The Complete Guide to Cigar Lounge Marketing

Every cigar lounge has a story.

Beyond offering customers the chance to enjoy high-quality smokes in a social setting, a cigar lounge can be a special experience, a community, a place to unwind, a venue for an important event, or a home away from home.

Marketing is how to share that unique story with the world.

In this guide, we’ll give you the cigar lounge marketing tools, tips, and strategies to effectively share your story, attract new customers, and grow your business, including:

Marketing basics: How to define your brand and know your customers
The physical space: How to set the mood, events, and pricing strategies
Telling your story: The importance of online marketing and local search
Effective marketing strategy: How to market a cigar lounge effectively while staying compliant.

Are you ready to master cigar lounge advertising and marketing?

Chapter 1

Light Up Your Cigar Lounge Marketing

Marketing is more than telling people what you have for sale in your cigar lounge. It’s how you learn about your customers, share the unique value of your cigar lounge experience, and set yourself apart from the competition.

Even in an industry where hospitality and in-person experiences are king, your digital presence and ability to leverage data play a significant role in your success. That means your website, social media presence, e-commerce solution, and point of sale (POS) system are all invaluable marketing tools.

Know Your Crowd: Determine Who You’re Marketing To

Before you launch your marketing plan, you need to understand who your customers are and what they want. That’s why market research is the first step to building a successful marketing strategy.

Market research helps you understand:

Industry trends
Your customers’ demographics
Your customers’ pricing and product preferences
How many competitors are in your area
What competitors offer (and what they don’t)
What people look for in a cigar lounge
Additional services you can offer

Market research might sound overwhelming. Fortunately, you can do it without hiring a marketing firm or an expensive consultant. Here’s how:

Analyze your POS system’s data: The easiest approach is to review your POS system’s sales data. These reports will help you understand your bestselling items, peak hours, average transaction amount per customer, and your customer’s habits and preferences.
Read online reviews: Read reviews of your shop and competitors to see if any key phrases come up again and again. Remember to look at positive and negative reviews, since you can often learn more from the words of an unhappy customer than a gushing review.
Look at nearby competitors: Pay close attention to competitors in your local area, but be careful not to copy the business models of established cigar lounges. Instead, think about what you can offer that they don’t.
Ask customers directly: A straightforward approach is sometimes best. Ask current customers what they like and what they’d like to see more of. If you want anonymous feedback, include an online survey link on receipts or set up an in-store suggestion box.

Additionally, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers several resources for small business market research.

Craft Your Unique Flavor: Develop Your Brand

Take a moment to picture your cigar lounge. What does it feel like?

Is it a cozy basement space with luxurious wood furnishings and classy jazz? Is it a bright, vibrant space with TVs and snacks? Then, think about why it’s that way. What about the cigar lounge business made you want to start one in the first place? What are your passions and your expertise?

These unique facts and characteristics are what encompass your cigar lounge’s unique brand story. Start by outlining your value proposition. What unique value do you bring to cigar aficionados in your area?

Your passion for tobacco, knowledgeable staff, ambiance, and products are all part of a compelling brand story. As you develop your brand and cigar lounge advertising strategy, think beyond what you do and focus on why people should choose your business.

Once you put your identity into words, it’s important to stay consistent. Customers will find your business in various ways, and whether they see a print ad or your website, your brand voice and identity should always be recognizable.

Chapter 2

Before Going Digital — Start With Your Store

Great customer service, high-quality products, and a welcoming atmosphere are key to cigar lounge success. All the marketing in the world won’t matter if people show up to an uninviting space and a lackluster experience.

Ultimately, the most important aspect of your cigar lounge marketing will be the cigar lounge itself.

Set the Scene: Cigar Lounge Design and Decor That Sells

People visit cigar lounges to relax, enjoy a curated selection of cigars, and socialize, so creating an inviting atmosphere that makes people want to come back should be your top priority. The longer people stay, the more they’ll spend.

Here’s what goes into creating a welcoming cigar lounge design:

Warm lighting
Comfortable seating
Well-placed speakers and the right music
Style of furniture and decor (modern and minimalist vs. classic and refined, etc.)
Signs and menus
A bar and counter for staff

When picking out furniture, product displays, and other pieces of cigar lounge decor, keep your brand story in mind. Your marketing strategy should be an extension of your cigar lounge design, so ensure the story you tell isn’t at odds with the atmosphere of the space itself.

Don’t forget to balance the aesthetic of your shop with practical concerns. If people are smoking indoors, an air purification system is a must for ventilation. You’ll also want to avoid odor-absorbing materials in your furniture and decor.

Bring the Party to You: Event Marketing and Community Building

In-store events are a great way to build community in your cigar lounge. Hosting events can establish your expertise, showcase products, and leave a lasting impression on customers — all of which are marketing wins.

Remember, event marketing isn’t just a chance to have a good time. Use the reports on your POS system to monitor the effectiveness and profit margins of your events to discover what works, what doesn’t, and how to achieve a greater return on investment (ROI) in the future.

What kind of events can you host to market your cigar lounge? Here are a few ideas.

Tasting events: Highlight your cigar selection with a tasting event, introducing customers to new arrivals or showcasing unique offerings.
Educational workshops: Share your tobacco expertise by hosting an educational workshop. Tell attendees about how cigars are made, what to look for in a high-quality cigar, and provide similar product recommendations.
Holiday events: Take advantage of major holidays by planning seasonal events with unique offerings or promotional discounts.
Music or food events: Partner with local restaurants and bands to let customers enjoy live music, local food, and fine cigars.
Exclusive events: If you have a customer loyalty program, you can set up member-only events to create a sense of exclusivity and to market directly to your most valuable customers.

Price for Profit: Strategies and Promotions That Boost Your Bottom Line

Coming up with a winning pricing strategy means walking a fine line between attracting customers, projecting quality, and maintaining profitability.

To start, look at what nearby competitors are offering to get a sense of average cigar prices in your area. Then, dig into your POS system’s sales reports to see which products have a healthy profit margin and which are driving up your costs. Instead of raising or lowering prices universally, you can adjust the prices of individual cigars to increase profitability.

Another approach is to create strategic promotions that excite customers and drive sales. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Product bundles: Use custom SKUs on your POS system to create irresistible product packages that upsell customers and show off your expertise.
Happy hour: Create a happy hour menu with timed discounts that get more people in the door and entice existing customers to come back.
Discount days: Select days of the week when certain cigar brands or bundles are discounted.

Running regular discounts and promotions keeps customers engaged and your shop at the top of their minds.

Embrace Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is how businesses connect with customers and tell their brand story online. While it might sound intimidating, digital marketing is a must for cigar lounge success.

Social Media

Most social media platforms won’t let you advertise tobacco products directly — but that doesn’t mean there aren’t creative ways to use them for cigar lounge marketing.

Use social media to post about your shop, product selection, and upcoming events. Don’t be afraid to get creative! You can review new products, create polls to ask followers about their favorite cigars, or promote a hashtag for your cigar lounge community.

Social media is all about engagement, so post regularly, reply to comments, and track which posts are most popular or spark the most conversation.

Build and Optimize Your Website

Before visiting your cigar lounge, potential customers will search for your business’ website to get a first impression. If your website looks outdated, they might assume the worst.

Avoid this scenario by creating an attractive website that’s optimized for both desktop and mobile. Include an up-to-date menu of products, an about page, and an event calendar.

Don’t forget to include an image gallery that shows off your space and products. We recommend hiring a professional photographer or choosing clear, high-quality photos.

Email Marketing and Newsletters

As text and messaging apps become the most popular form of online communication, the days of spammy chain emails are over. But ignoring email altogether is a mistake.

Over half of small businesses use email to reach new customers, and email marketing has one of the highest ROI of any marketing channel.

Send a weekly newsletter that highlights bestselling cigar brands, enticing promotions, and upcoming events. Regularly include discount codes and offers in newsletters to increase your email open rates and give customers something to look forward to.

Online Advertising

Unfortunately, the majority of websites prohibit the direct advertisement of tobacco products. However, there are still ways to advertise your cigar lounge online.

Many websites and social media platforms let you advertise non-tobacco products with your logo and the name of your cigar lounge on them. This approach allows you to advertise legally and spread brand awareness.

You can also turn to influencer marketing. Influencer marketing involves connecting with local content creators and encouraging them to review your lounge or feature it in a video or blog.

Dominate Local Search: Make Your Mark Online

When was the last time you used the Yellow Pages? These days, if you’re looking for a new business, you’re probably jumping onto Google.

Performing well in local search is extremely important for small businesses and should be a top priority in your cigar lounge marketing plan.

Location-based marketing is all about starting a conversation with local customers. Take your time crafting memorable business listings that are less about what you do and more about who you are and why your cigar lounge is worth the trip.

Remember to regularly respond to reviews and ensure your business listings are up to date.

Here’s how to climb the ranks in local search results:

Update your business profile: First, create or update your Google Business Profile. Add pictures and ensure the address and contact information are accurate. This allows your business to show up on Google searches and in Google Maps.
Manage your online reputation: Monitor the reviews people post on your various business listings. Analyze and respond to positive and negative reviews, since they offer opportunities to collect feedback and turn a dissatisfied visitor into a loyal customer.
Nail your business listings: Google is important, but it isn’t the only place worth listing your business. Update listings on Facebook, Yelp, Apple Maps, Foursquare, and Bing Places for Business to make sure customers can find you in as many places as possible.
Go “old school”: Don’t be discouraged by tobacco marketing restrictions. Create print ads for tobacco-specific magazines or online ads for age-gated websites.

Engage Your Audience Beyond the Lounge: Content is King

Cigar enthusiasts love to talk cigars; chances are, if you own a cigar lounge, so do you. Share that passion and expertise with the world by creating content that cigar enthusiasts will love.

Set up a blog on your website to talk about industry observations, musings on different types of cigars, product recommendations, and more. The more authentic your content is, the better it will do, so speak from the heart. Just remember: everything you post is an extension of your business — so be personal without pushing people’s buttons.

You can also create video content to post on YouTube or your website to speak directly to your audience and highlight your unique space. Regularly posting written and video content will establish your brand reputation and help you rank higher on search results — a win-win.

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Keep 'Em Coming Back: Loyalty Programs That Work

Some of the most effective marketing for cigar lounges and other tobacco businesses happens in store or at the point of sale. A customer loyalty or membership program is a tried-and-true method for creating a tailored customer experience, driving sales, and encouraging repeat business.

With a comprehensive cigar lounge POS system, setting up a customer loyalty program is easy. Decide whether to offer a free or paid membership system and what perks should be included.

Here are a few loyalty program ideas to get you started:

Access to special discounts
Member-exclusive seating areas
Member-only events
Points-based discounts for repeat business
Information about new product releases and events

Along with increased sales, one of the biggest benefits you get from a loyalty program is access to your customer’s contact information and purchase history. Use your POS system to see what products they like, times of day they prefer, and more. You can then send relevant offers directly to your most engaged customers.

Chapter 4

What To Consider Before Launching Your Marketing Efforts

Effective marketing is not one-size-fits-all. Your strategy will depend on your cigar lounge’s location, customers’ demographics, niche, and more.

However, finding a successful marketing strategy is not the same as throwing every idea at the board and seeing what sticks — especially in tobacco retail, where mistakes can be costly if you violate tobacco advertising rules.

Instead, take a strategic, informed marketing approach that allows you to stay compliant, improve ROI, and stay ahead of trends.

Play by the Rules: Compliance and Responsible Marketing

Tobacco advertising has always been a hazy, confusing landscape, which has only gotten harder to navigate in the digital age. To effectively market your cigar lounge, it’s critical to know what you can and can’t do.

The FDA has laid out strict rules for cigar lounge advertising. It’s worth reading through them in full, but the key takeaways are:

No sales to minors: You cannot sell or advertise to minors, so always use in-store age verification tools (e.g., ID scanners) and gate your online content.
No sponsoring public (non-tobacco) events: Unfortunately, a cigar lounge cannot sponsor a local festival or event like a traditional retailer might. This sponsorship restriction runs both ways, and a cigar lounge can’t benefit from public or (paid) celebrity endorsements.
Health warnings: Tobacco shops are required to display prominent health warnings on all product displays.
No free samples: Cigar lounges can’t use free samples to entice new customers. Instead, use your POS system to create a custom product sample at a steep discount.

Tobacco advertising rules are strict, but don’t let that discourage you. As a cigar lounge, you are offering a high-quality experience for adults, so you shouldn’t need to stretch any rules to effectively advertise.

Focus on your story and value proposition, but double-check the FDA and social advertising rules before investing heavily in any new marketing efforts.

Measure Success: Knowing What Works and What Doesn't

We may sound like a broken record, but trust us: measuring the success of your promotions, events, and operations is one of the best things you can do to improve your marketing efforts.

Start by tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) both in-store and digitally.

Tracking these metrics will give you a baseline to measure the success of an event or new promotion. Your cigar lounge POS system should include dashboards that visualize your sales and inventory data to put it in context.

Daily foot traffic: How many people come into your cigar lounge on average, and how long do they stay?
Conversation rate: How many people walk into your lounge vs. how many make a purchase?
Average transaction volume: How much do customers spend on average?
Inventory churn rate: How quickly are your products selling?
Customer retention: How many of your customers are repeat customers? How often do they come back?

Know What’s Coming: Future Trends in Cigar Lounge Marketing

Tobacco businesses are volatile, with customer preferences and regulations shifting constantly. To stay ahead of the curve, be open to change.

Tobacco use is evolving, especially across generational lines, with younger people preferring tobacco-less vapes or hookah. See what’s popular with different demographics and if you can expand your offerings outside of cigars alone.

Try offering pipe tobacco, roll-your-own, or even vaping if your customers show an interest in it. Follow your passions and your customers’, and roll with the punches. Last, lure in new customers and old ones with curated music, TVs to watch the big game, event hosting, coffee bars, alcohol sales, and more.

Tech It Up a Notch: Leverage Technology in Your Lounge

Regardless of your niche and specific marketing strategy, the experience when customers visit your cigar lounge should be a top priority.

Digital apps and systems will play a huge role in leveling up the customer experience.

To get the most out of your software and apps, use a cigar lounge point of sale system specifically built for your industry. This will help you modernize the customer experience while staying compliant with tobacco laws and regulations.

Here are a few examples of how you can use tech to deliver a superior customer experience:

Contactless payments: Tap-to-pay cards and mobile payment apps are increasingly popular with customers, so make sure you support them in your lounge.

Digital menus: Set up tablets in-store that are connected to your inventory management system to give people an up-to-date view of what’s in stock.

Mobile apps and QR codes: Use a mobile app or build a mobile-friendly website that educates people on cigars and events. You can also set up scannable QR codes in your lounge to lead them to an informative blog post or website.

CRM and tailored offers: Use the customer relationship management (CRM) tools in your system to track purchases, birthdays, and other information that can be used to personalize offers and build connections with customers.

Your Roadmap to Marketing Success

A great cigar lounge can be the hub of a buzzing community of cigar enthusiasts. Effective cigar lounge marketing is the first step to building one.

A smart marketing strategy will help you cigar attract customers, establish brand authority, and boost sales. Just remember:

Do market research
Build your brand on unique cigar lounge decor and atmosphere
Use digital marketing to spread your marketing reach
Stay compliant with tobacco advertising rules
Leverage technology to seize opportunities and monitor success
Proactively embrace change and new trends

Whether you’re opening a brand new cigar lounge or looking to spruce up an old one, the time to modernize your marketing strategy is now.

Cigars POS is designed to help cigar lounges and other tobacco retailers streamline daily processes, connect with customers, and drive sales. We give cigar lounges like yours the tools to improve the customer experience and marketing, including:

Advanced inventory management
Analytics tools and reports
Built-in customer loyalty
Contactless payments
E-commerce support

…and more.