Marketing wine over the web to a general consumer audience has been a challenge for Wine.com, but the retailer has spiked e-mail conversion rates by targeting customer prospects likely to show an interest in celebrity wine clubs like golfer Ernie Els’, Russell Fradin, senior vice president of business development, tells InternetRetailer.com.
“With the right merchandise, our e-mail conversion rates are two or three times higher than the average conversion rates in e-mail to a general list of non-customers,” Fradin says.
He adds that marketing wine online has been hampered by the fact that buying wine on the web is still a foreign concept to many consumers. “Most people don’t know they can buy wine online,” Fradin says, adding: “There haven’t been many searches for ‘wine’ on the web.”
But by catering to multiple interests of segments of consumers, Wine.com is finding ways to build customer relationships, he adds. Two of its wine clubs–featuring wines selected by Chef Rocco DiSpirito and by professional golfer Ernie Els–have proven to be effective tools not only for selling wine to repeat customers but for acquiring new customers through targeted e-mail campaigns.
To promote the Ernie Els International Wine Club, for instance, Wine.com will e-mail a promotion about the club to a list of consumers known to have a general interest in golf. Even though it’s difficult to find an e-mail address list for consumers known to be fans of Els, e-mail campaigns sent to a general audience of golfing enthusiasts will produce conversion rates double or triple the average conversion rates of campaigns to a general range of consumers, Fradin says.
“Instead of advertising Wine.com, we market the Ernie Els wine club,” he says.
In turn, the wine clubs are designed to build customer retention by offering product discounts as well as perks tied to the celebrity. For the Ernie Els club, members pay a fee ranging from $176.84 for a three-month period to $707.39 for six months. Included are two wine selections per month, discounts on additional wine purchases, and, of course, golf tips from Els.
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