The Compelling Benefits of Texting 

Wineries are in hyper drive rethinking their marketing and outreach strategies in an effort to stay competitive to meet sales targets. Typically, wineries use email as the tool of choice to communicate. Times have changed and this tried and true method of emailing just isn’t good enough to keep customers engaged.

The majority of Americans use text to stay in contact with friends, family, and colleagues

Smartphone users spend 22% of their time on their phone texting but only 10% of their time using email

Next to talking with someone, sending a text message 

is the most effective way to communicate

Consumers Prefer Texts: 

Most consumers prefer texting over almost all other forms of communication. This is why they like it:

                   1) Takes seconds to read a text

                   2) Messages are short and to the point

                   3) Easy to respond

                   4) Messages are organized by phone number

                   5) Some messages contain links to read more

Mobile numbers rarely change but email addresses change with the seasons. Consumers change their email addresses to avoid all that spam. 

Best Practices:

               1) Messages should be short and personal

                    2) Always send customers back to your website, social media or a link to a video

                    3) Give them something for opting-in, like a discount

                    4) Send messages only during business hours

                    5) Encourage a response by asking a question

                    6) Don’t send more than 1 to 2 messages a week

                    7) Focus on your best customers

Make It Your 2020 Goal:

With the slowdown in the wine industry and predicted flat sales in 2020 it’s a good time to evaluate implementing texting for your winery. With little planning on an opt-in strategy, creating message content, texting is easy to add to your existing marketing strategy and you’ll be surprised with the results.

About the Author: Steve Knaebel is the President of Redtie International.

Learn more about Steve @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveknaebel