How to Take Advantage of Holiday Cigar Sales

Holiday cigar sales are crucial to a cigar business’ success and can set the tone for the new year to come. Increased holiday traffic creates greater sales opportunities and a wide range of digital marketing strategies. It’s difficult to navigate the inventory, staffing, and other challenges brought on by the holidays, yet Cigarketing is here to help. So, let’s look at ways to take advantage of cigar sales during the holidays. 

The Holidays Bring Cheer… and Sales!

It’s easy to let the longer hours, inventory shortages, and other frustrations brought on by the chaotic holiday shopping season get in the way of effective sales and marketing. Yet, you can do away with the “bah-humbugs” simply by laying out a holiday sales plan. Mapping out strategies, staff, and the products you’ll need for the holidays can help maximize marketing and sales while minimizing inventory and shipping issues. Whether planning in July or December, having a plan in place lets you focus on spreading good cheer to your customers while taking full advantage of the season’s cigar sales opportunities.

Ways Cigar Businesses Can Take Advantage of the Holidays

With a successful holiday plan in place, you can ensure your cigar business is ready for any holiday challenges that come your way. So, consider these ten tips that let you take better advantage of the holidays to build stronger sales throughout the holiday season and beyond.

Above and Beyond Customer Service

Customer service is key to building a healthy business and the holidays offer a great opportunity to show customers why your business is the best. It starts with the greeting. So, no matter how busy you or your staff might be, always warmly acknowledge customers when they enter your shop, and let them know your staff is ready to help them with their holiday shopping. Be proactive and ask questions to get to the heart of their search. If you have an online cigar business, look to create a positive holiday-inspired online shopping experience. Even if customers don’t make purchases on the spot, exceptional customer service plants a seed that can grow into greater sales closer to the holidays, in-store or online.

Increase and Educate Staff

A friendly and knowledgeable staff is at the heart of good cigar store customer service. The holiday rush might require you to hire extra staff to maintain a high level of customer service, so plan ahead. You’ll need time to hire and train holiday staff. Whether they share only general cigar knowledge or are veteran cigar experts, staff should be well-versed in product availability, holiday cigar specials, special events, return and exchange policies, shoplifting procedures, and other pertinent information.

Build Up Inventory

One of the biggest issues during the holidays is inventory shortages that can leave customers frustrated and your business with missed holiday cigar sales. So, when creating a holiday sales and marketing plan, look to stock up early and often so you can escape the pitfalls of holiday backorders and shipping delays. In addition, much of your inventory levels are determined by available space, so consider additional storage options if you need more than your current storage area allows.

Create a Holiday Atmosphere

Creating a festive holiday environment goes a long way to putting customers in a buying mood. So, deck out your cigar shop with all the trimmings to ensure holiday shoppers feel like they are stepping into a magical winter wonderland. In addition, it is a great way to show off your distinctive personality. Online cigar shops should do the same, creating a festive look throughout the website that stands out from other sites.

Offer Holiday Deals

Holiday deals are vital to expanding holiday cigar sales opportunities. Everyone loves a good deal, especially holiday shoppers searching for discounts. So, work with your marketing strategist to determine the best deals to offer, how much inventory you’ll need, and the best marketing tactics to ensure the word gets out.

Holiday Cigar Events

Special holiday-themed events are another way to generate product interest and get customers into your brick-and-mortar cigar shop or visit your online cigar business. In addition, these special events are great tie-ins for customer appreciation and reward programs, from featured in-store cigar tastings to holiday cigar dinners.

Online Holiday Presence 

Maintaining a presence online throughout the holidays is more effective than ever before, offering various ways to spread the word about sales, products, and events with just a click. Social media and email campaigns let you get the information you want holiday shoppers to see quickly and efficiently, ultimately leading to increased sales opportunities. For those with websites, update FAQs, online chat availability, store hours, and other policies catered to the holiday season. 

Host Charitable Events

From Secret Santa and Toys For Tots to food drives and employee volunteering, there are many ways your cigar business can raise awareness of charitable causes and bring a little holiday joy to those who need it most. You can also include your customers in the giving spirit through charitable donations and other programs. Yes, it is good PR and might even generate more holiday sales, yet first and foremost, it is about supporting charities during the holidays and throughout the year.

Offer Samplers and Assortments

Cigars and accessories make ideal holiday gifts, yet many holiday shoppers are unsure what to get or what the recipient likes. A great workaround is a sampler or assortment pack. Offering shoppers various assortments that fit their needs and budget is a quick and easy way to create cigar sales during the holiday season.

Add Value to Holiday Shopping

The best way to keep holiday cigar sales going is to make holiday shopping as fast and easy as possible while adding value to the experience. As with variety packs, offering customers quick solutions to their holiday gift buying shows you have them covered. Ways to add value include discounts on holiday gift card purchases, gift wrapping, special bonus buys or free offers, free shipping for online orders, coupons for visiting social media, and many others.

Cigarketing is Your Personal Holiday Cigar Sales Specialist

A little planning is all it takes to raise your holiday cigar sales to another level, and Cigarketing is here to help market your cigars to achieve optimal success. So, be ready for the holiday rush and contact us today to make the holidays the season of winning cigar sales.

 

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