This holiday season, I shared some Michigan wine with members of the Email Mavens team as a thanks for the contributions to both our client and our business growth. I reached out to my friend Taylor Simpson, who is the co-owner at Simpson Family Estates in Michigan, for some recommendations. We met at the Direct to Consumer Wine Symposium years ago, and she is a stalwart advocate for Michigan Wine who every industry professional ought to know. She was gracious enough to put together a few bundles of her favorite wines from Aurora Cellars and Good Harbor Vineyards and ship them to members of my team.
I want to talk to you about the unboxing experience. Because you guys, this is magic.
Now I get a lot of shipments from wineries. I buy a lot of wine. And I’ll be honest, sometimes I don’t even remember what I bought, or what winery I’m a member of that recently charged me. Don’t judge.
So when that bland beige cardboard box arrives and the sender label isn’t even 100% clear on who its from, I wouldn’t say it’s a standout experience. It’s far from wow. Of course I open up and see magic, but the magic starts AFTER I get out the scissors and remove a few layers of cardboard ya know.
Not so with these wines from Michigan.
I mean…
I had to text Taylor immediately.
She told me her goal was to create an unboxing experience unlike any other that makes people feel like they received a really special package. And that it would inspire them to share that experience with others.
Well, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! I’m sharing it with you, (with permission from Taylor of course). I literally thought, if they put this much effort into a box, how much effort is going into the other experiences they create – the wines, the tasting room experience, their membership, etc.
This is a primo example of a wine brand taking the details seriously, claiming the opportunity of a customer interaction as a chance to elevate that customer’s individual experience AND making it worth amplifying it by sharing.
IT reminds me of my favorite business book, Never Lose a Customer Again, by Joey Coleman. This is the book I would have written about business but Joey beat me to it. I used to gift a copy of it to new clients, I love it so much.
I should probably go back to that honestly.
But anyway… Joey’s book talks about the 8 phases of a customer journey and shares ideas for how you can use the 6 communication tools to make each phase special for your customer.
Those 6 communication tools are in person, email, physical mail, phone, video and physical gifts or presents.
Simpson Family Estates has nailed it on the physical mail touchpoint. It was an eye-opening reminder for me that there is an entire world of communication tools that MY business isn’t utilizing to its fullest capacity, and a powerful illustration of what the details can do to inspire your customers.
This week’s content isn’t so much an email marketing how to but more of a call to action to assess your communication tools across the board.
Are you leveraging all six effectively, at every stage of the customer journey?
- Are your in-person interactions high-energy exchanges with sincere connection and welcoming hospitality?
- Does your packaging inspire customers? Do you send physical mail at other stages, either as a thank you or as a simple touch base?
- What about your telephone communication? A followup call the day your first-time customers’ shipment arrives, or leveraging text communications to follow up around delivery and status.
- Personalized and customized video could help bring a WOW moment to any stage of the customer journey… and I’ve got a new episode planned to show you one of my video secret weapons
- Presents may be the easiest one to pull off as a winery. There are all kinds of things you could slip into a package that would surprise and delight your customer, and often you do! I’m a member at Tablas Creek Vineyards and they sent me this beautiful mug as a holiday gift. Last year I got a wall calendar.
- Of course EMAIL is our favorite communication tool to talk about here at the Email Mavens, and we are tireless in our efforts to share as many opportunities to wow on both this blog and on our YouTube channel, but also for our Mavens On Demand community, our Total Package clients, and our PRESS SEND cohorts.
Here’s what to do with what you know:
Think about the six communication tools I just broke down for you and your customer journey. Jot down a few ideas at every stage with every communication tool – then commit to rolling out ONE new wow-worthy moment every month.
Simple, sustainable new moments will add up to an entire ecosystem of wow that inspires vacation planning and loyal repeat customers. I’m telling you, it starts small and adds up to huge impacts.
At Email Mavens, we believe every winery can sell more wine online by sending better marketing emails. But… you could probably sell more wine in person and online if you took a good hard look at all your communication touch points. So go do that!
Until next week, keep pressing send on your next best email!
