E-Commerce platforms and online stores have become incredibly popular recently. Several brick-and-mortar cigar shops have started promoting their business and selling cigars online.
Creating an eCommerce platform is a necessity for businesses so they can stay in the competitive market. Since the technological boom, the change in consumer behavior makes it essential for cigar shops to go online. If you want to create an e-commerce cigar shop, then you are at the right place.
Here are some tips to ensure your e-commerce cigar shop is a success:
1. Research Other Business Models
The first step to creating an e-commerce cigar shop is research. When you look for new opportunities, studying other platforms is essential. This helps cigar shop owners understand business structure. Also, identify the other cigar lounge marketing techniques that could help with your business growth.
Many people starting an online business find it hard to choose a niche, but as you are already a brick and mortar cigar shop or cigar lounge owner, you know what to sell on your platform. The best model that suits your business would be a multi-product e-commerce website.
2. Choose an eCommerce Platform
The next best thing would be choosing an eCommerce platform effective for cigar shop marketing and selling. Keep in mind that your online business would be similar to a brick-and-mortar business. The only difference would be that everything is online.
An eCommerce platform publishes your products online. While marketing for cigar shops, you use this platform as a storefront. So, you need to choose a platform that offers all required features such as payment receiving options, inventory management, and an easy-to-use dashboard. Some famous platforms to create an e-commerce cigar shop are:
- Shopify
- WooCommerce
- Squarespace
3. List Your Products with Prices
Product pricing before cigar lounge marketing can be a challenge for many business owners. However, if you are a brick-and-mortar cigar shop, pricing may not be too big of an issue. Product pricing is a critical step for selling cigars online because it reflects your revenue. If your prices are higher than the competitor’s, your profitability might take a hit.
Remember that you must run a cigar shop marketing campaign, which is a huge challenge. Besides marketing techniques, an online store requires a budget for business operations. So, list down the anticipated costs to minimize confusion. While analyzing costs, consider these factors:
- Cost of material for cigar production
- Taxes both state and federal
- Webhosting for your e-commerce cigar shop
- Shipping and delivery charges
- Packaging services
- Payment processing service charges
- Additional costs of advertising and marketing for cigar shops
4. Include Shipping Costs and Other Charges
Many cigar shop owners charge their customers for shipping costs. While this is one way to handle delivery charges, you can attract more customers by offering free shipping.
According to a report, more than 44% of online buyers claim they abandon a purchase due to high shipping costs. So, if you don’t want to lose your customers while they move through the last part of the sales funnel, you should offer free shipping. Try including some conditions. For instance:
- Offer free shipping for products over $50
- Offer free shipping on limited cigars or location
5. Select a Business and Domain Name
Now you get a chance to show your creative skills. Brainstorming techniques help you through this process. While brainstorming, you can list down a bunch of phrases and words associated with your cigar shop.
Business owners with brick-and-mortar shops won’t have a problem choosing the right business and domain name. However, if you are new to the industry, you must conduct some research.
6. Design Your Website for an e-Commerce Cigar Shop
Create a framework for your e-commerce cigar shop by evaluating other platforms selling cigars online. For instance, you add products with photos, keywords, and item descriptions on the product page. However, you may need more sections to make your store look interesting, such as the about page, contact us page, and blog section.
Some platforms offer ready-to-use templates. Templates help create an easy and quick website based on a theme. Many platforms also allow third-party integration, so you can add unique elements to your e-Commerce store. Some plug-in options include Google Analytics, Product Review, and Benchmark Hero.
7. Choose Payment Methods
After creating your cigar shop website’s structure, select a payment option. These options enable credit card payment features to your site. For that, you need to create a merchant account with a payment processing service provider.
Paypal, Square, Stripe, and PaySimple are some popular payment options other than credit and debit cards. You can choose from multiple options and facilitate your customers with easy and quick transactions.
8. Secure Your Website with SSL
Once your e-commerce cigar shop is ready, make sure you periodically backup your website. That way, you can recover your online cigar lounge if things go awry. Also, make sure that you integrate your website with an SSL certificate. These certificates highlight that your website protects customer information.
While purchasing from an online platform, savvy customers make sure that their information is secure. An SSL certificate prevents any attempt of cyber attack and data theft, protecting your customers’ information.
Promote Your eCommerce Cigar Website
After creating an e-commerce cigar shop, you need to add your products and publish your site. For promotion, you need a cigar lounge marketing plan to promote your brand. Marketing for cigar lounges includes social media campaigns, inbound content marketing, and paid promotions. Therefore, collaborating with a marketing company would be a wise choice.
At Cigarketing, we help businesses sell cigars online with promotional campaigns and marketing tools. We intend to organically increase cigar shop revenue through advanced marketing techniques. If you want to know more about how we facilitate business owners with marketing tools and techniques, give us a call.
Also, if you want to learn more about the most powerful tool a Cigar Lounge can leverage check out our Web Design program here.