Winery marketing teams are in overdrive these days—accelerating efforts to attract younger consumers, growing wine club membership and elevating tasting room and online interactions for prospective visitors and buyers. In the end, effective communication to meet these goals is a must.  Many small and mid-sized wineries have staffing limitations that make providing quality tasting room experiences and handling call-ins while also attending to texts, emails and online orders a daunting challenge.  Evgeny Bazhutov founded WineSpot AI to help wineries fill this gap. “Before launching our automated support app, we spent eight months researching the U.S. winery market to assess automation levels in business processes, customer support structures and the key pain points wineries face. Through over 100 interviews with winery employees and business owners, we found that wineries producing up to 5,000 cases annually rarely have a dedicated support team—or even a singl

License to Win: 5 Key Benefits of Automated Customer Service in Wineries As technology advances and labor costs rise, businesses across industries are turning to automation—and the wine industry is no exception. While wineries focus on crafting exceptional wines, customer service often becomes a bottleneck, especially during peak seasons like holiday sales or wine club shipments. Our research—based on over 100 interviews with U.S. winery owners and employees—revealed that many small wineries lack dedicated customer support, while larger ones still struggle to handle high volumes of inquiries efficiently. The result? Delayed responses, overwhelmed staff, and frustrated customers. In many cases, winery employees spend up to four hours a day just prioritizing voicemails and emails, unable to keep up with customer requests in real time. During peak wine club seasons, the volume of inquiries skyrockets, making it nearly impossible to respond within 24 hours. Accordi

ALL ABOUT ACQUISITION & DATA With summer here we've wrapped up the winter/spring conferences. This year we’ve noticed two trends. First, every conference seems to have at least one session on the importance of understanding your customer. If there is anything we’ve learned since COVID is that customers are precious and treating them with deliberate consideration with the goal of fostering a genuine connection with your audience not only helps you with the immediate sale at hand but saves you time and money on future sales. Then how do you explain the second noticeable theme this year which is the continual chorus of wineries looking to acquire customers? How are these two seemingly unrelated threads tied together? The answer lies in the insight that to find the right consumers externally, you need to be aware of who your best customers are internally. Here are five key tips and best practices to help you create and foster a genuine connection with your audience to e

We've made it through the gauntlet of annual conferences that dot the calendar from January – May each year. This year we’ve noticed two trends. First, every conference seems to have at least one session on the importance of understanding your customer. If there is anything we’ve learned since COVID is that customers are precious and treating them with deliberate consideration with the goal of fostering a genuine connection with your audience not only helps you with the immediate sale at hand but saves you time and money on future sales. ALL ABOUT ACQUISITION & DATA Then how do you explain the second noticeable theme this year which is the continual chorus of wineries looking to acquire customers? How are these two seemingly unrelated threads tied together? The answer lies in the insight that to find the right consumers externally, you need to be aware of who your best customers are internally. Here are five key tips and best practices to help you create and

221: Future Proof Your Wine Business |with Omnichannel Communication While the tradition of wine is still important to how we connect with customers, the way that we communicate has changed. David Avrin, President of The Customer Experience Advantage explains why brands must have an omnichannel approach to their customer communication. Identify which channels are most valuable to your business by defining your core audience. Then find out what they watch, what they read, and where they recreate. Use these insights to harness the technology that your customers use whether it’s snail mail or TikTok. David reminds us that there is no shame in not being comfortable with technology but there is no excuse to not work with a technology native who does understand the platforms that best reach your audience. LISTEN IN Resources:         82: Getting to Know Your Wine Customer 85: It‘s Time for New Wine Sales Strategies 98: Selling Wine in Non-Traditional Channels

Registration is now open for the 9th annual Wine Industry Expo (WIN Expo) and this year's educational conference sessions will include fifteen comprehensive workshops focusing on four main tracks: Winemaking & Production, Business Strategy & Leadership, Vineyard & Growers, and Sales & Marketing. The Sales & Marketing track, sponsored by Redchirp, will feature interactive sessions that will tackle the topics of winery branding, digital marketing, wine clubs, and mobile eCommerce. Exploring the Impact of Omnichannel Marketing on Building Brand Connections Omnichannel strategy is the practice of promoting your brand across multiple communication avenues, with the goal to create a comprehensive and seamless experience for your customer. From online interaction to brick-and-mortar experience, to dinner table presence, having a clear and authentic brand connection for consumers is key for the success of your business. Within the last year, dramatic shifts in consumer