http://winemarketer.com/vinteractive-wine-cultivate-customer-email.html Wine Advertising, Marketing and SEO Specialists Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:51:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 http://winemarketer.com/vinteractive-wine-cultivate-customer-email.html#comment-2271 investment » INVESTMENT PROPERTY TAX FREE EXCHANGES Fri, 23 Feb 2007 08:38:41 +0000 http://winemarketer.com/vinteractive-wine-cultivate-customer-email.html#comment-2271 [...] VinterActive Cultivates Customer Relationships VinterActive Cultivates Customer Relationships for Wineries using Listrak Email Marketing By Megan Ouellet, Director of Marketing for Listrak To run a successful winery, you must be attentive, creative, and above all, patient. The perfect bottle of wine cannot be rushed ” it takes time to plant and tend to the grapes, it takes a lot of care to find the ideal balance of flavors, and it literally takes ages for wine to ferment and mature. Great winemakers know that in order to create a bottle of wine that is both relaxing and exciting, they must meticulously nurture and cultivate the ingredients until the precise moment when it is ready to be shared and enjoyed. And then what? Wineries know that they must put that same attention into cultivating customer relationships. While wineries excel at gaining local attention through wine clubs, special promotions, and tastings, many of them have little or no online presence. This means they are missing a huge opportunity to grow their business as they grow their vineyards. Many wineries today are turning to VinterActive to help them in their online marketing endeavors. VinterActive is a consumer direct wine marketing firm located in Northern California that has helped over 30 wineries gain market share, increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, and enhance the overall sales experience. Most importantly, it takes the marketing pressure off of the wineries so they can focus on what they do best - creating wines that are perfect for any occasion. Consumer direct sales is the fastest growing channel in the wine industry, and VinterActive is the leading provider of these services as it has helped more wineries than any other vendor. A Strong Partnership From the beginning, VinterActive knew that it needed two things ” seamless Ecommerce and powerful, preference-based email marketing. While VinterActive had experts in place that could build the secure Ecommerce websites, it turned to Listrak , an award winning provider of email marketing, for help creating, managing, and tracking extensive email lists. Best of all, VinterActive was able to integrate Listrak s technology directly to its Ecommerce sites so it could automatically build preference-based lists derived from the customers locations, purchases, shopping habits, and membership status. Combining these two technologies, VinterActive was able to launch itself to the forefront of consumer direct marketing. How it Works VinterActive founder Bryan St. Amant has built a service that complements wineries perfectly by using what is already in place and expanding it for use online. Most wineries that work with VinterActive already have several important marketing pieces in place ” such as branding, customer lists, and marketing collateral. VinterActive takes these items and creates custom websites with their SecureWineShop software that has the winery s brand and corporate identity on the front end and VinterActive s flexible Ecommerce technology on the back end. VinterActive s securely hosted online shopping cart may also integrate with a winery s existing website. SecureWineShop offers powerful marketing tools, such as upsell capabilities during the check out process and PreferencePro, their privately labeled Listrak email marketing software product. These tools allow VinterActive to achieve its goal of enhancing the customer experience. Because PreferencePro has all of Listrak s capabilities, VinterActive can capture and store customer information and an unlimited amount of preferences. The information may be manually captured at a tasting bar and later entered into the system, or it may be directly captured online through in-store kiosks. Users may also sign up on the wineries websites during the online sales process. This information allows VinterActive to send highly customized email campaigns that drive business to the websites. Not only do the emails have the name of the recipient in the subject line, but the email bodies are also individualized with information such as product preferences, locations, and even unique user IDs and passwords, which automatically fill in the customers account information if they click through to the website. The emails may also be sent based on preferences such as shopping habits and membership status. The email recipients are thrilled with this service. They receive friendly, personalized communications from their favorite wineries informing them on specials, new products, and events. Because the emails are generated based on their preferences, they only receive information that they find interesting. All of this helps VinterActive achieve its goal of increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. One of the reasons we picked Listrak, says St. Amant, is because they offer the most preference applications for a low price. With us, it s all about user preference. If the initial email matches the customer s preferences, and each consecutive email matches their preferences, open and read rates will stay strong for the long haul. If the content is not what customers are interested in, they won t be as inclined to open the next message you send them. The Results The success of VinterActive s email campaigns is astounding. Listrak offers powerful tracking tools, so VinterActive is able to track results down to the user level to find out exactly which recipients turn into repeat customers. VinterActive s campaigns consistently achieve open rates of nearly 30 percent, with it being as high as 60 percent at times. However, the real results are seen when comparing the preference-based email campaigns with the general email blast campaigns that go out much larger lists. St. Amant says We continue to see excellent results with click through rates averaging 15 to 25 percent, and it has even been as high as 40 percent for some email campaigns. Targeted email campaigns continue to have a response rate that is 250 percent higher than broader email sends. Personalized, preference-based emails using Listrak s advanced dynamic content and precise list selection tools are also at the heart of the increase we ve seen in sales conversions. VinterActive has noticed an increase in close rates by coupling preference based emails with its specialized Ecommerce system. In the past, less than 10 percent of customers that added items to the shopping cart completed the sale. Today, that number is above 25 percent thanks to the targeted messaging support by Listrak. Next Steps VinterActive is currently working with Listrak to complete the final stage of the privately labeled PreferencePro. It plans to start using the new Media Library feature immediately as it allows users to store images and graphics online and then easily place the image URL into email campaigns. This feature will help VinterActive easily and quickly create new email templates for its customers. VinterActive is a perfect example of how email marketing and Ecommerce can be used creatively to produce positive results. In an industry that is used to waiting ages to achieve perfection in its product, it s refreshing to know that its sales can move at the speed of the Internet. About VinterActive Founded in 2001, VinterActive LLC is a wine industry leader in the research and practice of consumer direct wine marketing. VinterActive s proprietary techniques for increasing tasting room, wine club and online sales have proven effective for both large and small wineries seeking to maximize their share of the rapidly growing consumer direct sales channel. To learn more about Vinteractive s powerful preference-based email marketing practices, visit their site at www.vinteractive.com. Be sure to visit the site s free Wine Marketing Library for insightful white papers regarding email testing, ecommerce, measuring campaign success, growing preference based email lists, and more. About Listrak Listrak is a leading provider of hosted email marketing software, allowing permission-based marketers to manage, send, track and grow their email marketing investment. We deliver email marketing intelligence through our intuitive web-based application. Leading marketers have come to rely on this intelligence to better manage email in their multi-channel marketing mix. Listrak s RSS 2.0 System gives users the ability to create, manage, and report on RSS feeds using RSS enable email sent via Listrak s email marketing solution. It features social bookmarking links and combines the power of RSS technology with the personalization of email marketing. Listrak software helps companies, agencies and associations better manage customer relations in their marketing campaigns. Its web-enabled interface helps marketers engage their customers using an advanced profiling and personalization engine. Listrak s world-class support and professional services assist clients with enterprise integration. Its clients include L Oreal, Motorola, Jeep, Pearle Vision, PR Newswire, The Islands of the Bahamas and the Pennsylvania Department of Health. To learn more about the many ways Listrak can strengthen your email marketing campaigns, or to sign up for a 20-minute web-based tour, visit www.listrak.com. [...] [...] VinterActive Cultivates Customer Relationships VinterActive Cultivates Customer Relationships for Wineries using Listrak Email Marketing By Megan Ouellet, Director of Marketing for Listrak To run a successful winery, you must be attentive, creative, and above all, patient. The perfect bottle of wine cannot be rushed ” it takes time to plant and tend to the grapes, it takes a lot of care to find the ideal balance of flavors, and it literally takes ages for wine to ferment and mature. Great winemakers know that in order to create a bottle of wine that is both relaxing and exciting, they must meticulously nurture and cultivate the ingredients until the precise moment when it is ready to be shared and enjoyed. And then what? Wineries know that they must put that same attention into cultivating customer relationships. While wineries excel at gaining local attention through wine clubs, special promotions, and tastings, many of them have little or no online presence. This means they are missing a huge opportunity to grow their business as they grow their vineyards. Many wineries today are turning to VinterActive to help them in their online marketing endeavors. VinterActive is a consumer direct wine marketing firm located in Northern California that has helped over 30 wineries gain market share, increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, and enhance the overall sales experience. Most importantly, it takes the marketing pressure off of the wineries so they can focus on what they do best - creating wines that are perfect for any occasion. Consumer direct sales is the fastest growing channel in the wine industry, and VinterActive is the leading provider of these services as it has helped more wineries than any other vendor. A Strong Partnership From the beginning, VinterActive knew that it needed two things ” seamless Ecommerce and powerful, preference-based email marketing. While VinterActive had experts in place that could build the secure Ecommerce websites, it turned to Listrak , an award winning provider of email marketing, for help creating, managing, and tracking extensive email lists. Best of all, VinterActive was able to integrate Listrak s technology directly to its Ecommerce sites so it could automatically build preference-based lists derived from the customers locations, purchases, shopping habits, and membership status. Combining these two technologies, VinterActive was able to launch itself to the forefront of consumer direct marketing. How it Works VinterActive founder Bryan St. Amant has built a service that complements wineries perfectly by using what is already in place and expanding it for use online. Most wineries that work with VinterActive already have several important marketing pieces in place ” such as branding, customer lists, and marketing collateral. VinterActive takes these items and creates custom websites with their SecureWineShop software that has the winery s brand and corporate identity on the front end and VinterActive s flexible Ecommerce technology on the back end. VinterActive s securely hosted online shopping cart may also integrate with a winery s existing website. SecureWineShop offers powerful marketing tools, such as upsell capabilities during the check out process and PreferencePro, their privately labeled Listrak email marketing software product. These tools allow VinterActive to achieve its goal of enhancing the customer experience. Because PreferencePro has all of Listrak s capabilities, VinterActive can capture and store customer information and an unlimited amount of preferences. The information may be manually captured at a tasting bar and later entered into the system, or it may be directly captured online through in-store kiosks. Users may also sign up on the wineries websites during the online sales process. This information allows VinterActive to send highly customized email campaigns that drive business to the websites. Not only do the emails have the name of the recipient in the subject line, but the email bodies are also individualized with information such as product preferences, locations, and even unique user IDs and passwords, which automatically fill in the customers account information if they click through to the website. The emails may also be sent based on preferences such as shopping habits and membership status. The email recipients are thrilled with this service. They receive friendly, personalized communications from their favorite wineries informing them on specials, new products, and events. Because the emails are generated based on their preferences, they only receive information that they find interesting. All of this helps VinterActive achieve its goal of increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. One of the reasons we picked Listrak, says St. Amant, is because they offer the most preference applications for a low price. With us, it s all about user preference. If the initial email matches the customer s preferences, and each consecutive email matches their preferences, open and read rates will stay strong for the long haul. If the content is not what customers are interested in, they won t be as inclined to open the next message you send them. The Results The success of VinterActive s email campaigns is astounding. Listrak offers powerful tracking tools, so VinterActive is able to track results down to the user level to find out exactly which recipients turn into repeat customers. VinterActive s campaigns consistently achieve open rates of nearly 30 percent, with it being as high as 60 percent at times. However, the real results are seen when comparing the preference-based email campaigns with the general email blast campaigns that go out much larger lists. St. Amant says We continue to see excellent results with click through rates averaging 15 to 25 percent, and it has even been as high as 40 percent for some email campaigns. Targeted email campaigns continue to have a response rate that is 250 percent higher than broader email sends. Personalized, preference-based emails using Listrak s advanced dynamic content and precise list selection tools are also at the heart of the increase we ve seen in sales conversions. VinterActive has noticed an increase in close rates by coupling preference based emails with its specialized Ecommerce system. In the past, less than 10 percent of customers that added items to the shopping cart completed the sale. Today, that number is above 25 percent thanks to the targeted messaging support by Listrak. Next Steps VinterActive is currently working with Listrak to complete the final stage of the privately labeled PreferencePro. It plans to start using the new Media Library feature immediately as it allows users to store images and graphics online and then easily place the image URL into email campaigns. This feature will help VinterActive easily and quickly create new email templates for its customers. VinterActive is a perfect example of how email marketing and Ecommerce can be used creatively to produce positive results. In an industry that is used to waiting ages to achieve perfection in its product, it s refreshing to know that its sales can move at the speed of the Internet. About VinterActive Founded in 2001, VinterActive LLC is a wine industry leader in the research and practice of consumer direct wine marketing. VinterActive s proprietary techniques for increasing tasting room, wine club and online sales have proven effective for both large and small wineries seeking to maximize their share of the rapidly growing consumer direct sales channel. To learn more about Vinteractive s powerful preference-based email marketing practices, visit their site at http://www.vinteractive.com. Be sure to visit the site s free Wine Marketing Library for insightful white papers regarding email testing, ecommerce, measuring campaign success, growing preference based email lists, and more. About Listrak Listrak is a leading provider of hosted email marketing software, allowing permission-based marketers to manage, send, track and grow their email marketing investment. We deliver email marketing intelligence through our intuitive web-based application. Leading marketers have come to rely on this intelligence to better manage email in their multi-channel marketing mix. Listrak s RSS 2.0 System gives users the ability to create, manage, and report on RSS feeds using RSS enable email sent via Listrak s email marketing solution. It features social bookmarking links and combines the power of RSS technology with the personalization of email marketing. Listrak software helps companies, agencies and associations better manage customer relations in their marketing campaigns. Its web-enabled interface helps marketers engage their customers using an advanced profiling and personalization engine. Listrak s world-class support and professional services assist clients with enterprise integration. Its clients include L Oreal, Motorola, Jeep, Pearle Vision, PR Newswire, The Islands of the Bahamas and the Pennsylvania Department of Health. To learn more about the many ways Listrak can strengthen your email marketing campaigns, or to sign up for a 20-minute web-based tour, visit http://www.listrak.com. [...]

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