We have 5 cigar marketing tips that will help you grow your cigar business. Is your bottom line suffering because you can’t get cigars off your shelves? Do you need more visits to your shop to keep your business alive? We understand the ups and downs of cigar shops and want to increase your revenue and boots in the door with digital marketing.Â
Marketing your cigar lounge is more than having a great website or great customer service. People need to know you’re out there and understand what sets you apart from everyone else.
Digital marketing gives local cigar shops the ability to tap into new ways of spreading the word about memberships, specials, promotions, and events. Using avenues like social media and virtual events can boost sales, grow your brand reputation and create brand ambassadors.Â
The key to business growth is connecting with your customers and creating brand loyalty. This connection allows your company to influence your customer’s journey from the time they purchase their cigar through the time they enjoy it.
Cigar lounge marketing is a niche skill. Cigar smokers have specific needs and tastes that standard marketers don’t understand. As cigar enthusiasts ourselves, we wanted to share some proven cigar lounge marketing tips that can work for your lounge too.
Sell Lounge Memberships Online
Selling memberships online is a great way to increase revenue. You can charge an annual membership that gives members access to an onsite locker. Other benefits of membership could be:
- Private entrance doors
- Access to VIP spaces inside the lounge
- Discounts on cigar purchases
- Special members-only events
- Special access to the humidor
- Access to meeting spaces or conference rooms
There are perks to a lounge membership that people don’t think about. You can have a fantasy football draft party for lounge members only or let them rent out an area for a big birthday bash. Is there a big pay per view fight coming up? Invite members to a special viewing.
Lounge memberships also come with a bonus. Once you’ve sold a membership, you now have your customer’s email address, allowing you to stay connected to them. Send them deals and promotions to sell more cigars. Our cigar marketing department can help you with this.
Host Digital Events
Since the pandemic, digital events are the leading way to captivate and engage your customers. By capturing their attention, you keep them coming back. A big cigar marketing campaign should include a digital event. They are great because they cost little and require few resources. They are also more accessible to your social media subscribers than in-store events.
Virtual conferences, webinars, and live streams are all effective digital events. Each one can be tailored to suit your shop’s needs.Â
An effective digital event could be a webinar on the art of cigar rolling. This is one that worldwide members can attend. You could sell your cigars at the webinar. These events increase your shop’s popularity and website traffic as sales go up.
Offer Online Promotions
Rolling out an online promotion requires strategy and careful planning. A smattering of information on social media alone isn’t enough. Cigar marketing needs constant promotion that is heavily focused on increasing traffic and sales.
A good way to offer an online promotion is with an enhanced website. This grabs the user’s attention right away. Give them access to discounts and promos with banners on each page of your site. Write a blog post about the promotion and provide readers with more information about the products.Â
Then, continue to promote regularly on your social media platforms. Encourage people to like, follow, and share your promotion. Once the campaign concludes, keep in contact with your new prospects. Maintaining these relationships helps you increase your traffic.Â
Create a Social Media Event
Live events advertised on social media are great for cigar marketing. They allow for budget-friendly product launches and real-time reviews. They also provide an opportunity for consumers to engage with you. Let them ask questions.Â
Offer Q&A sessions so your brand builds trust as buyers get answers right from the source. Offer a live poll that engages customers and creates hype about products. Live polls also provide valuable metrics to help you gauge how well a product is doing.Â
Take your event a step further by creating hashtags for both the event and your business. Ask attendees to post images of their interaction with your products. As they share their experience and use your tag in their posts, they put your brand out there even further. These posts also stir up interest and create a sense of community among your followers.
Film YouTube Videos
While you need locally-focused SEO, posting a pre-recorded segment that is accessible across the globe can do wonders for your brand. You record your material and post it on YouTube to create a loyal following. YouTube makes it easy to put your message out and allows the public to subscribe to your channel.Â
An example would be a pre-filmed segment on the cigar tobacco growing regions of the world followed by an introduction of cigars that were made from those leaves. Follow this up with an experience-sharing moment and encourage viewers to subscribe, like, and share their experiences too.Â
Another great YouTube video could be a regularly scheduled cigar of the month club segment. Encourage fellow BOTL’s to try a specific cigar online each month and share the experience. This method expands your customer’s experiences of your products. And again, it creates a space for people with similar interests to come together.Â
Put It All Together
Cigar lounge marketing can work well using these 5 tips:
- Make memberships available for purchase online. Start by offering a trial to keep customers coming back.
- Host events online. This is a great way to engage new customers that costs little and offers a lot.Â
- Give online promotions. Offer discounts on your website and share your promos on social media.
- Create a social media event. Create live events with hashtags and encourage sharing.
- Make short videos. Post them on YouTube and encourage viewers to like, share, and subscribe. Gain brand awareness and a loyal following.
Cigarketing is an experienced company that specializes in cigar marketing. If you are responsible for increasing your cigar sales, call us now. Talk to the BOTL you can trust and get more sales.
Also, if you want to learn more about the most powerful tool a Cigar Lounge can leverage check out our SEO program here.
I’m working on opening a cigar lounge trailer and I need to get the word out and the suggestions you have are great! It’s still a process I’ll have website soon!