PCA Magazine Fall 2019

38 PCA The Magazine | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2019 PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG “We greet the customer, guide the customer and advise the customer,” he explains. “However, wemaintain the possession of the sale, we close the sale andwe invite them to stay. We write recommendations and thank themand invite them to return. Thenwe replace the tray, put the unsold product back on the shelf and repeat.” He recognizes the Nat Sherman experience may not fit every business or every location but he emphasizes it’s the consistency and control of the experience that are the keys to the cycle of service. “When we have possession of the tray, the sale is not over until we say it’s over,” he said. “This is a very powerful position to be in. So when the customer answers the question of which cigar in the world they would like to smoke and we have it, it goes on the tray. They may back off when this happens, but then we ask why they liked it and start offering other cigars that have a similar profile. We now begin to make recommendations, adding cigars to the tray and explain why each cigar is meaningful based on the referenced cigar. We expand their options with the hope of having them buy something else.” SMART DIGITAL MARKETING Take out your phone and Google your business. What do you see?Where does your store rank? Top of the page, bottom of the third page, 10 pages in? And where does your store stand versus competitors in your area? Jennifer and Chris Nichols of Arlington Pipe &Cigar asked themselves these questions just after purchasing their store. At the time, having no digital presence seemed to be the least of the Nichols’ problems. The store had no logo and no brand; it had half-filled, messy shelves and a narrow, niche clientele. But they knew a digital presence was going to be essential to growing their business. They started by polling their existing customers about what social media platforms they used, and then began defining the store’s brand on those sites. “What’s not out there is disturbing,” said Jennifer during her presentation, Case Study: How 1 Tobacconist Realized 300%Revenue Gains Through Digital Marketing. “So how do you get yourself out there? Before you launch, you need to determine your brand—what you are, who you want to be, what you stand for and what components you want out there on a consistent basis. This is the first message you want to craft. The value of your brandmay not show up on your financial statements, but it may be the biggest asset you own.” Once your store has all the social media components in place, the Nicholses emphasized committing to actively posting and engaging with the sites. If you build it but then don’t use it, social media can actually have a negative impact on your business. “Be friends with people online and business will naturally follow,” said Angela Yue, owner of Lord Puffer Cigars in San Diego, during the Tools & Tips to Supercharge Your Digital Marketing panel. “You need to engage with these online people.” It’s also about following the right people. Jennifer Nichols noted that there are over 95 million photos posted to Instagram daily. So if you follow the right people who are interested in your business you can build your brand quickly. “To increase your followers you have to follow back. Find out who your influencers are. You have to mention them in your posts. It’s a two-way street. Youmust engage with them so they will engage with you,” she said. But it’s not merely about having a social presence. It’s the strategies you use that will help your business stand out. “Utilize different Facebook groups,” said Yue. “There are several cigar Facebook groups online and they have thousands of people. These are people that are going to promote your store to their friends,” she said. “Also, tag certain people. Tag a manufacturer as an example, if you are having an event with one. Make yourself stand out. Use hashtags and handles on Instagram. I use #cigar, #cigars. In doing so, when anyone is looking for this related topic your post will automatically come up and you’ll get maximum exposure and it won’t get lost.” Search engine optimization (SEO) is also a key to pointing potential customers to your store. “The digital highway is based on algorithms,” said Nichols. “Google and Bing, as an example, can provide you with reports that show you where you are in terms of the rankings, howmany people visited you and how you are perceived.” Nichols suggest utilizing Google and Next year’s PCA show will be held at the Sands Expo July 10-14. S H O W S T O P P E R S