As a small business owner, you know how important customer loyalty is for a healthy bottom line. Most of your sales will come from repeat customers, and it’s much cheaper to keep a customer than it is to attract a new one.
But how do you keep them coming back to your smoke shop?
One key way to boost customer retention is to launch a tobacco rewards program. In this blog, we’ll explore why your smoke shop needs a tobacco rewards program — plus how to design, implement, and market it effectively.
Why Your Smoke Shop Needs a Tobacco Rewards Program
Your neighborhood’s tobacco and vape enthusiasts have plenty of choices, which means that you need to give them a reason to choose your small business. A tobacco rewards program sets your smoke shop apart from the competition and offers your customers the opportunity to save more as they spend more.
Along with generating repeat business and boosting your sales, a tobacco rewards program gives you valuable insights into your most loyal customers’ shopping behaviors and favorite tobacco products, helping you make informed decisions to support your business’ growth.
Let’s explore step-by-step how you can reap the benefits of a tobacco loyalty program.
1. Consider Your Customers’ Motivations
Successful loyalty programs aren’t one-size-fits-all. For the best results, you need to build a tobacco rewards program for your unique customers.
Consider some of your most loyal customers. What keeps them coming back to your store? Is it an excellent selection of tobacco and vape products? Is it your competitive prices? Or is it your enticing promotions?
Keeping your shoppers’ preferences and motivations in mind will not only help you design a successful tobacco rewards program — it will help you boost sales and customer satisfaction.
2. Define Your Tobacco Rewards Program Structure
Now that you’ve discovered what motivates your customers to visit your business and make a purchase, you can structure your tobacco rewards program to match their wants and needs.
Here are a few types of incentives to consider offering your customers:
- Point-Based Program: This structure allows your customers to earn points each time they shop in your store. For instance, you might offer them one reward point for every dollar that they spend in your store, and once they’ve earned a certain amount, they’ll be able to exchange them for a discount or free gift.
- Tiered Loyalty Program: With this type of tobacco rewards program, your customers can unlock different levels of rewards as they continue shopping with you. For example, each level of your program might offer more enticing discounts or the opportunity to earn double or triple rewards points.
- Special Perks: Along with your tiered or points-based rewards, you can also offer your tobacco rewards program members special perks to thank them for their loyalty. For example, you might give them a one-time discount when they first join your program, when they reach a membership milestone like one year, or on their birthday.
3. Decide How To Implement Your Tobacco Rewards Program
Once you’ve come up with a great idea for your tobacco rewards program, it’s time to put it into action! The best way to implement a rewards program is through your smoke shop’s point of sale (POS) system.
Your POS system should have a built-in loyalty program feature that makes it simple to customize the types of rewards you’d like to offer, add new customers to your program, and keep track of your program members’ purchase history.
4. Train Your Staff
You’ve developed a top-notch tobacco rewards program — and now all you need is members!
Your employees are your most critical allies in your mission to promote your rewards program, acting as your enthusiastic ambassadors. Whether they’re working the sales floor making expert cigar recommendations or helping your customers at checkout, they should encourage your customers to sign up and save big.
Make sure your team understands what types of incentives your tobacco rewards program offers, how to enroll new members, and how to redeem your customers’ rewards points and discounts.
5. Market Your Tobacco Rewards Program
Launching a tobacco rewards program is an opportunity to expand your reach and attract new customers to your small business.
Use in-store flyers, social media, and email or SMS marketing to let tobacco enthusiasts in your community know that your shop is the go-to place for fine cigars, vaping products, and big savings.
6. Continue Learning and Adapting Your Program
Establishing a tobacco rewards program isn’t just a one-and-done project; you need to continue learning from your customers and adapting your incentives to align with their feedback.
Luckily, once you’ve established your rewards program, you’ll start collecting a goldmine of information about your customers and their shopping habits. Within your POS system, you can see a detailed breakdown of your most loyal customers’ favorite tobacco products, how often they visit your store, and when they’re most likely to stop by.
Equipped with these insights, you can continue offering enticing rewards program benefits — and you can make more informed decisions about the tobacco products you offer, the promotions you plan, and how your shop operates.
Launch Your Successful Tobacco Rewards Program With Cigars POS
Are you ready to grow your loyal customer base and make more sales with a tobacco rewards program? We’re here to help!
Your POS solution is the most helpful tool you have to implement your tobacco rewards program;it allows you to easily offer incentives to your customers, provides you with valuable insights into their shopping habits, and empowers you and your team to offer outstanding customer service.
Cigars POS is the perfect solution for smoke shops just like yours. Designed with the tobacco industry in mind, Cigars POS can help you establish a tobacco loyalty program, manage your inventory, speed up the checkout process, and more.
Create a custom system for your store and get an instant quote with our build and price tool, or see Cigars POS in action by scheduling a live demo today.
