Your Guide to Revenue-Boosting December Deals

Come December 1st, Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be history, but you still should be running holiday promotions. Not only are November and December two of the biggest months for eCommerce wineries, holiday sales in general account for 20 percent of all retail sales in the U.S., fueling make-or-break profits for the entire year.

With a month left of holiday shopping and wine most certainly on the holiday table, continuing to actively market is crucial to your winery’s bottom line. To help you attract more customers during this busy time of year, we’ve outlined how you can use a last-minute December deal to reel in more sales.

1: CREATE YOUR DECEMBER OFFER

After the frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday has passed, take stock of your inventory to see what you have left that would make a great promotion for December. (For more on how to create a special offer, read ‘Tis the Season for Holiday Wine Promotions—Are You Ready?)

For a December deal that will encourage last-minute shoppers to act fast, be sure to:

  • Continue to offer the free or extra-low shipping

  • Make it clear when your limited-time deal expires

  • Include the date to order by in time for holiday delivery—see more at the end of this post

2: PLAN OUT YOUR MARKETING CHANNELS

These days, everyone scours the web for the best deals. Your customers will expect to see more emails and posts than normal during the holiday season, so don’t worry about annoying them when you up your message frequency.

Start by letting your email list or wine club members know about the December deals before everyone else. Offering an exclusive promotion makes your customers feel special because they’re getting a deal no one else is.

Next, expand your messaging to your website and social media channels to attract potential customers. Include a call to sign up for your email list and be the first to know about limited-time promotions. After the holidays, you’ll have a bigger email list to market to in the new year.

3: USE HOLIDAY-THEMED IMAGES

With food and wine at the center of holiday celebrations, wineries are perfectly poised for a boost from holiday sales. Updating the imagery on your website, social media, and email template to reflect the holidays will help your December offer stand out—and remind people that wine is an essential part of their holiday plans.

You’ll want to use a mix of product shots (wine bottles and gift boxes against a plain white or textured background) and lifestyle images (people enjoying wine during the holidays) in your web banners, landing pages, emails, direct mail, and social media.

If you do choose to book a professional photographer, make sure their style meshes with your brand style. To maximize your marketing budget, plan to shoot the same images with and without holiday props so you can use them all year long.

If you are tight on budget, you can always dress up current images with graphics or use carefully chosen stock photography. Be careful not to be too generic though, you still need your brand’s unique personality to shine through.

4: MAKE YOUR MESSAGING PERSONAL

With the success of Small Business Saturday, it’s clear that people are looking for relationships with the companies they purchase from. Hearing your personal story helps consumers understand they’re buying from a real person, not a huge wine conglomerate.

Here are some ideas for personalizing your messaging:

  • Share your family’s favorite holiday recipe—and the wine that goes with it

  • Tell the unique story of your winery’s founders and why they love what they do

  • Write about your goals for the new year and ask customers to share theirs

5: PROVIDE GIFT GIVING IDEAS

Curated wish lists—where a person shares a list of what they want for the holidays—are a fun way to remind customers to give wine this holiday season. It’s also a great opportunity to showcase your brand’s personality.

Select a group of employees to curate a list of gifts that include at least one item from your winery. For example, your tasting room manager could list her favorite perfume, chocolate, slippers, scented candle, and bottle of red.

6: CREATE CUT-OFF DATES FOR CHRISTMAS DELIVERY

Use the ticking clock to your advantage, while providing a valuable reminder to your customers. Where you’re based and where your customers are shipping to can affect the delivery times in different regions. Include the cutoff dates for delivery by FedEx, UPS, or your preferred shipper in your marketing materials. We recommend putting in a buffer day or two just in case weather throws a wrench in your delivery estimations.

7: REMEMBER TO FOLLOW UP

Once the holidays are over, you have another opportunity to nurture customer relationships. Sending an email asking them how they enjoyed their wine, for example, shows you value their business. And it might even lead to another eCommerce order. After all, they probably drank or gave away what they ordered from you during the holiday season.

For more tips on running holiday promotions, feel free to reach out to us. Here’s to a wonderful New Year!

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