Category: Marketing

By: Susan DeMatei, Founder of WineGlass Marketing

In today’s fast-changing landscape, web experts agree that we should redesign our websites every three years. Don’t get us wrong, that doesn’t mean touch your website every three years. You should constantly update and keep your website current, but we’re talking about a complete reboot every three years. This refresh is necessary because our content and feature-needs change, and our consumer eCommerce and browsing habits are constantly changing. Look at the wine business in the past four years and how much has changed since pre-COVID. In addition to the obvious design revitalization, we should also be re-evaluating our website goals and needs on this three-year frequency.

  When facing a redesign, the first question that crosses the minds of most is, “Should I use a template or have this custom-built?” If you have done a big website from scratch. before, you hired a designer and then a developer, and they walked you through Photoshop comps and wireframes. It worked back then, but that long and expensive process is no longer the only way to build websites. In the final months of 2023, the vast majority of the websites on the internet are built with a template or theme. For most of our clients, a template is the best place to start unless you are a complex corporate entity with multiple brand or feature needs (and even in that case, you might want to start on a template.) But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s define a template and then break down some pros and cons of using a template.

What is a template?

I am currently car shopping, so I have automobiles on the brain. I let my lease go during COVID and for a time my husband and I have survived on one car, but it’s getting to be logistically difficult. For the past few weeks, I have been comparing features and reading reviews and am no closer to making a decision than I was when I started. Is it wrong to want heated seats in Northern California? Will I really use the Navigation system if I can plug in my iPhone? What the heck is torque, anyway? If anyone has an SUV suggestion. I’m all ears. So, forgive all the car analogies and puns when discussing websites, but that’s what’s racing out of me at this moment. (See what I did there?)

There are Three Parts to a Website

1.  The base structure is like a chassis of a car. Your base will include basic feature choices like a type of Navigation menu, the ability to incorporate eCommerce, mobile optimization, a photo carousel, or slider. It will also suggest plugins options like a recipe section, a mailing list signup, or a blog page. A good base with have pre-built areas for what you need and easily be able to incorporate additional special touches you want.

  This base is a template (or theme or stencil) and is a blank slate that can host very different websites. If the template is the chassis in our car analogy, it is mostly unseen as what you put on top of it defines the car. This is why a Toyota 4Runner, an SUV, can have the same chassis as the Toyota Tacoma, a pickup truck. (Ok, I’ve read entirely too much Car & Driver lately.)

2.  Your website content is the shell, or car, that is put on the chassis. This is the second part of the website and contains your copy and images. These areas flesh out details of your website like a wine club membership section, an events schedule, or that wedding venue picture gallery. On top of the template, your content provides the site’s function as well as content specific to your winery.

3.  But the third part is where most people think about – the design. The design of your website are fonts and colors added on top of everything with a style sheet. This is the trim of your car. It dictates what color it is, if it has the sports or the luxury package, or if the interior is cloth or leather. (Um, with four dogs, leather. Definitely leather). The designer crafts these tweaks to make your site look like your winery and nobody else and puts thought into how your content is best displayed.

  So don’t feel like a template will be cookie-cutter. A template should be the basis for the content and styling that will make your site your own. A template is not an excuse not to customize everything. Sure, you bought it with some fonts and colors but you should absolutely customize it.

10 Reason’s To Choose a Template over a Custom Build

  Have you ever tried to configure a car at a dealer? It’s nearly impossible. They don’t like it and quickly try to sell you a configuration already on the lot. If you resist and genuinely want your custom car, you have to wait, sometimes for months. Having your dream car is pretty sweet but time-consuming, costly, and requires a hefty dose of patience. 

  On the other hand, using a template is like buying a car on the lot. It might not match your dream features perfectly, but it’s close, quick and convenient, you still get that new car smell, and it’s much easier on your wallet.

  But sometimes, the heart wants what it wants. Both options have their merits, and the choice largely depends on your unique needs and circumstances. But, for those who appreciate a straightforward, no-nonsense approach, there’s something inherently attractive about going the template route.

Here’s are ten reasons why you might lean towards a template for your website:

1. Time-Efficiency:  Templates are like website-building cheat codes. They come pre-designed with layouts, color schemes, and content placeholders. You can go from a blank screen to a functioning website in days, not months. Templates get you online faster, which can be a game-changer in the digital world and allow your team to focus on sales versus infrastructure.

2. Cost-Effectiveness:  Custom builds can be expensive. You’ll need to hire web designers and developers, and the bill can quickly spiral out of control. Templates are often affordable, making them a budget-friendly option. You can save your development dollars when you start with a template.

3. Beginner-Friendly:  Not everyone is a web development guru. With templates, you don’t need to be. They are designed with the average Joe in mind, so you can create a professional-looking website even if you’ve never coded a line. While I recommend getting a designer to design your template initially, you should be able to maintain it independently. Templates always come with a CMS, and if you’re using something like WordPress, once you learn the basics, all those skills are transferable throughout your career. You don’t need to be a coding wizard to use templates. On the other hand, custom builds require extensive technical knowledge or the hiring of a developer, which can be a headache if you’re not tech-savvy.

4. Built-In Features:  Many templates come with handy features like responsive design (your site looks good on any device), SEO optimization (helps your site rank higher on Google), and e-commerce functionality (perfect for online stores). Why reinvent the wheel when it’s already rolling your way?

5. Stability and Maintenance:  Technology is like a never-ending racetrack with new updates and emerging trends constantly rounding the corner. With templates, you can breathe easily. Templates typically receive updates from their creators. This means you don’t need to worry about your site becoming outdated or vulnerable to security breaches. It’s like having a virtual mechanic on standby. Also, this template has been used repeatedly, so all the issues have been worked out. With a custom site or something only your winery uses, you and you alone are the guinea pig. With templates, you’re minimizing the risk of major technical issues.

6. They Are Highly Customizable To Your Brand:

  As discussed, the template is just the base. (The most popular WordPress theme, DIVI, has been downloaded over 800,000 times. And all these websites look very different from each other.) The point is to make it your own with customization. It is recommended that you initially get a designer to customize your template for you, but with some reading and trial you can likely do it yourself.

7. They Are Developed To Change:  We started this blog by saying the web is dynamic and constantly changing. One of the cool things about templates is that they are built to be changed. Don’t design your website and then walk away from it. Design it, then watch customer activity. Track your sales conversions, track your visitors, and then try different landing pages, sliders, or content. Templates are made to be modular and editable, so take full advantage of that. This allows you to experiment with different layouts, content, and features to optimize your site’s performance and user experience. Custom builds require additional development to implement such testing capabilities.

8. SEO Friendliness:  Templates often come with built-in or the ability to add SEO features or plugins that make optimizing your website for search engines easier. Custom builds may require additional development to implement these features, adding to your time and costs.

9. Mobile Matters:  In today’s mobile-first world, having a responsive website that looks great on smartphones and tablets is crucial. Most templates are designed with mobile responsiveness in mind, saving you the headache of ensuring your custom site is mobile-friendly.

10. Future-Proofing:  Website templates are built to adapt to changing technologies and trends. As design and functionality evolve, templates evolve with them. Custom-built sites can become outdated quickly, requiring more significant investments in development to keep up with the times.

  Ultimately, the content of your website matters most. Whether you choose a template or a custom build, what you say and how you say it will be the driving force behind your online success. A beautiful custom design won’t save poor content, just as a template won’t hinder great content from shining.

  So, why choose a template over a custom build for your website? Because sometimes, speed, affordability, and ease of use trump the pursuit of perfection. Templates offer a fast track to getting your online presence up and running without draining your bank account or sanity. For most small to medium-sized businesses and personal projects, templates offer a hassle-free and efficient way to get your online presence up and running.

  In the end, the choice between a template and a custom build is a profoundly personal one. It’s like choosing between that dream car and one off the lot. Both have their merits; it just depends on what drives you (Sorry, I can’t help it).

  So, get out there, explore the world of website templates, and remember that the web is an open road. Whether you go with a template or a custom build, the most important thing is to get your voice, brand, and ideas out there for the world to see.

  Susan DeMatei founded WineGlass Marketing; the largest full-service, award-winning marketing firm focused on the wine industry. She is a certified Sommelier and Specialist in Wine, with degrees in Viticulture and Communications, an instructor at Napa Valley Community College, and is currently collaborating on two textbooks. Now in its 11th year, her agency offers domestic and international wineries assistance with all areas of strategy and execution. WineGlass Marketing is located in Napa, California, and can be reached at 707-927-3334 or wineglassmarketing.com.

By:  David Wachs, CEO of Handwrytten

Changing U.S. consumer drinking habits have been troublesome for the domestic wine industry. Younger generations including Millennials and Gen Z are more likely to purchase ready-to-drink cocktails, seltzers, or mocktails than wine, a shift from previous generations. It was noted in Rob McMillan’s annual State of the Industry report earlier this year that wineries need to do a better job of marketing to younger generations because currently the only growth being seen is among the Baby Boomer demographic. Otherwise, wine sales are falling, and less wine was sold in 2022 than in 2021. One reported suggestion was to launch a multi-winery campaign like what the dairy industry has done for milk or the cattle industry for beef. But those efforts failed. Perhaps now is the time to call on the robots for their assistance?

  It might seem like social media is the best way to reach younger generations, since a 2022 survey by Morning Consult found that 54% of Gen Zers said they spend at least four hours daily on social media, and 38% spend even more time than that. But an avatar on TikTok or Instagram enjoying a glass of merlot on a beach or in the back of a camper van overlooking a breathtaking vista is not the right robot to help the wine industry breakthrough to younger generations. Especially when the industry is competing against a movement of influencers promoting sober living as the latest wellness trend that followers should aspire too.

  So, if not social media, then what? Does the wine industry need to go head-to-head with politicians and launch an invasive television advertising campaign that floods screens across the country with bottles of chardonnay and cabernet playing the starring roles in every type of social gathering possible? Do wine tastings at grocery stores and other brick-and-mortar retail locations need to occur on a daily basis to infuse wine purchasing as a more regular habit when picking up items for meals for the week? None of these are bad ideas, but the reality is AI isn’t all that great at creating television ads, yet, and a robot pouring wine at the local grocery store would require investing in technology that is cost prohibitive and impractical.

  The most effective and unique way that wineries can connect with younger consumers is through a traditional advertising method with a high-tech, modern twist. A survey, conducted by Full Spectrum Insights on behalf of Handwritten, found that emails and text messages are, unsurprisingly, the most common way for businesses to communicate with customers but that 45% of customers would feel more valued and be more likely to make repeat purchases if they received a handwritten note. 30% of customers said handwritten notes are the most meaningful way a company could communicate with them and the least annoying, compared with the annoyance of receiving a phone call, email, or text.

  Nothing says “pay attention” like a personalized handwritten note. No one flips past or does not see a handwritten envelope in their mailbox. These stand out from everything else that was delivered. Recipients wonder what could be inside and while envelopes that look like bills or advertisements are set to the side, handwritten envelopes are usually opened immediately. The attention-grabbing nature of a handwritten envelope provides an instant advantage that even the biggest and most prevalent direct mail marketers cannot compete with. Handwritten envelopes have been found to have a 300% greater open rate than standard envelopes. And handwritten marketing has response rates 7-21x greater than printed mail, with a return on investment 3-7x greater than print. Some companies have even found that retention rates are 50% higher for customers who receive a handwritten thank you note.

  Rather than tasking an employee to sit at a desk with a stack of cards and envelopes and bucket of ice to alleviate hand cramps, the task of penning handwritten notes to customers can be outsourced to robots that are capable of using real pens to craft notes that are nearly indistinguishable from ones written by an actual human hand. There are also a variety of AI services available own that can help everyone from a marketing novice to a pro discover the right words to include in the message. From there, it’s about ensuring wineries are using the right direct mailing strategy to maximize ROI.

Spend Time On Your Call to Action

  Your call to action (CTA) may be the most important part of your direct mail campaign. This statement tells your recipients how you want them to respond and encourages them to do it. A strong CTA can boost your response rate substantially while a weak one can jeopardize your entire campaign. Every communication piece you send your customers should have a purpose. Identify it and your CTA will come naturally.

  Compelling CTAs are clear and concise. They contain actionable verbs which are impossible to misinterpret. When people read your direct mail letter, they should know what you want them to do. You can ask people outside your marketing department to read your letter and determine whether they understand what’s expected of them.

  Procrastination prevents action. Limit procrastination by adding a sense of urgency to your CTA. Asking your recipients to call today or claim a free sample by a specific deadline is more powerful than making similar statements without referencing time. The way you present your CTA can make it more compelling. White space draws the eye. Separating your CTA from the body of your letter prevents someone from overlooking it. Using a different color or font size can also help your call to action stand out.

Use Personal Text and Images

  Savvy consumers will see through a handwritten form letter. Make sure you include personal details to strengthen your bond with your recipients. Using names rather than “To whom it may concern” is an important start. But you should look for other opportunities for personalization, too. Mentioning customers’ locations, past purchases, and pop culture references that people of their ages will probably appreciate are other ways you can show your recipients you’re speaking to them.

  While the text matters, using appropriate imagery can also reinforce your words. For example, targeting a millennial or Gen Z household with a note that features a retired couple enjoying a glass of wine with dinner, probably a messaging failure.

Tempt Your Recipients With Great Deals

  The most compelling direct mail campaigns contain offers people can’t refuse. Brainstorm strategies to tempt your recipients with your direct mail campaigns.

People love feeling they’re receiving something others don’t get. They’ll struggle to resist signing up for your mailing list if you say they’ll receive exclusive members-only coupons. Ordering a product becomes much more enticing if you’ve waiving shipping costs or reducing the price for a limited time.

Get the Timing Right

  As with all marketing campaigns, the timing of your direct mail campaigns plays a key part in their success or failure. Your direct mail will ideally reach your recipients when they’re receptive to the messages inside them.

  Getting the timing right isn’t a precise science, but you’ll do best if you put yourself in your customers’ shoes. The members of your mailing list will probably be receptive to a card promoting a great sale sent in the lead-up to Christmas when they’re searching for gift ideas and planning to spend money. Sales announcements can also be received favorably in April when your customers may have extra money from refunds on their tax returns. Your sales efforts are likely to be less effective in January when customers may suffer from a Christmas credit card hangove

  Sending direct mail cards through your customers’ journey with your organization is also a great way to engage them and make them feel special. However, timing matters here, too. Send a card saying you have missed a customer’s business too soon and you’ll seem too insincere. However, with the right timing, this type of card can re-engage a lapsed customer and encourage a purchase. On the flip side, a letter thanking a customer for the individual’s business or referring a customer should be sent promptly. If you let too much time elapse, the thank you will seem unnatural.

Think Outside the Box

  Since households don’t receive many letters, your direct mail is already likely to be more memorable than a marketing email. However, you can increase the chances your recipients will recall your direct mail with a novelty. Think outside the box to create a direct mail campaign that makes a real impression.

  Knorr used leuco dye on a direct mail campaign for a new line of frozen food. The cheeky mailing read “Unlike any F****N dinner you’ve ever tried.” Recipients were encouraged to put the mail in the freezer. The extreme cold triggered a new message reading “FROZEN meals can be this delicious.” The quirky campaign, which had a 10.2 percent response rate, prompted 17,000 purchases. This campaign was so successful that half of the mail was delayed to help supermarkets manage the increased demand for the company’s products.

The great part about all of these direct mail ideas is that they stay in the minds of recipients long after they open the mail. Even if your recipients don’t take action now, they’re more likely to think about your business when they need your products or services in the future. Brainstorm relevant ways you can also enhance your direct mail materials and make them distinctive.

By: Susan DeMatei, Founder of WineGlass Marketing

Unless you’ve lived in your cellar for the past five years, you’ve noticed we live in a subscription economy. We have subscriptions for food, clothing, pets, razors, socks, movies, sports, makeup, and almost anything. You name it, and there is a box that can be delivered with options on your schedule.

  How sustainable is this trend? Will we forever be ordering small packages in bright boxes with sample sizes, or is this just a fad? And is the decrease in wine clubs part of it?

  Let’s start by defining a wine club. This recurring sales model provides wineries with a direct channel to reach high-value consumers and bypass traditional distribution channels. They are structured to offer repeat customers a winery-curated selection of wines at a small discount delivered to their homes monthly or quarterly. Key prospects for club membership are customers who have purchased multiple times at a winery and have some affection for the wines and brand. Clubs are typically free to join, and the benefits of being a club member include a discount on wines (typically ten to twenty percent), first access to new releases of wines, and invitations to events. Some wineries will have special seating areas or experiences for participants, and members are encouraged to visit the tasting room for complimentary activities.

  In 2022, the Silicon Valley Bank report noted that the average winery gets 24% of its sales from wine clubs. Wineries cling to this model because they can better control their brand messaging, pricing, and customer experience while capturing more sales value. It is also a bankable recurring revenue stream with projectable inventory depilation. Repeat purchases typically offset the discount.

  Most clubs have an average membership tenure of over two years, and club members almost always have a higher-than-average lifetime value. Wine clubs are historically the largest part of a winery’s DTC playbook. As such, wineries protect this loyal customer base fiercely.

  Using a dating analogy, wine club relationships are married. This channel buys the most expensive magnums and enjoys the most elaborate experiences. Club members routinely plan vacations around their wineries and even go on extended cruises or world wine trips with clubs. Club members have been known to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars at one winery and have been members for 10+ years. Wineries, in turn, are expected to know the intimate details of these very high-value contacts. Many club managers have club members’ contact information on their cell phones, with preferences, birthdates, children, pets, and personal information. Some are trusted to have the card on file with blanket approval for purchases or arrangements. These trusted face-to-face relationships take years to forge and are rooted in trust and familiarity.

  Wine Clubs have worked perfectly over the past 20 years for Baby Boomers in the loyalty phase of their relationship with wineries and don’t mind handing over their credit card for randomly selected wines shipped to them at a future unknown date. The consistency, VIP status, discount, and comfort of guaranteed access to wines they’ve endorsed, check all their boxes for dependability and responsible accumulation. Wine clubs have been developed around and for Baby Boomer pressure points.

  But to any consumer under 40, this model is frustratingly rigid. Consumers who grew up with the internet are accustomed to variety, transparency, and immediate access with no strings attached. To withhold these basic qualities will not fly with them. Moreover, younger consumers don’t want the same wine delivered periodically. They grew up with the internet and know what it is to have options, so their goal is not to decide on a favorite and stick with it. Instead, they live in a perpetual state of trial.

  The long process of waiting on some allocation lists isn’t appealing to them, either. Baby boomers equate loyalty point tiers based on spending, passwords to hidden website pages, and private access to winery areas as luxurious and aspirational. Millennials see one-click orders, open company values, and delivery within 30 minutes as luxury and desirable.

  So, what will happen to wine clubs? Are wineries doomed to lose 24% of their sales? If done right, the goal should be to evolve them into subscription models. And, no, that isn’t just semantics.

Subscription models are different from Wine Clubs because they place control of the relationship in the customers’ hands. Typically, all interactions are online so that they can be managed anytime and anywhere. Many have apps. The consumer signs up and chooses frequency and dollar amount. The focus is on new brands and products, typically highlighted with in-the-box collateral containing stories about the new items.

  Subscriptions have become popular in the last half-decade, with young urbanites 25-44 years old leading the charge. Skimgroup reports that 48% of Millennials have four or more subscriptions. Why? 80% of those polled said subscription boxes made their lives easier, and 74% said it was because they liked to try new things. 55% replied that they joined so they didn’t need to go out to get the items. Those answers make it easy to see why the current club model of complex offers, repeated products, and on-site visits will soon be extinct.

  Subscription selling is not like selling to a wine club. First of all, it is not face-to-face. A subscription manager will not intimately know the people they are selling to. They will be names on a shipping manifest. The manager will focus on trends, variety, fun collaterals, and packaging that can make each box opening Instagram-worthy. The more exciting and interactive the manager can make each shipment, the longer the customer will stay in the subscription program. Aim for fresh takes on tasting notes and brand information and lean heavily into visuals and stories instead of words and data.

  Do not expect a subscription customer to stay as long as a club member. It’s all about trial, right? This is the biggest difference between subscriptions and clubs: Subscriptions are at the other end of the funnel – they are an introductory tool. Expect consumers will want to move on once they’ve tried your wines and figured out your vibe. But churn can be mediated with many opportunities to share their experience and bonus incentives if they sign up friends. Remember, this group likes to share the good news, so give them the tools to spread the word. And that intrinsic curiosity which causes one member to move along will bring two more to sign up.

  There are a few things that will have to happen for the subscription sales channel to become a mainstay in wine marketing:

•    Wineries need to consider subscription models useful in the initial trial phase, not replacing clubs in the loyalty phase. As a salesperson, you would never come out of the gate with a wine club offer as it is now. That would be like walking up to someone you don’t know at a party and asking them to marry you. It’s too much of a commitment. But subscription models are less cemented in routine. If a wine club is a marriage, the subscription model is speed dating. You can try wines for a while and then move on. It is the perfect introduction to a brand. This sounds simple, but the entire sales process is different. Online ads targeted to new customers will be for trial subscriptions. If someone doesn’t want to buy wine, a salesperson could offer them a subscription to try the wines instead. It’s a different way of thinking for most wineries.

•    Technology needs to catch up. If we were selling t-shirts today, there would be a multitude of plug-ins and templates for us to set up a recurring sales model on an e-commerce site. But, because we’re talking about a controlled substance, we must involve compliance, and our websites have limited online subscription choices. Right now, only Commerce7 and Shopify/Drinks offer the customization, but others are in development, and this will not be an issue for long. But as a whole, technology has been slow to respond to this usability shift.

•    Fulfillment needs to step up. Amazon has taught us all that we want 2-day shipping for free on everything. Wine is fragile and heavy and susceptible to heat and cold issues. This is unavoidable, but consumers’ standards are set, and other subscription services have extremely fast turnarounds. Large clubs like Winc are handling the volume, but to the average small winey, the logistics of giving a choice and cadence control over to the customer is a logistical nightmare.

•    Since subscriptions are virtual, the companies that offer them have no brick-and-mortar overhead. They put all their money and attention toward delighting the consumer with bright, cheerful curated boxes and providing excellent, fast, seamless customer service. Most wineries have spent years perfecting their tasting room hospitality service, not their shipping and remote customer service. We pack wine in plain boxes and call UPS and call it a day. These new consumers care about what the box looks like, what surprised are included inside, how well the delivery is managed/ communicated, and how easy it is to return, refund, or change their minds. These are not qualities that the wine industry typically excels.

  To be clear: If you successfully work out the logistics of a subscription, we do not recommend migrating your club over to it. Your Baby Boomer customers have done their research, spent a lot of money, and are perfectly happy being first in line to get all your new releases in their wine clubs. You want to offer a subscription in addition to the wine club. Position the subscription as a virtual sale to states outside of your tasting room or as a gift for tasting room fans to give their family and friends back home. Think through what you can do virtually to connect with these customers, even if only for six months or a year. Subscriptions are a complementary tool to get in front of people not standing at your tasting bar and a platform to communicate all you can about your brand story and wines. 

  Overall, wine clubs in the past have effectively disrupted the DTC wine market by offering consumers a convenient and personalized way to discover and enjoy wines while providing wineries with a direct sales channel and a means to build customer loyalty. As the target audience of wine clubs continues to diminish and technology enables choice, we can expect subscriptions to play an increasingly influential role in shaping the future of the wine industry. It is crucial for wineries to start thinking of these trial subscription models in parallel to clubs so that as the balance of visitors and customers changes, they can keep that 25% of their business healthy.

  Susan DeMatei founded WineGlass Marketing; the largest full-service, award-winning marketing firm focused on the wine industry. She is a certified Sommelier and Specialist in Wine, with degrees in Viticulture and Communications, an instructor at Napa Valley Community College, and is currently collaborating on two textbooks. Now in its 11th year, her agency offers domestic and international wineries assistance with all areas of strategy and execution. WineGlass Marketing is located in Napa, California, and can be reached at 707-927-3334 or wineglassmarketing.com.

By: Lauren A. Galbraith

Family wineries face certain common issues when it comes to succession planning, and there are steps you can take to help ensure the longevity and success of your brand and business.

Step 1 – Develop a Plan

  Benjamin Franklin is thought to have said:  “By failing to plan, you are preparing to fail.” This rings true for family wineries, where planning can substantially increase the odds of the business achieving its full potential over the long term.

  Some forms of planning end up memorialized in legal documents. Thoughtfully drafted governing documents for the business lay essential ground work. For example, a shareholder agreement can establish a framework for the transfer of ownership within the family and restrict the sale of business interests to nonfamily members. The business’s governance and management structure can be tailored when it comes to, for instance, using a management committee or vesting control in single strong executive, setting the voting thresholds for approval of major decisions by owners, or instituting a family advisory board to help set goals and priorities for professional managers or to provide a mechanism for passive owners to have a voice. 

  A business leader helps to ensure stability for the business and its stakeholders upon his or her death or in the event of incapacity by having in place certain core estate planning documents such as a revocable trust, will, and power of attorney. Lifetime gifting may be part of a plan to minimize estate tax at the death of the senior owners such that the family has the freedom to continue as family-owned. In California, avoiding or deferring property tax reassessment can be an important objective to minimize future costs to the business. 

  In transferring business interests, some families choose to align controlling ownership with successor management. To the extent one can discuss these matters and the rationale for certain decisions in advance of the decisions taking effect, it can help to preserve family harmony and avoid conflict and resentment among the next generation after a death.

  Identifying talent and cultivating future leaders is an important part of the planning process. This leads to the next topic of taking steps to encourage full and frank communication.

Step 2 – Open Communication Channels

  An important step of family business succession planning is to examine the desires and expectations of next generation, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Some children readily see the business as their family legacy and relish the opportunity to continue its growth. Others view it as a family legacy that they are honor bound but not excited to inherit. Still, others see it as an asset to be sold as soon as the parents are deceased to provide the capital to pursue the children’s true career objectives. Before moving forward with a family-based succession plan, parents should seek to ensure they are getting an honest answer from their children as it relates to taking over the family winery.

  A coach or consultant may be retained to conduct family interviews and synthesize findings into a plan of action. Coaches can also help family members develop communication skills to improve how they work together, such as effective listening, understanding and responding while not shrinking from difficult conversations. 

  A collaborative and diplomatic style can feel unnatural to a strong, independent leader. But a pivot in approach may be what enables longevity. Sustainable solutions are more likely to be designed in environments in which individual values and aspirations are expressed. Relatedly, a leader must learn to let go and, at some point, allow for transition of real management and decision-making authority such that next generation of leaders can gain confidence and skills, make mistakes, learn, improve, and, perhaps most importantly, know what it feels like to have family members, employees and their families rely on their ability to make wise decisions. Real, sometimes difficult experience tests skill sets and suitability but also enables the family member to make an informed decision as to whether the contemplated role for him or her is the right fit.

Step 3 – Plan for Potential Estate Tax

  Some family businesses fail due to overwhelming debts or taxes, in particular the 40 percent estate tax. However, with enough lead time it be possible to eliminate estate tax or at least to minimize and defer the payment of such tax. This can make all the difference in allowing a family business to endure and thrive.

  Under current law, U.S. persons have a combined gift and estate tax exemption of $12.92 million, but decreasing on January 1, 2026, to $5 million, indexed for inflation, absent a change in law. Some family winery owners are choosing to make large gifts in order to “lock in” the record-high exemption before it shrinks. Transferring business assets today has the added benefit of removing future appreciation from the transferor’s estate.

  By transferring a portion of a family business during life, you can ensure that your estate includes less than a 100% interest in those assets at your death, which is advantageous from a valuation perspective, especially if you decrease your position below 50%. When fractional interests in a private company are valued, they are typically eligible for generous discounts for lack of control and lack of marketability.

  Lifetime gifts have the additional advantage of being valued on a per beneficiary basis, rather than based on the grantor’s aggregate ownership. Example: (a) You die owning all 1,000 shares of a business with fair market value of $4 million, passing to your four children (taxable estate includes $4 million) versus (b) you give each of your four children 250 shares in the business (each valued at $750,000, or $3 million total, using a 25% discount).

  Once you transfer assets you can no longer have the income from those assets, but there are methods to address this if a concern.  For example, a person who wishes to maintain cash flow might sell (rather than gift) interests to trusts for their descendants and receive in return a promissory note payable in annual installments.  This essentially converts an asset that would have been part of the transferor’s taxable estate into liquid funds for consumption and at a price that is the fair market value at a fixed point in time, excluding post-sale appreciation. 

  Keep in mind that appreciated assets transferred during life, by gift or sale, do not receive the step-up in basis that is available under current law for assets transferred at death.  The step-up would reduce or eliminate capital gains exposure on a subsequent sale of those assets. This is of less consequence, however, if the transferred assets are not intended to be sold and will instead remain in the family.

  For active family business that make up a significant portion of a person’s estate, estate tax obligations may be deferred and paid in installments over as many as fourteen years under a family-business minded provision of the Internal Revenue Code, Section 6166. If your family will want to take advantage of this deferral, it is prudent to examine whether or how lifetime transfers, debts, etc. might jeopardize eligibility.

  Many families use life insurance to address and pay for estate tax.  Large policies of life insurance should be held in irrevocable trusts, with premiums paid following certain technical procedures, to help ensure the insurance proceeds are not subject to estate tax.

Step 4 – Pre-Sale Planning

  If the next generation lacks interests or ability to carry the business into the future, sometimes the right choice for a family to continue the legacy of its brand and business is to sell to a third party.  In such case, careful planning can maximize value and minimize tax consequences. 

  In an effort to put the best foot forward, wineries may engage professionals to help them “clean up” their financial statements in the years leading up to a sale.  If individual family members or family trusts that are partial owners of the winery have loaned funds to the winery, those loans may be converted to equity and, if necessary to avoid dilution of other owners, superseding loans may be made between owners to move the debt off the winery’s balance sheet.

  Any transfers of interests in the family winery to trusts for the next generation should be accomplished well in advance of a sale, to potentially achieve favorable valuations that leverage one’s gift tax exemption.

  Those business owners with philanthropic inclination might choose to make gifts of the business interests in kind to charity to reduce the income tax burden of a sale.  To achieve the desired tax benefit, such gifts should be considered and executed prior to negotiations to sell and certainly before entering a contract for sale, so as to avoid application of the step transaction doctrine which would treat (and tax) the individual as seller, rather than the tax-exempt charity.

Conclusion

  Far from morbid, anticipating personal and business life changes provides peace of mind and helps answer the critical question, “Who will take care of this winery or vineyard once I am no longer able?” From an emotional standpoint, planning helps to ensure that the great wine of today continues to be produced and poured well into the future.

  Lauren A. Galbraith is a partner with Farella Braun + Martel LLP in St. Helena, CA. She advises individuals and families on all aspects of estate and tax planning, estate and trust administration, and business succession planning. She can be reached at lgalbraith@fbm.com.

By: Ray Sheehan, Founder – Old City Media

When attending a wine-tasting or sampling event, your brand needs to sparkle like fine champagne. Potential customers need to see you and know you are the best brand in the room.

No matter what you are selling, if customers don’t believe it, they won’t buy it. With that in mind, here are 10 tips that will help your brand make an impression.

Tip #1: Hire Knowledgeable and Outgoing Brand Ambassadors

Whether you hire internally or outsource to an agency, knowledgeable and outgoing brand ambassadors are the key to a successful wine-tasting event. During the night, they will represent you to potential customers and introduce them to your product because they serve as the face of your brand.

  It’s critical to hire friendly and outgoing ambassadors who easily engage with customers. At a wine sampling event, personable ambassadors attract a crowd, while shy and reserved ambassadors can appear unapproachable. Once they get people talking, they also need the confidence to motivate consumers to buy products.

  Your brand ambassadors also need to be knowledgeable about your brand and the wine industry as a whole, which is why a TIPS and/or RAMP certification is a must. These certifications ensure your brand ambassadors know what they’re talking about and can be trusted to represent your product.

Tip #2: Train Brand Ambassadors about what Makes Your Brand Special

  You may have the best wine in the world, but if your brand ambassadors don’t know how to present it properly, no one will ever know. Before the tasting event or sample sale, train them thoroughly about what makes your brand special. They’ll need to interact with new customers, answer questions about your product, talk about what sets it apart from other wines, and convince them to buy it.

  Before brand ambassadors represent you at the tasting event, they should know your brand’s story, mission, and values as well as yourself. If your brand has a competitive advantage over the other wines available that night, make sure your brand ambassadors know it.

  Make sure to provide thorough training to address the following aspects of your brand:

●   Your brand’s history — brand ambassadors should be well-versed to speak about how your company came about, who founded it, and why. This information will help ambassadors answer questions with a personal flair that tells customers why they should buy from you, not another company in the industry.

●   Your brand’s unique products — brand ambassadors need to be able to speak about each separate product you offer. For this reason, train them with specifics about how your wines are made, how you source ingredients, how you promote sustainable manufacturing, and what makes your wine stand out compared to other brands on the market.

●   Your customer benefits — brand ambassadors must be able to highlight the value of your product(s). For instance, if a prospective customer walks up to them and asks what results they can expect to see, taste, or feel, this can include things like less sugar, fewer calories, organic ingredients, and unique flavors.

Tip #3: Scope Out the Event’s Location Before the Wine Tasting

  Call the event manager and ask for a tour of the space. As you look around, ask about the venue and what amenities to expect. Find out if the event has Wi-Fi, as well as if you will be able to access a sound system, and ask whether you can use a stage or podium.

  It’s a good idea to bring a list of questions regarding the venue’s expectations. Find out if the venue has restrictions on branded materials, such as professional banners or tablecloths, and ask if the venue allows games and activities at tasting events.

Likewise, ask event organizers about other products that will be served during the tasting. Find out if there is a dress code, and be sure to abide by it. If the event is at a restaurant or marketplace, ask about their set-up expectations. When you arrive with all your supplies, you will want to be able to set up without taking away from the customer experience.

  Finally, confirm the event will have your product available at the wine sampling. Believe it or not, many brands simply assume this and arrive to find out otherwise.

Tip #4: Establish Clear Goals and Objectives for Your Bbrand Ambassadors

  Before the wine sampling, establish clear goals and objectives for each of your brand ambassadors. To set these goals, consider how you will ultimately measure success for the event.

  Successful event marketing has a solid foundation with clear goals and objectives. In other words, before you can put on a successful event, you need to know what success will look like and how you will measure it. To do this, set key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate your ambassadors’ performance. In a nutshell, KPIs allow you to judge performance in relation to a specific and measurable standard.

  Decide whether your goals relate to sales volume or customer satisfaction. In either case, take a hard look at those numbers now. Next, determine how your brand ambassadors can enable your brand to maintain or surpass those numbers at the event. Finally, set your budget for the event, and make sure your goals realistically justify that expenditure. 

  You should offer your brand ambassadors incentives to drive sales at the sampling event to meet these goals. These incentives can be in the form of inexpensive gift cards or free products.

Tip #5: Ensure Your Brand Ambassadors Look Professional in Branded Attire

  Make sure your brand ambassadors are dressed to impress by providing branded apparel that looks like it belongs at the wine sampling. Your ambassadors should have clothing that is both professional and comfortable.

Remember to plan for all weather. Equip your brand ambassadors with a change of clothes if they find themselves outdoors in wet or dirty conditions.

Tip #6: Design an Enticing Branded Setup

  Make sure your branded setup is eye-catching, even from across the room. Creative and fun booths are guaranteed to draw customers your way. Picture a balloon arch that mimics grapes on a vine. 

  For smaller sampling events, I recommend a 10’x10’ booth and cocktail table set-up, a professional sign to promote your brand, and a banner or backdrop that can be used in photos. To add flair, finish your booth with a branded tablecloth and wine glasses.

  In all the fun of designing a creative space, remember to keep it clutter-free and easy for attendees to navigate. If you display too many products in one area, people will likely get confused and purchase less.

Tip #7: Bring Both Digital and Hardcopy Marketing Materials

  In this day and age, we all know the value of digital marketing materials. Shareable social content will allow your experience to live on long after the last sip of wine. Bring favors emblazoned with your event’s hashtag, and find a clever reward to encourage your customers to snap and share pictures on their social media channels.

  Someone on your own staff should also be there to document the tasting. After the event, that staff member can publish those videos and pictures on your brand’s social channels.

  In addition, always come prepared with hard copy marketing materials in case the location has Wi-Fi issues. Print branded fliers that highlight the wines you are serving at the event so attendees who enjoy your product can jot down key notes before moving on. Best of all, they will be able to access the information about those wines when they get home.

  Hardcopy materials can also present an opportunity to collect customer information. For example, if you offer customers business cards at a wine-tasting table, you can naturally ask for their contact information during the exchange.

Tip #8: Increase Engagement with Games, Q&As, and Free Samples

  Plan to draw potential customers to your booth with games, Q&As, and free samples. A simple spin-the-wheel game increases your brand’s visibility and engages interest around the entire room. The truth is that, if you can get people to have fun, they’ll be far more likely to remember what they liked about your wine in the future.

  Plan games that are relevant to your brand’s identity. Games are a great way to engage with customers and get them talking. For example, a matching game can launch a conversation about favorite wine and food pairings. The activities you plan don’t need to be lengthy — five minutes max should do it.

  Another idea is to use samples of your product to make the games more fun. For example, blindfolded contestants can guess the color of grapes to earn their tastings.

Tip #9: Reward Potential Customers with Free Swag

  You need to give away some sort of free swag. A small gift, sample, coupon, or even a branded hat will make people feel special.

  The best swag is relevant to your brand, the event, and the target audience. For a wine-sampling event, branded wine glasses or corkscrews are perfect.

  The most important tip is to ensure your customers walk away with something useful in their hands. When guests leave your event with merch they value, your brand gains a pair of legs that take it beyond the sampling. Customers will carry your branded swag to cars, houses, and offices. If those souvenirs remind people of the fun they had that night, they may even share the experience with friends and family.

Tip #10: Above all, Have Fun!

  The most important thing to remember when working at a wine sampling or tasting event is to have fun! Before the event starts, ensure your brand ambassadors know their roles, and are relaxed and ready to go. Your final pep talk should not be about making more sales or getting more traffic on social media. It should be about making sure the brand ambassadors have fun. This event allows them to show off their personalities, so let them shine.

  A wine-sampling event can introduce your brand to new consumers and strengthen your relationship with current ones. Use these 10 tips to design an event that will create a memorable experience for your patrons, increase awareness around your brand, and learn even more about what your target audience wants.

  Ray Sheehan is the Managing Partner of UpcomingEvents.com, a North American event production and marketing company. He has a background in strategic planning, marketing, event management, and advertising and has helped the company expand from one city to over twenty states. Before this role, Ray owned and operated philly2night.com, a production and news company in Philadelphia and South Jersey. He oversaw all aspects of the business and produced a nationally syndicated television show. In 2020, he launched the G.I.F.T Program as part of Old City Media. Ray is recognized as a leader in the special events industry and an innovative thinker in the Philadelphia community and beyond.