For the last twenty years, wineries have emailed their customers and prospects.
Now changing times have consumers more interested in text messaging than email.
Both tactics can work for DTC wine sales.
But savvy wine marketers know some messages are best delivered by email and others by SMS.
Evaluating the Strengths of SMS vs. Email
When comparing email marketing to SMS messaging, here are some points to consider:
- Today’s consumers prefer receiving texts from brands 2-to-1 over email
- SMS messages are 4-times more likely to be opened compared to email
- Consumers receiving SMS messages are 5-times more likely to click a link
- Compared to email, consumers receiving text messages must explicitly opt-in
- Compared to email, most text messages are limited to 160 characters
- Compared to text, email messages offer more graphic design options
- Compared to text, email messages often cost less per name to send, but also generate fewer sales conversions
Weigh these points when deciding which marketing tactic will best meet your needs.
When Should You Use Email Marketing?
For sending longer messages, or the information you’re sharing isn’t time-sensitive, you should go with email. Same thing with branding campaigns that require liberal use of graphics. So, some good applications for email marketing in the wine industry are:
> Sending a winery newsletter
> Sharing lifestyle content from the winery
> Introducing a new customer experience
> Sending press releases to media contacts
> Running a promotion with detailed terms & conditions
For many wineries sending messages like these, email should still be doing its share of the heavy lifting.
When Should You Use SMS Messaging?
Several common situations call for text messaging as the preferred tactic. For time-sensitive messages requiring customer action, you should text if you can. A few examples of when you should use SMS messaging include:
> Offering time-limited allocations or discounts
> Reminding guests about upcoming appointments
> Sending updates about an order or shipment
> Asking for feedback about a recent experience
> Responding to customer questions texted to your winery
Using SMS messaging in these situations will allow your business to profit from the higher open rates and better customer engagement driven by text marketing.
Best of Both: Text & Email Working Together
Ultimately, both email marketing and SMS messaging can be very effective wine marketing tools. But to get the most out of both options, it helps to use the right tools for the job.
That’s where VinterActive can help.
Our award-winning PreferencePro Automated Wine Marketing system can help DTC wineries delight their customers and grow their sales with personalized text and email marketing from VinterActive.
To schedule a live demonstration and learn how PreferencePro can help you, please visit us at www.vinteractive.com.
Happy Selling!