“What the Tech?!” with Emetry

Being in the #winetech game with our connected packaging solution, it’s safe to say the team at Cellr love talking innovation in the wine industry- and we think you will too. In this installment of “What the Tech?!” we got chatting with the one and only Paul Mabray, CEO of Californian #winetech company, Emetry. 

Tell us about Emetry’s winetech, what does “data-driven action, simplified” mean? 

Emetry is a consumer data and analytics software platform for wine brands. We aggregate data from a range of digital sources (winery OMS’s, CRM’s, and wholesale data sources) to analyze the data and provide wineries insights they can act on. For a winery to achieve this on their own it would take a dedicated employee(s) and hours spent generating reports and lists for their campaigns. These reports are also not driven by data science or advanced technologies. Emetry leverages machine learning, predictive analytics, and various other analytics models, continually running behind the scenes, to provide brands always current, actionable data that’s ready to use at the click of a button. 

Here’s a bit of a chicken or the egg scenario: what came first, the data-driven software solution itself or finding a way to help wineries market their product effectively? What made you choose to make this solution specifically for wine? 

Those do not have to be mutually exclusive. In reality, there is a large segment of wineries with lots of data that needs to be unlocked. By unlocking the data correctly, we help improve the efficacy of a winery’s marketing at all levels. But finding answers wine brands could act on in data was always Emetry’s focus. Developing self-serve software is the most efficient and scalable way to help the most wine brands. The combination of wine and tech has always been a passion of mine. I have spent my career developing solutions for what’s around the corner for wine. Helping wineries leverage data to more effectively market their wine is the next big stepping stone and we’re thrilled to be part of the solution.

What did the early days for Emetry look like? What was your approach to engaging wine producers with your product?  

Emetry realized early on that wineries have a wealth of data that is largely untapped and unused. Our tagline “Together, we’re Building Better Answers” really says it all. Our approach was collaborative and iterative from the beginning. We worked closely with our early customers to learn what they needed. It was these early engagements and dedication to developing answers wineries really needed that helped form our product today. Every feature that made it into our software went through a washing machine of analyzing, testing, and refining until we arrived at the right answer. 

Where is Emetry currently being used, and what has the feedback been so far? 

Emetry is being used across many of the major wine brands and the feedback has been overwhelming. Wine brands are hungry to find smarter, more efficient ways to connect with their customers and wholesale accounts. Although change is never easy and it starts internally. Brands have to develop a culture from top to bottom where data is central. Watching our customers evolve their marketing and see measurable growth is one of the most rewarding parts of the job. That being said, we have a lot of work to do in order to infuse data-driven sales and marketing decisions into their cultures.

What is a success story/case study you can share with us about an Emetry customer?

We’re working with a brand with an internal call team who has been reaching out to customers at the Dødsing Point. (The Dødsing Point is a pivotal customer influence window based on the number of orders within an Emetry customer segment where 50% of customers in that segment stop purchasing.) Before they implemented their intervention strategy, only 9% of customers on the Dødsing Point lists made another purchase. This increased to 15% after they implemented their strategy. While a 6% increase in returning purchasers may seem small, it is significant. Pre-intervention returning purchasers contributed an additional $7,000 in revenue. Post-intervention returning purchasers contributed $31,000 in revenue, half of which came from the outbound call team directly. Although not every customer who received the intervention purchased directly with the call team, the indirect impact positively influenced customer behavior beyond the initial contact. We will be releasing a case study later in the month highlighting the results from brands acting on the Dødsing Point. Stay tuned!