CASTRO VALLEY, CALIFORNIA | November 21, 2017: DTC Wine Workshops, a full-service consulting agency has partnered with Wine Tourism Australia to launch a series of online training tracks and hands-on coaching for winery teams throughout Australia.
DTC Wine Workshops was established in 2013 out of a growing need for wineries throughout the United States to implement ideal blends of technology and processes to grow direct to consumer wine sales and learn how to retain loyal customers. “Wineries shipped 5 million cases of wine direct to consumers in the U.S. last year, representing $2.33 billion in value. With an increase of 18.5% in value of wines shipped YOY, this is the most significant increase we have seen yet”, explains Sandra Hess, founder of DTC Wine Workshops. “Wine consumers are demanding more wine direct from the winery are now confident that shipments will arrive within 2-3 days. Winery stakeholders are investing in ideal blends of technology and training services to make this happen”, comments Hess.
Robin Shaw, founder of Wine Tourism Australia, approached Sandra Hess this past summer to explore the possibility of partnering to deliver best practices, case studies and hands-on training to Australian wineries ready to sell more wine direct to consumer in person and through web stores. “As the retail wine market continues to consolidate in Australia, more wineries are seeking to increase sales through their direct to consumer channels. This is evident in the significant investments being made in cellar door facilities and associated facilities, and the focus on developing member-based wine clubs. US wineries have demonstrated considerable success in this area over a long period of time, and the alliance with Sandra will enable Australian operators to access the knowledge required to succeed.” explains Shaw.
The partnership is a natural progression as both partners see the opportunity to better connect consumers to over 2400 wine brands in 64 regions throughout Australia. Robin Shaw, Wine Tourism Australia, was commissioned by the Department of Innovation, Industry and Resources earlier this year to provide in-person DTC wine marketing seminars to winery teams in the Barossa and Coonawarra which booked out quickly, demonstrating the growing interest in this vital sales channel.
As the direct to consumer wine sales market in Australia begins to accelerate, now is the time to invite experts in the areas of DTC Wine Technology and Training to shares best practices with winery stakeholders and managers ready to make the right moves in building strategy to meet consumer demand. “We launched the DTC Wine Workshops Case Study Series in 2015 showcasing a winery manager and technology partner in each video interview to uncover the true return on investment when implementing various technologies and processes,” explains Hess.
The 2017/18 Online Workshops Series will launch on December 6th at 10:30 ACDT time for a three-week series that will conclude on December 20th. Each online workshop is 90 minutes duration and will be co-led by Sandra Hess and Robin Shaw. Attendees will have an opportunity for questions to be answered in two Q & A sessions, join in hands-on exercise and receive an E-Workbook along with Checklists throughout the series. Workshop topics include Strategic Planning for Direct Wine Sales Success, Customer Engagement – Before, During and After the Cellar Door Visit and Member Management and Customer Retention Best Practices. Registration details can be found at: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/o/dtc-wine-workshops-amp-wine-tourism-australia-15753015577 or visit www.winetourismaustralia.com.au to view the program.
“Direct to consumer sales in Australia will continue to grow as wineries focus on maintaining post-visit relationships with cellar door visitors through loyalty programs and wine clubs. This will require greater levels of knowledge around best practice DTC principles and the accompanying technology to deliver a seamless visitor experience. This webinar series will provide a sound knowledge basis from which wineries can develop their own strategies and will be augmented by in-person workshops offered on demand in 2018”, explains Shaw.
ABOUT DTC WINE WORKSHOPS: DTC Wine Workshops was founded in July 2013 out of response to wineries ready to grow direct wine sales and retain loyal customers with an ideal blend of technology and processes. Sandra Hess, founder of DTC Wine Workshops launched the The DTC Consultant Network in August 2014 to provide flexible consulting and training services to wineries on a project-by-project basis. The DTC Consultant Network is a group of 12 wine industry specialists supporting wineries of all sizes in the areas of direct to consumer wine sales strategy, training, e-Commerce support and data migration, online marketing, public relations, leadership development, CRM and relationship selling strategies, wine club set up and management, staff training and coaching. Sandra speaks at industry conferences nationally and globally on the topics of direct-to-consumer wine sales strategy, direct to consumer wine technology, e-Commerce and customer relationship management (CRM) best practices. Sandra is an advisory board member for WiVI Central Coast, a steering committee member for DTC Wine Symposium, President of Women for WineSense Napa Sonoma and also publishes a DTC Wine Workshops blog and case study series. Sandra’s complete biography can be found at: https://dtcwineworkshops.com/sandrahess/.
ABOUT WINE TOURISM AUSTRALIA:
Wine Tourism Australia is a private consultancy team that works with wine companies and wine regions to maximize their tourism potential. Founded by Robin Shaw, Australia’s foremost wine tourism expert, services include cellar door staff training in customer service excellence and sales, direct-to-consumer marketing strategy, experience development, content development, cellar door design and planning, cellar door evaluations and mystery shopping, performance management programs and coaching. Robin runs annual wine tourism study tours to international destinations that epitomize best practice and is regularly invited to speak at international conferences on wine tourism and destination development topics. She is a board member of Wine Industry Suppliers Australia, Adelaide Hills Tourism and Churchill Fellows Association of South Australia. Visit www.winetourismaustralia.com.au for more information.
