A premium cigar marketing plan is a business strategy that is more important than ever for cigar sellers today. Take note that marketing premium cigars include an in-depth strategy. Increasingly unpredictable social, economic, and environmental factors can join with quickly changing consumer trends. This can wreak havoc on a premium cigar business caught unprepared. However, you can ensure your business stays competitive through it all with these 6 rules of premium cigar marketing.Â
1. Set Goals of Marketing Premium CigarsÂ
The first step in creating a premium cigar marketing plan is to determine short-term and long-term goals. Whether to increase sales 10% each quarter or to double the size of your customer base within two years, goals should be specific as well as realistic. So, formulate a goal and set an attainable level. Once these goals are put down, you can find a marketing budget that best fits your needs.Â
Changing consumer trends, economic factors, tech innovations, and other considerations call for some flexibility. This is throughout a marketing campaign. Take not that it is best to stick to the goals and budget as closely as possible. This is especially true of large-scale campaigns that often require comprehensive planning. Altering campaigns midstream can negatively affect a clear, focused marketing goal. Of course, you can always consult with a cigar marketing expert if you feel changes are needed to keep a successful strategy for marketing premium cigars.Â
2. Know Your Cigar CustomersÂ
Knowing your customers might seem a no-brainer. However, it is surprising how often customers’ wants and needs get lost in the shuffle. Yet undervaluing target consumers can be catastrophic to any marketing strategy, so take the time to learn about your customer’s desires. Each cigar customer has individual preferences to consider, yet common examples include:
- Positive customer experience
- Variety of cigar selection
- Knowledgeable staff
- Brand exclusivity
- Affordable prices
- Well-stocked inventory
- Convenient locationÂ
- Online shop with free shipping
- Hosts cigar tasting events
So, ask yourself, what do you offer besides the cigar products that customers desire? Sales reports, customer requests, questionnaires, online polls, special orders, in-store conversations, FAQs, and other such identifiers at your disposal offer clues to customer personalities and preferences. A cigar marketing team can help you use this information to construct a composite “target” customer to build a marketing plan around. As a result, you’ll be better equipped to support your existing customer base and attract new customers through a successful marketing campaign.Â
3. Evaluate and Reevaluate Cigar BusinessÂ
An important yet difficult aspect of creating a marketing plan is examining how your cigar business functions. It takes introspection and often a hefty dose of humility but looking at both what works and what doesn’t work well can help find the best road towards sales and customer growth.Â
A fair and honest evaluation is a big step in developing a premium cigar marketing campaign, but it doesn’t stop here. Partnering with a marketing team to monitor strategies throughout a marketing campaign’s lifetime ensures your plan is working at optimal levels to keep your customers engaged and you ahead of the pack.Â
4. Globalize Cigar Marketing Strategies
The premium cigar business is more dynamic than ever due to the expansion of social media, changes in public perception, and greater access to information. The pool of potential customers has grown much more diverse as a result, offering more opportunities for premium cigar sales growth beyond your establishment’s locality.Â
Much of what endears brick and mortar premium cigar sellers to cigar customers is the emotional bond created by a sense of community. This “friendly neighborhood” cigar shop vibe is an integral part of the cigar industry, but the ever-changing digital age requires more. A global outlook is needed to move regional and online marketing strategies beyond traditional methods. Maintaining a website and presence on social media platforms are just some of the ways to reach a global audience and bolster eCommerce growth capabilities.
5. Get Social, Stay Active
How do you take the best parts of your local cigar marketing to a worldwide level? The best way is to stay active, not just in-store or in the community but also online. An online presence alone is not an effective marketing tool unless it is an active presence. Consistently updating web pages, product inventory, and email lists are vital to cultivating an online customer base. However, the instant customer interaction offered by social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter, is exerting influence more than ever on today’s business world.Â
Getting connected and staying connected with customers both online and in-store is no longer just a good idea. It is a necessity. So, a marketing plan that combines traditional methods with an active focus on social media is a powerful ally in achieving your cigar business goals. A Cigarketing strategist can help develop a plan that includes a variety of outlets that best fit your goals and budget.Â
6. Share Cigar Marketing Tips
The premium cigar industry is unique in bringing ever more diverse consumers together regardless of background. The same is true of the best premium cigar sellers. The tendency might be to view all other sellers as competitors. Yet many of the most successful cigar purveyors share cigar marketing tips, understanding it is a way to make each other better and redefine target customers or goals.Â
Sharing successful marketing techniques makes for a stronger, more inclusive cigar industry, which helps feed growth potential. So, share tips you have found useful or take note of new insights from other premium cigar sellers. Your Cigarketing representative can collaborate with you to translate shared cigar marketing information into successful campaign strategies.
Develop a Winning Cigar Marketing PlanÂ
Developing a strong marketing plan in today’s fast-changing world is as critical as ever. Use these 6 rules of premium cigar marketing to develop a plan built for success. Implementing a marketing plan takes time. On the other hand, you have a specialized marketing team’s full arsenal of cigar marketing tools at the ready. So, kickstart your premium cigar marketing and contact the Cigarketing team now.