CONDITIONAL DISCOUNTING = LONG TERM BENEFITS

No one is fooling anyone. The discounts that are flowing to wine consumers these days are many and frequent. However, if you choose to offer your mailing list members a discount, think about linking that discount to something that brings you long term benefits rather than just a quick hit: Consider offering a significant one-time discount to anyone who joins your wine club.

Consider the Wine Club, for instance, that delivers four shipments annually to members and costs $200 per shipment. That price probably includes a 20% discount on the price of the wine included in the shipments. Now consider that the average wine club member will stay in your club for at least 3-4 shipments. Even if you offer mailing list members a 50% discount on a package of 4 wines if they join the wine club, you come out ahead in the long run financially, plus you are likely to create a real evangelist for your wines—assuming you do what should do with wine club members—treat them like kings.

The benefits of accumulating new wine club members far outweighs nearly any pain that comes with momentarily or conditionally discounting your wine.