The Silicon Valley Bank Direct-to-Consumer Wine Survey has reported modest increases in tasting room traffic in recent years. But do you want more than modest results? We think so.
Here’s a Little-Known Fact
Your email campaigns can generate more physical tasting room traffic. If you want your winery to be the top destination for visitors in your wine region, read all the way to the bottom and apply what you learn.
We talk a lot about selling more wine online, but today we’re shifting gears to a powerful strategy for boosting physical traffic to your winery’s tasting room using online reviews.
Why Reviews Are So Important
When people search for places to visit in your wine region, Google reviews can significantly influence their decision. The more positive reviews you have, the more likely your winery is to surface in local search results, and the more likely visitors are to choose you as their destination.
Google reviews also provide social proof, which is huge for the lurkers on your email list. They increase your visibility and give hesitant subscribers a reason to book.
How to Get More Reviews
Now that we know why Google reviews are so important, let’s get into how you can use email and other channels to get more of them.
1. Use email automation to follow up after a tasting room visit
Send a friendly email thanking guests for their visit and asking for a review. Most people won’t go out of their way to share a review online unless the experience was exceptional or exceptionally awful. You have to make it easy by including a direct link to your Google review page.
To build that link, you’ll need your Google Place ID. If you don’t already know it, use Google’s Place ID lookup tool to find your winery’s location. Then paste the Place ID after the equal sign in this URL string:
https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=
Once those pieces are in place, you’ll have a link you can send in your email campaigns that pulls up your Google Business Profile and opens the review popup. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!
Armed with this link, you’re ready to go. If your post-visit email doesn’t exist yet, this is a great reason to build one, and the automation roadmap shows where it fits among your other flows. Reservation platforms like Tock can supply the visit data that triggers it.
2. Ask for reviews in person
After a great, positive interaction and an amazing tasting experience (maybe you even get someone to sign up for your wine club!), encourage your guests to leave a review. The ask lands best in the moment, while they’re still glowing about the Syrah.
3. Use social media
Post reminders on your social platforms, encouraging your happiest visitors to share their experiences on Google.
Use Your Reviews
Once you’re getting all those reviews, you need to leverage them.
But a quick aside: when you start getting more reviews, it’s imperative that you respond to every review, positive or negative. Thank reviewers for their feedback and address any concerns. This shows potential visitors that you value customer input and that you’re deeply committed to creating an exceptional, five-star-review-worthy experience.
The next step is to share those positive reviews on your website and on social media. This provides social proof and encourages more visitors to leave their own reviews. Positive reviews also make excellent email content: a glowing quote about your Cabernet does more selling than a paragraph you wrote about it yourself, which is the whole idea behind making your customer the hero.
Remember, consistent efforts yield consistent results. Make it a habit to ask for reviews and watch your local ranking and tasting room traffic grow.
Recap
- Request reviews through emails, both automated and dedicated.
- Request reviews through in-person interactions.
- Request reviews on social media.
- Leverage those reviews by responding to every one and sharing them anywhere you can.
- Make review requests a continuous strategy, not a one-time push.
Now that you know better, you’ve got to do better. Follow the steps above to build your own Google review link, incorporate it into a tasting room follow-up email campaign, start using it in dedicated marketing emails and on social media, and watch your ranking climb.
Want this follow-up flow built and running without doing it yourself? That’s exactly what Email Essentials installs.
At Email Mavens, we believe that every winery can sell more wine online by sending better marketing emails. But guess what? You can also send more people to your tasting room by requesting reviews. So use the strategies you learned today, and keep pressing send on your next best email.
Winery Google Reviews FAQs
How do I create a direct Google review link for my winery?
Find your Google Place ID using Google’s Place ID lookup tool, then append it to https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid= . The resulting link opens your Google Business Profile with the review popup already up, so guests can leave a review in seconds.
When should a winery ask for a review by email?
Shortly after the visit, while the experience is fresh. An automated post-visit follow-up that thanks the guest and includes the direct review link converts far better than a generic request sent weeks later.
Should wineries respond to negative reviews?
Yes, to every review, positive or negative. A calm, specific response to a complaint tells future visitors more about your hospitality than a wall of five-star ratings does.
