But are the staff serving those customers as good as they could be? Are they capturing consumers with the brand story, enough to make customers for life of them? Possibly not, according to Lesley Berglund, who is the pre-eminent direct to consumer (DTC) expert in the US wine industry.
Berglund says New Zealand is like many other wine countries, in that it hasn’t thought too much about cellar door training, in an effort to help grow the winery business.
Which is why she established the Wine Industry Sales Education (WISE) academy in Napa seven years ago. Now in association with Central Otago based Bruce McGechan, Berglund has brought WISE to New Zealand. The first course was held in Central Otago last November and more are on their way.
Prior to running the inaugural course, Berglund visited 30 cellar doors throughout the country. And she believes that while New Zealand wines and wineries are beautiful, there is a lot to be desired when it comes to how consumers are treated.
“The cellar door is really critical, it is not only the face of the brand, it’s where your brand position and story come to life. If we are doing the cellar door correctly, then we are capturing and connecting with guests so they stay in touch with us over time. That opens up all of the additional DTC channels, such as joining wine clubs, buying online or attending future events.”
During her visits here, she said there were some common mistakes that emerged time and time again.
“The biggest mistake is they didn’t tell me enough about the brand story,” she said. “They were too focused on the specifics of the wine. You need to start at the beginning, tell the history, what the company is all about. We know from research that if you have a guest who is visiting multiple wineries, they will never remember a specific wine. It all just blends together. What they will remember is the experience they had at a specific winery, the special stories and what they said about the brand.”
The second most common mistake made by cellar door staff is getting stuck in a monologue of facts. Reciting all the details of the wine from brix, to picking date or pH levels is not much of a turn on for a cellar door visitor, Berglund says.
“Yes it may be factual information about the wine, but often there are not enough open ended questions being asked. You have to figure out who is in front of you and then adjust the experience accordingly. That is absolutely the biggest thing that holds people back from the wow factor that will have guests going home saying they had an amazing experience.”
And the third area that concerned her, was the lack of wine clubs being promoted within cellar doors. She said New Zealand is in a similar position to what the Napa Valley was 25 years ago, and most wineries are missing out on a golden opportunity.
“If I understand it correctly, only between five and ten percent of wineries here even have a wine club. And the ones that do are not bringing it up at the cellar door. I visited 30 here in New Zealand and not one brought up the possibility of joining a wine club. I think that is a huge opportunity missed.”
For the majority of wineries she works with in Oregon and Napa, the wine club business is larger than their cellar door business.
“But the only way you get into the wine club is by selling it at the cellar door.”
Berglund says by training staff, wineries have more chance of capturing a greater market share.
“This is the face of their brand. No matter how much time and effort we spend building a fabulous winery, growing great grapes and making incredible wines, if we miss out on the final part of the handoff in the cellar door, it’s all for naught.”
In the US, there are 15 accredited WISE courses aimed at the wine industry. The two most popular are now available in New Zealand. If you would like further information, visit www.wiseacademy.nz
