Plays
Sales and Retention · Jun 9, 2026
Talk to club members when there's no box to sell
The clearest club fix in Silicon Valley Bank's 2026 report: high performers engage members outside the shipment cycle. If members only hear from you when their card is billed, that's your attrition problem.
The finding: Net club growth fell from 13% in 2021 to roughly 2%. New signups are barely covering cancellations, so the club is a retention game now.
The play: Do what the high performers do.
- Segment the list. Long-tenure members, new members, and members who've gone quiet each need a different note.
- Build real relationships with fewer people. A call, a handwritten card, an invitation that isn't attached to a sale.
- Show up between charges. Plan at least one touch in the weeks between shipments that asks for nothing.
Take it on the road: The wineries getting ahead take the brand to members where they live: traveling club events, virtual tastings, shipped tasting kits, private dinners. Pick one or two and build it into a real second revenue stream.