Leading wine experts have launched a strategic alliance to help wineries accelerate direct to consumer retail and exports in 2020. To date, the wine industry has been focused on traditional advertising and marketing.

It is reported that this now needs to evolve to drive greater value from existing and new customer relationships by maximising performance in digital and ecommerce marketing channels.

That is why AM-i Customer Engagement Agency, Winepilot and Rob Geddes MW have launched the Compass Wine Alliance to help wineries take advantage of key growth opportunities in 2020 and beyond.

The cuts to cellar door tourism and on-premise sales have created many challenges for Australian wineries, requiring them to adapt to new business conditions and reposition for future opportunities.

Ecommerce has shown its power at driving direct to consumer sales and will continue to be a vital sales channel in the future.

However many wineries are still under-resourced in this area and need additional skills to compete with highly skilled and experienced ecommerce retailers and their large sales and marketing teams.

The Compass Wine Alliance has formed to help wineries cost-effectively pivot and drive increased sales by delivering a better digital and ecommerce experience.

“Every customer counts; now more so than ever. That’s why our mission is to help wineries nurture and grow a customer base that not only acts as a sustainable direct sales channel, but also drives long-term loyalty to their brands,” said Angela Cobb, director of AM-i.

“We will be collaborating with Winepilot to improve the consumers’ digital experience with each brand.”

“We’ve brought together some of Australia’s best and emerging wine communicators, providing a modern voice to help wineries better connect with a broad range of consumers and subsequently drive sales,” explained Angus Hughson, founder of Winepilot.

While many export markets will contract in 2020, a revival of orders from China in recent months shows that this market will continue to be important for Australian wineries.

Many wineries are still under-represented in China, lacking distribution in much of the country.

Recently rated as one of the Top 10 wine influencers in China, Rob Geddes MW can assist wineries to broaden their distribution network as well as build online sales and brand value.

“With challenges in most English-speaking wine markets in 2020 and the falling value of the Australian dollar, China, including its rapidly growing ecommerce wine market, offers wineries significant potential for increased export sales,” said Geddes.

As a group, the Compass Wine Alliance brings together key service providers to give wineries a one-stop shop of customised solutions to grow sales now and into the future.

The services include ecommerce, Digital Marketing and Content, plus specialised export assistance to China.

To provide immediate support, the Compass Wine Alliance have launched a no commitment, free 30-minute consultation for wineries to understand their challenges before outlining how they can assist to grow ecommerce and export sales

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