business & technology How CRM software can IT & Software enhance customer relationships For many winemakers, a ‘personal touch’ is often the best way of nurturing relationships with their customers. However, there are times when software with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) capability can provide even greater benefits to a business. Peter McAtamney, from Wine Business Solutions, looks at what to consider when it comes to CRM software. Why do you need CRM software? CRM stands for ‘Customer Relationship Management’. That today CRM is perceived to be software designed by people who are often the least likely to be masters of finessing those relationships should give anyone in the market for a new CRM system pause for thought. Note that I say ‘CRM system’ and not ‘CRM software’. The fact is that we don’t need, and we shouldn’t necessarily use, software to manage relationships. Machines should only ever be introduced when the physical task and its complexity gets to a level where humans can no longer cope. doing social media integration and any There are basic CRM products for of the other fancy stuff the best platforms small business like Zoho and Capsule, And even then, you need to be smart about are capable of. enterprise level salesforce automation that as it is better not to do business at all, software platforms like Salesforce and What should a good one do? sometimes, than have an autoresponder Sugar CRM that can be used for small underscore a lack of thought and care • if a customer interaction occurs, you business (but probably shouldn’t be unless through depersonalisation or worse. capture it you really know what you are doing) and full marketing automation software This is particularly true where small • if a sale takes place, you can account for it platforms with social integration like winemakers are concerned. The more Marketo, Hubspot and Infusionsoft. personalised communications can be • if a status changes, it changes with clients, the better those customer everywhere Medium-sized wineries and up should be thinking about marketing integration relationships tend to be. • if a record is needed, it can be easily software platforms if they are not So, at what point do we need software? located using them already. What needs to be From the moment: • campaigns, sales, and prospecting are considered is that you are not just buying measurable a piece of software. You’re buying into • more than one person needs to look a methodology; one that’s going to add at a set of customer records, • spotting trends in customer activity hours to your workload if you want to is easy. • you combine transactional data with be successful. So, investment in people is personal data, • activity through all communication as important a consideration as the tools and sales channels, including social, that you give them. • you need to do any proper analysis is integrated. of where you are making sales, If you are not going to go the whole hog of what and to whom, you need If we concentrate on CRM as software, with marketing automation, all wineries CRM software. the lines are getting blurrier by the these days need wine club software for: day. MailChimp, PayPal and even your This is before you even start to think • Data collection banking software have elements of CRM about doing wine club mailouts more capability. But they are most definitely • Managing customer records and efficiently, managing credit cards or not a substitute for CRM software. meeting data security requirements February 2020 – Issue 672 www.winetitles.com.au Grapegrower & Winemaker 75 business & technology • Segmentation with MYOB vs Xero, you can judge are being constantly updated for their for yourself how well this has been massive global subscriber bases across • Identifying VIPS achieved versus how well Wine Direct online retail. • Forming club/s for them has responded. Bloom is a wine club management addon • Produce targeted, timely and relevant VinCreative are out of the not for profit that integrates with Shopify. From all communication sector so are used to dealing with that we see, know and understand, subscriber bases and have the benefit, in this represents one of the best value • Maximising member tenure and terms of funding operations, of working for money options out there. We have spend across multiple ‘verticals’. They are not, affiliates that can build or modify your • Identifying other customers for however, so used to dealing with POS website backend accordingly. Note – your club led businesses but a POS is now part of We take or receive commissions from their offer. no one. • Recruiting new members Trolly also has a Canadian founder but The big question is – which one? Now Single system integration this time from the other side of the The holy grail, as it were, is the single we are entering into the field of advice country. They are low cost and more of system that integrates everything so rather than the sort of general guidelines a plug in than a full web site back end that it all works seamlessly. Do not let that ought to appear in an article like which pleases some people. Like many anyone tell you that this cant be done. this. We can, however, provide a few of these platforms, they are still evolving We are painfully close. ‘good to knows’. so time and patience may be needed if Wine Direct and Black Box are both you want to go on that journey. Small businesses can perhaps do this easier than anyone using APIs to out of Vancouver, Canada and are both With Wine only works with Apple at link Xero to Vend (POS), Vinsight over 10 years old now. The generic this stage but is perhaps the best thought (winery management) MailChimp and issue with developing an industry through in that it is designed from Word Press or whatever other similar specific application is the challenge of the customer experience backwards, applications you want to substitute. continually updating a product that recognizing that customer preference has a very small customer base (i.e. data is the gold. Medium-sized wineries are doing the the wine industry) for which there are same by integrating Vintrace with Xero Then there are other businesses many competitors. and Wine Direct. that are simply taking the dominant Commerce7 was started by Wine shopping engines/web site backends It’s the large businesses, who generally AccoladeDirect’s/Vin Wines 65’s original Australia CEO Andrew Limited, being Aravina Shopify Estate, and WooCom Australian (Word Vintageget told Ltd,by their Barwick own IT Wines,department Bel - tunga,Kamphuis, Bests with Wines a view Greatto overcoming Western, Press) Bremerton and modifying Wines, them Brownfor the Brothersthat they will Milawa modify their Vineyard existing ERP Pty Ltd,some Campbells of the issues Wines, he felt peopleCasama were Groupwine industry. Pty Ltd, At leastCellarmaster with these, you Group, system Charles rather than Melton introduce Wines, outside Clo - verexperiencing Hill Wines, with CMV Wine Farms,Direct. AsCoriole have theVineyards, comfort of knowing Delegats that theyWine software, Estate, that Delegat’s tend to fail epically.Wine Estate Limited, DogRidge, Edgemill Group, Fanselow Bell, Five Star Wines, Fowles Wine, Fuse Wine Services Pty Ltd, Gemtree Vineyards, Glenlofty Wines, Harry Jones Wines, Henry’s Drive Vi- gnerons Pty Ltd, Hentley Farm, Hope Estate, Hospitality Recruitment Solutions,The Wine Howard Industry’s Park Wines, Hungerford Hill Wines, Inglewood Wines Pty Ltd, Innocent Bystander,Leading Jack Online Rabbit Job Site Vine- yard, Jim Barry Wines, KarriBindi, Kauri, Kingston Estate Wines Pty Ltd, Kirrihill Wines Pty Ltd, Krinklewood Biodynamic Vineyard, L’Atelier by, Aramis Vineyards, Leeuwin Estate, Make WInes Australia, McWilliam’s Wines Group, Memstar, Mondo Consulting, Moppity VIneyards, Moxon Oak, Nadalie australia, Nexthire, Oenotec Pty Ltd, Options Wine Merchants, Orlando Wines, Ozpak Pty Ltd, Patrick of Coonawarra, Plantagenet Wines, Portavin Integrated Wine Services, R&D VITICULTURAL SERVICES PTY LTD, Robert Oatley Vineyards, Rymill Coona- warra, Seville Estate, Stella Bella Wines, Streicker Wines, The Gilbert Family Wine Co, The Lane Vineyard, The Scotchmans Hill Group Pty Ltd, The Yalumba Wine Company, Tintara Win- ery, Tower Estate Pty Ltd, Treasury Wine Estates, Turkey Flat Vineyards, Two Hands Wines, Tyrrell’s Wines, Vinpac International, Warburn Estate Pty Ltd, WebAware Pty Ltd, Wine and Vine PersonnelGo with International,Wines the trusted Overland, Wingarajobs WIne site Group,Wirra that Wirra Vineyards, Zilzie Wines, Accolade Wines Australia Limited, Aravina Estate, Australian Vintage Ltd, Bar- wick Wines, Beltunga, Bests Wines Great Western, Bremerton Wines, Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyardleading Pty Ltd, Campbells wine Wines, industry Casama Group Pty companies Ltd, Cellarmaster Group, use. Charles Mel- ton Wines, Clover Hill Wines, CMV Farms, Coriole Vineyards, Delegats Wine Estate, Delegat’s Wine Estate Limited, DogRidge, Edgemill Group, Fanselow Bell, Five Star Wines, Fowles Wine, Fuse WineCovering Services Australian, Pty Ltd,New ZealandGemtree Vineyards, Glenlofty Wines, Harry Jones Wines, Henry’s Drive Vigneronsand international Pty Ltd,positions. Hentley Farm, Hopecreated Estate, & managed Hospitality by Recruitment Solutions, How- ard Park Wines, Hungerford Hill Wines, Inglewood Wines Pty Ltd, Innocent Bystander, Jack Rabbit Vineyard, Jim Barry Wines, KarriBindi, Kauri, Kingston Estate Wines Pty Ltd, Kirrihill Wines Pty Ltd, Krinklewood Biodynamic Vineyard, L’Atelier by, Aramis