Active Club Solutions Makes Wine Clubs Easy
Winery owners know that wine clubs increase direct sales and help build a repeat customer base. If wine clubs are such a good idea, then why don’t all wineries have them?
Until recently, the complexity of operating a wine club may have intimidated some small-to-mid-size winery owners. But according to Dan Nechemias, national sales manager at Active Club Solutions, modern wine club software, like Active Club Solutions, is easy to use and takes the hassle out of managing a wine club.
‘We help small-to-mid-size wineries manage their wine clubs efficiently. Our systems automatically take care of orders, payments, taxes and shipping. We also have friendly people on staff who can help you get started,” Nechemias says.
Founded during 2003 in San Francisco, Active Club Solutions is now serving hundreds of wineries, many of which are in the Midwest. Nechemias, who is from Cincinnati, reports that Active Club Solutions software is based on thousands of conversations with winery owners about their needs. Active Club Solutions customizes the system for each winery so that each wine club’s unique characteristics (definitions, discount, shipping, policies) become fully automated.
Active Club Solutions was also the first company to have a customer on-line interface where wine club customers can pick wines themselves. Nechemias says letting customers make their own wine selections from a wine list that the winery controls avoids customer dissatisfaction.
Other innovations from Active Club Solutions include a mobile interface for wineries that is fully tablet and smart phone capable. This App allows winery owners to walk around the tasting room and process wine club orders. As a result, there’s no need to tie up the cash register while adding tasting room customers to the wine club.
Active Club Solutions also works well at wine festivals and farmers’ markets because credit card information is captured immediately on the system. (Please check local regulations in your area regarding off site wine sales.) Even when selling wine is not permitted, it’s still legal to sign people up for a wine club and capture their information.
Cell phone service and slow data delivery can be a problem for rural wineries. That’s why Active Club Solutions has a Remote Access Manager that increases up load and down load speeds for wineries that are not served by high speed voice and data carriers.
Helene Champ, marketing and communications manager at Active Club Solutions, has first hand experience with wineries that have seen increases in business after they started or changed wine clubs. ‘I just spoke with one of our clients who makes 1,200 cases a year,” Champ said. “Their club revenue is now $120,000 per year with only two club releases per year. And they started their club only four years ago.”
A successful wine club can also be a winery’s best form of advertising. ‘Your wine club members become the torch bearers for your winery, they share your wine with their friends and get them interested,” Nechemias said.
For more information regarding Active Club Solutions see: Active Club Solutions website
