Page 9 - Grapevine July-Aug 2020

In The Winery

A 2017 study from the American Express
Customer Service Barometer reported that BIG WINERY TOOLS FOR
Americans are “more likely to post about good SMALL WINERY BUDGETS
experiences (53%) than poor experiences (35%).”
®
So, in addition to staying realistic and flexible about VinNOW is a complete, integrated, winery soft-
your content and posting efforts, reaffirming cus- ware solution! One program using one database.
®
VinNOW lives on your computer not in the cloud.
tomer service is one of the strongest messages
Webster offered. Unlimited FREE Live Support & Training
Easy to Use Features:
“For small wineries without dedicated marketing • Wine Club
or social media staff, that means digital customer • Point of Sale
service often gets put on the back burner.” She sug- • Customer Management with History
gested navigating it this way: • Credit Card Processing
• Shipping & Compliance
• Inventory Management
• Respond to comments from followers on your • Extensive Reporting
posts—or “like” them at the very least. • Marketing & Email Campaigns
• QuickBooks Integration
• E-commerce
• Acknowledge when an excited customer shares • Bulk Wine & Custom Crush Module
a photo of your wine on their Instagram story Also Available
by at least “liking” it. More preferably, respond ®
to it with thanks, and re-share it to your win- VinNOW increases
productivity & helps
ery’s story. wineries grow their
business.
• Not only “liking” a photo that a loyal fan tagged www.vinnow.com
your wine in, but also commenting on their post
and thanking them for their support.
maybe even week-by-week. Any really long-
term campaign planning will likely be disrupted.
“This kind of gratitude and engagement is always
important for building brand loyalty on social • Show vulnerability. If you’re struggling, say so.
media, but it’s especially crucial during this pan- It makes you relatable, and people will want to
demic when financial difficulty is rampant, and fans support you and come to your rescue.
are giving your winery free, unprompted promo-
tion,” Webster said.
“Know that it’s okay to ‘not know,’” said Richards.
“Uncertainty is uncomfortable—especially when it
Also, pay close attention to direct messages and comes to business and finances—but we’re all in
respond promptly, and help customers find links the same boat right now. A ‘best guess’ is some-
to website pages. “This is an important aspect of times the best you can do.”
social media management that many wineries and
small businesses could improve on.”

Finally, be realistic, Richards told The Grapevine
Magazine. He provided these tips:

• Be flexible. These are unique times, and we’re
not sure what will happen next. That’s okay.
Nobody does. Be prepared to update your plan
and approach as needed.

• Think short term. Take it month-by-month or

877-892-5332 The Grapevine • July - August 2020 Page 7

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