Is The Wine Club Model Dead?
What Matters?
Continuity and annuitization are important components of any business, whether it be the continuity of customers, company culture or brand, or the annuitization of customer purchasing preferences. That’s not to say we shouldn’t innovate and embrace change, but we should also strive to “keep a good thing going” if it fits with our business and brand strategy.
In a recent blog post by Rob McMillan of Silicon Valley Bank, of over 800 winery wine clubs surveyed, the average length of a member was 25.9 months, with significant average life time value attached to these memberships ($1,735 in Napa Valley). Despite these findings, there was a lively discussion in response to the blog post as to whether or not the wine club model was dead.
The meaning of "Wine Club"
I find this amusing. If we changed the term “wine club” to “continuity program” or “customer annuity program”, and fully integrated them into an omni-channel bricks & mortar and digital marketing strategy, why wouldn’t it continue to work? Wine consumers engage with wineries for the emotional rewards they receive from visiting wineries, and then continuing the experience through wine purchases made through multiple touch points — all on their terms.
In today’s world, the concept of winery wine clubs must change and evolve, but the importance of continuity programs and relationship annuities lives on.
