Running a small tobacco store can be challenging. There’s lots of competition, popular trends and products change constantly, and you’ve got limited resources to work with to wow your customers.
But with a little creativity and the right tools, you can come up with unique promotions that will draw in customers, increase sales, and help you stand out.
Find out how you can leverage your point of sale (POS) system to create winning promotional strategies that will help your business thrive.
As with all things in the tobacco retail industry, there are some limits on what you can do when promoting your products. The FDA has specific rules about marketing tobacco products and there may be additional restrictions in your local area.
Get comfortable with all of the federal and local laws before investing a ton of time and effort into a promotional idea. The biggest things to keep in mind are:
Some social media platforms also have restrictions on paid advertising for tobacco products.
When many retailers think of sales or promotions, they default to the obvious ones like holiday and end-of-year sales. In truth, there are many promotions you can run regularly and year-round to keep customers on their toes.
Running frequent promotions is better for your customers and gives you more insights into their buying habits and preferences. That’s information you can use to make better inventory decisions and craft even better promotions in the future.
Regardless of what kind of promotion you come up with, support it with marketing. Advertise it on channels like email and social media or promote it on your website. Even the best promotion won’t be effective if no one knows about it.
Here are five tobacco store promotional ideas you can try today:
Buy one get one offers are a classic retail promotion for a reason — they work. Pair items that complement each other like vapes and e-juices or cigarettes and lighters. Or encourage upselling by offering a third item free when you buy two.
You don’t have to stick to a “buy one get one” promotion. Most cigar store POS systems are flexible enough to do any combination of different offers.
Base your BOGO offers on items with the highest profit margins. After all, you don’t want to be giving away a freebie when the initial sale doesn’t have a high profit margin to begin with.
Encourage high foot traffic and repeat business with special discount days. For example, you could offer a 15% discount on all lighters and accessories on Mondays — or offer 20% off vape refills on Fridays.
Your best-selling items and peak hours should determine the specific promotions you run. Your POS system can provide historical data on both.
Related Read: Your Point of Sale Data Is a Goldmine. Here's How To Make the Most of It
If you run specific discount days, be consistent. A customer won’t be happy if you run a discount on cigars every Wednesday for a month only to find the deal isn’t on anymore the next time they visit.
A final tip: If you theme your discount days on product categories, you should send out newsletters, social media posts, or emails to highlight your sales and what new products you have in stock.
Customer loyalty programs are a fantastic way to encourage upselling and retain customers — but by pairing customer loyalty with exclusive discounts, you can make customers feel even more special.
Send out exclusive discount codes to members of your loyalty program and advertise the fact to non-members to encourage signups. You can also hold member-only or general events with member-exclusive discounts.
Customer loyalty members make up your best customers, so track their purchase history and tailor your promotions accordingly.
Many customers prefer local tobacco stores because of the personalized service and recommendations. Product bundles let you display your expertise. Use your POS system to curate special product bundles like vape starter kits, cigar samplers, and more. You can also create themed bundles for holidays and special events.
Instead of curating product bundles yourself you can also let customers create their own. Mix and match bundles, like letting a customer make their own box of cigars from different brands, are a great way to encourage customers to try something new.
Since tobacco stores can’t legally give out free samples, creating custom product bundles at a steep discount is a great way to offer samples to your customers.
While tobacco retailers can’t sponsor events, they can host their own. Hosting unique events is a great way to connect with your customers and offer a unique buying experience.
Host educational events like “The Beginner’s Guide to Cigars” or “How to Choose Pipe Tobacco”. Or you could hold more traditional events, such as a product launch for a new vape pen or a tasting event for customers to sample different cigars or vape flavors.
Whatever event you choose, cater to your strengths. Pick products that you’re knowledgeable and passionate about to give customers the best experience possible. And, of course, comply with legal rules by making sure any attendees are over the legal age using age-verification tools.
Once you come up with and run your tobacco shop promotion, it’s time to relax, pat yourself on the back, and watch the sales roll in, right?
Not exactly. Coming up with effective tobacco store promotions is an iterative process, and it will likely take a few tries to find what works for you. Use a tobacco store POS system like Cigars POS to track the effectiveness of your various discounts and promotions to get an honest view of what’s working and what’s not.
Think of it this way: you may run an event with many attendees, but how many sales did it lead to? Look at sales data from the event itself.
Or, offer a discount code that only attendees receive and see how many use it within a month. Tracking these kinds of key performance indicators (KPIs) will allow you to make smarter marketing decisions in the long term.
Schedule a demo today to learn how Cigars POS can help you create and manage effective tobacco store promotions.