickBooks for the first time, then this sets

Commerce7 expands its suite of features to include new club workflows, redesigned emails, improved reservations and strengthened security. Vancouver, British Columbia – Today, Commerce7 announced several exciting new features that focus on improving the day to day efficiency of wineries. Over the past year, the team at Commerce7 has spent a lot of time visiting wineries to better understand how they operate their DTC business, and their new releases are a direct reflection of the feedback they received. These upgrades, coupled with Commerce7’s existing suite of winery-centric features ensure their users have the tools they need to seamlessly run their everyday operations. “Every year we continue to push the bar, launching hundreds of new features a year — but once or twice a year we do larger releases. I’m really excited about this release. We spent countless hours talking to wineries and these club, payment, email, and reservation features are a direct re

US wineries using Commerce7 Payments are now able to accept credit and debit card payments through a supported iPhone and the Commerce7 Tap to Pay iOS app. No payment terminal required. Vancouver, British Columbia – Today, Commerce7 announced a new, secure way for US clients to accept payments – Apple Tap to Pay on iPhone. The new feature will allow wineries across the US to securely accept contactless payments including debit and credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, and other mobile wallets through a single tap on an iPhone. No payment terminal required. Instead of an EMV device at checkout, customers will tap their credit card or other contactless payment option on an iPhone, where the payment will be completed using NFC technology. This service is going to change the game when it comes to accepting payments; enabling wineries to seamlessly checkout their customers anywhere they do business. “At Commerce7 it’s our mission to create better shopping

With the start of the new year, it is time to dust off the employee handbook, review your policies and procedures, and make sure they comply with all the new laws, regulations, and interpretations that have either already gone into effect or will in early 2023. Below, we have identified our “top 10” changes. Please keep in mind there were hundreds of laws, regulations, and changes implemented at the local, state, and federal levels throughout 2022.  So, if you need a handbook/COVID-19 policy review or have any questions, please call. 1. California and Local Minimum Wage Raised – In addition to the gradual increase to minimum wage that has been in effect under California law, several Sonoma County cities have increased minimum wage beyond that required by the state. Below is a table that describes the state and local city requirements: Locality Effective Date Employers With 26 Or More Employees Employers With Less Than 26 Employees California 1/1/2023 $15.5

Payment Requests have become one of RedChirp’s most popular features. The stats make it easy to see why! While it’s harder than ever to get customers to reply to these requests by email, and no one picks up the phone anymore, 42% of all RedChirp Payment Requests are completed within just 10 minutes…and 98% within one day! And now RedChirp Payment Requests have a brand-new look to make using it for the first or 4,000th time easier than ever. Live Preview: Creating a Payment Request is easier than ever with a live preview that updates in real-time as you build it. Use it for the first time, or experiment with new use cases, and you’ll never have to wonder what your customer will see. Watch a short video about how the Payment Request feature works, end-to-end here: https://vimeo.com/578675116 Re-Use Payment Descriptions: Do you create a lot of Payment Requests for the same thing over and over — reservations, deposits, club updates, or a current promotion?

Direct-to-Consumer Platform Achieves PCI DSS Service Provider Level 1 Compliance – Highest Level of Security in the Protection of Credit Card and Cardholder Data  American Canyon, CA – August 5, 2021 – WineDirect is pleased to announce the achievement of  Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Level 1 Compliance, the most stringent compliance standard for the safe handling of credit card holder data. The Attestation of Compliance was  granted by Certified Auditor 360 Advanced Inc., after a rigorous audit process. With this demonstration of compliance, WineDirect is also now recognized on The Visa Global Registry of Service Providers.   The PCI DSS compliance framework is the most recognized industry standard for safely handling credit  card holder information, especially important for online merchants who accept credit card transactions.  Service Provider Level 1 is the highest and most stringent of the PCI DSS compli