Fall 2020 PCA Magazine

PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG AUTUMN 2020 | PCA The Magazine 37 B R A N D A P A R T ou own your own business. You have a retail location, a website and probably an online store as well. So what’s your brand? “My brand?” you ask. “I sell brands, but I’m not a brand.” Well, maybe that’s the problem. First, let’s define “brand,” and what branding represents to the retailer and to the success of the business. Merriam-Webster offers two excellent definitions of the word brand as they pertain to our discussion: a class of goods identified by a name as the product of a single firmor manufacturer; or a public image, reputation or identity conceived of as something to bemarketed or promoted. We can already see in the second definition how the word brand can signifymore than just a product. Now let’s see how the term “branding” is defined: The promotion of a particular product or company bymeans of advertising and distinctive design. There we have, in three short definitions, the essence of what it means to not only have your own brand, but to actually be your own brand. Branding, at its core, is setting yourself apart fromyour competitors. This has become increasingly essential, as there may be others vying for your customers, not only in your community, but also online, and potentially within the B Y L A R R Y W A G N E R confines of your own business. With your customers having such immediate access to obtainingmerchandise from your competitors, you need to create both a product and an image that work to encourage and ensure customer loyalty. Clearly, there can be varying approaches to creating your own brand. These can differ according to an individual’s personality, where the business is located, what types of products are featured and numerous other considerations. After discussions with several retailers around the country, it became evident, nomatter the branding strategy you use, youmust be genuine to yourself and your community. The brand and the brander Vartan Seferian, for instance, was contemplating a name for his newPhoenix cigar store when his daughter Christine suggested “Ambassador.” “We thought it was perfect,” says Seferian. “An ambassador represents something, usually a country. I wanted to be the ambassador of cigars. So it fit the image I wanted perfectly.” Before he had even opened the doors to his store, he had established his brand. He realized he would bemarketing not only his products, but also his image and the image of his business as a representation of the world of fine cigars to his community. And he knew instinctively how he would convey that image. “My goal was to target high-end. From the first day, I Y