Your database software has the potential to improve the efficiency of your (winery) sales team and can impact your bottom line according to the blog www.maximizer.com/categories/business-technology. With a well-managed database system, automated communications, forecast accuracy and a comprehensive overview of sales stats, including dynamic reporting features, business goals can be defined and met with near certainty. Database software technologies have become an invaluable management tool, that not only simplifies or streamlines your winery business, but also boosts your sales and productivity.

In “Top IT Priorities for Wineries Revealed” by the Wine Business Monthly Annual Technology Survey in the August 2018 issue, three major points stood out after reading. Paraphrasing from page 84 the items to ponder include:

• Improving the mobile experience on winery websites is a top priority

• Better integration of company systems seems important to wineries of all sizes

• Wineries tend to use third parties to store credit card information and have been slow to accept EMV and other payment forms

Basically, if you are still using a binder, notepad, or an excel spreadsheet to track your business information you are working in the “dark ages” with little, or, no efficiency. Certainly, spreadsheets are a great tool for number crunching. However, if you have lots of data whether it be customers, inventory or employees your winery would benefit from a more efficient data management tool. Seemingly wineries are notorious for being behind in technologies leaving a disconnect in service perception. The more tech savvy customer wants to pay with a chip card or Apple Pay, Venmo, or PayPal and all you have at your winery is an old-fashioned credit card machine. Time for an upgrade stat!

The wineries of all sizes who took the survey did answer that they do need to better integrate all the company systems. Let’s review the top five reasons your winery needs a super all in one database system.

Centralized Systems

Your chances of success at your winery greatly improve when you can manage all your critical data centrally, safely and securely with access whenever you need it, from wherever you might be traveling or otherwise occupied (golf course). Your staff increases as your business life stage or the season changes but keeping track of the growing amount of data with an increasing business flow makes it even more critical to ensure your data is safe and accessible. Logically all your business information in one location is what makes the most sense.

Better Management of HR Resources

When you have a growing staff, managing employee records electronically also can save time and money. Most any HR tasks can be automated to speed up the process of payroll, benefits, hours, and staff leave. Efficiency in this department can allow more time to focus on other business issues for forward movement. With smaller wineries, ownership does most things wearing many hats, so relying on automation is integral to time management success ensuring smooth business operations.

Inventory Tracking Efficiencies

Managing inventory can be challenging for even the most detail oriented individual and winery. Multiple tasting rooms, multi-storage facilities, club swaps, returns and more can feel like you are doing a balancing act on a circus high wire. Even if you track your inventory manually mistakes can be made in typos, miscounting, lost notes or spreadsheets. Utilizing an inventory tracking database in tandem with an electronic scanner can help avoid those risks and improve P&L figures.

Manage Customer Data & Developing Relationships

If you rely on customers or, as we call the channel in the wine business, “Direct to Consumer”, you really need to have all your data in one place. At the heart of your growth plans should be a relationship building model with a database system including invaluable features. A powerful system is strong enough to store, process everything from customer profile, transaction history whether Ecom, retail or club, length of membership and more. A true all in one system even allows segmented marketing campaigns executed and sourced directly from the unique client database where all the winery’s data is housed. No more need to use outside products such as Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, Vertical Response or Socket Labs to send emails that can’t even be tracked when sending your winery newsletters to your fans.

Dashboard Reporting

Dashboard reporting is just another way to describe analyze and assess your stats. Your data extracted from your business database will give you anything you need to know with the right custom report or query. Analytics and data give you information on how to make the new choices or next business decision. You can track the life cycle value of all your club members or your big spenders. You can determine what is the average sales order value per day, week, month or any financial period you designate. You can predict how fast your club(s) are growing to then forecast your need for varietal wine inventory for the club shipments in 2019 for example. You can review your inventory reports and even move inventory between multiple locations if that is part of your winery model. You can even calculate or forecast sales performance of your sales team. There is so much more you can extract from the data you already have collected.

Bottom line is that use of a complete (all-in-one) database empowers your winery to induce your customers to return. Your actual sales increase as a result. A complete database allows you the ability to up-sell and cross promote your products and events. Finally, an integrated database system allows you to initiate referral schemes and track the results even rewarding the staff or customers who help you grow your business!

About Active Club Solutions:

Active Club Solutions, Inc. is a leading provider of DTC sales technology solutions (Mobile Winery POS, club software, ecommerce). Our mission is to provide a single and comprehensive sales platform for firms selling direct to the consumer. Active Club Solutions has been providing DTC sales technology solutions to wineries, distilleries, and wine stores that seek to elevate sales and maximize service. Today the company has an entire suite of sales tools all in one single database. Active Club Solutions’ commitment to developing and continually improving its sales software and service has made us a leading and well-respected provider of direct sales software with a commitment to quality and customer success.

For more information, visit www.activeclubsolutions.com. To Request a Demo email Thomas@activeclubsolutions.com.