IN OUR 1,500 SQUARE FOOT cigar experience in Meridian, Idaho, we have a bevy of metrics by which we measure daily, weekly, and monthly performance. We examine and set goals for total transactions, average order size, and revenue type (tobacco versus bar operations). The numbers do not lie. They are not arbitrary or subjective. They are indicators of consumer behavior, current market nuances, and the job you are doing.
Did you catch that? The common denominator is often the relationship you are trying to build with your consumer. That is where real understanding occurs. With that in mind, I would like to share the three phases of consumer engagement that lead to healthy performance.
Pre-experience
This is the beginning of all consumer engagements. This stage happens long before a consumer enters your building. Have you ever asked yourself why online cigar buying is so popular? They crush this stage. You get a sexy email that includes highly visual graphics, a price that cannot be beat, one-click link to their website, and an additional free something if you order right now! Their pre-experience is on point to say the least. Consumers know exactly what they are going to get, when they are going to get it and how much they are going to pay. Brick-and-mortar must shift their thinking to embrace this kind of pre-experience. Let’s break down each step:
What should a consumer expect?
I have written about this before, but it bears repeating. Do not let anyone else tell your story. Is your website current? Do you include pictures of the lounge and humidor? How is that Instagram page? Are you including reels that show your staff smiling and the cleanliness of your space? Do you showcase your brands on a regular basis and get consumers excited about what products you carry? I have gone to countless cigar retailer pages that have not been updated for … wait for it … years. That is not a joke. Is your address correct on Google? Do you answer reviews? Do you return voicemails and emails? All this shapes the consumer’s expectation prior to visiting your shop. Don’t neglect this crucial step.
When is a consumer expecting to meet you?
Hours, hours, hours. When are you open? How would customers find out about that? Are you open when they want to meet? I open earlier on Saturdays for consumers. I close on Sundays to encourage a work/family balance with my consumers and staff. Everyone needs a day of rest. Figure out the schedule that works for you and your consumers and communicate it.
How much is the consumer expected to pay?
Don’t sweat this. They will pay whatever you are charging when you get the next step right …
Experience
This is where online retailers can’t touch you … so don’t f*** it up when they walk through the door! Say hello to everyone who walks through the door and greet them with a smile. I don’t mean to be vulgar, but this simple act (which costs you nothing) is so culturally impactful to your bottom line, and yet I have visited retailers all over the planet who fail at launch. The crazy truth is that when you start saying hello and smiling, it is contagious. You will be amazed at the increase in consumers simply because you lit the fire of relationship.
I have beat the topic of experience to death over four years of writing this column. I will summarize: Be kind, smile, clean the ashtrays, clean the bathroom, price your products on the shelf, don’t sit down behind your sales counter, ask for permission to be their tobacconist, and be thankful.
Post-experience
What? My job isn’t done when the consumer walks out? Did we not learn anything from online retailers? You mean you missed their follow-up email with the offer for next month, the coupon for a gift or the opportunity to pre-buy the next big thing? What are you doing to transform your consumer into a customer?
See what I did there? We just spent time getting consumers in our doors (Pre) and spending money in our locations (Experience), and yet we don’t get to call them customers until they are invested in our success. That happens when we see the following three things:
They tell their friends. You have created a customer when they tell their friends about your great experience offerings. Did they post a review (hopefully that you replied to)? Did they bring a friend the next time?
They come back. This seems like common sense, but have you thanked every consumer this month and invited them back? I am not kidding. Most data models show that folks accept between 75 and 85 percent of invitations made directly to them. The consumer was right in front of you. Did you invite them to come back and be a customer?
They increase their engagement and replicate your culture. What?!?!?! I don’t have to do all the work? No, you do not. When you are in the business of creating true customers, they engage in the same Pre-experience and Experience that you have exampled for them. You get what you incentivize, so get it right.
If we can focus on these three phases of consumer engagement, with an eye towards converting them to healthy customers, I think we position ourselves for healthy performance. There are many other factors that affect our bottom line, but healthy customers are required for any business to succeed.
– Article contributed by Josh Evarts, a tobacconist at Vault Cigar Lounge, Meridian, Idaho.
This story first appeared in PCA The Magazine, Volume 4, 2024. To receive a copy of this magazine you must be a current member of PCA. Join or renew today at premiumcigars.org/membership.