If you’re interested in becoming an online tobacco merchant with a wide range of cigar brands and accessories available to consumers, you have to be prepared to offer quite a bit of education regarding your products and cigars in general. Investing in a comprehensive experience that’s welcoming and allows your customers to intuitively navigate through the website will pay off in the long run.

While you’ll attract customers who are already familiar with cigars, inevitably, you’ll engage with many more that are simply curious or recently attended a bachelor party or similar gathering, and are now interested in pursuing the pastime. How will they make sense of the immense variety of cigars on the market and what kind suits their taste? How do they avoid wasting untold sums of money by purchasing accessories they don’t need, or neglecting to care for their cigars properly?

Blogs

Blogs can help keep your customers abreast of the latest trends in the industry as well as fascinating history and trivia regarding cigars and tobacco. Regularly posting brief articles that educate your customers won’t only reinforce your expertise, but offer your customers further insight into the diversion they have adopted. This is an opportunity to give your customers the tools they need to develop an underlying mastery, so they begin to recognize and distinguish between the various characteristics of the tobacco.

Protocol

Introductions to cigar etiquette are essential. Many customers won’t know exactly what to do with their cigars, or they may have picked up bad habits from their friends.

Clearly lay out the importance of caring for cigars along with the techniques. Allowing them to age like a fine wine will often improve the overall enjoyment of the cigars. Explain that the cigar needs to be cut properly to enhance the experience and to keep from ruining it. Make sure they are aware of the different styles of cutters that can be used. Demonstrate how to light a cigar, keeping the flame from actually touching the cigar itself as it’s rotated, until the end is heated evenly. Warn them about the risk of the odor from cheap lighters or matches affecting the taste of the cigar so they can consider alternatives like cigar-specific lighters or wooden matches. Caution your customers not to inhale, and that the cigar will go out if they stop puffing. In fact, remind them that’s how to extinguish a cigar, by letting it go out on its own in an ashtray.

This self-service model allows consumers to peruse your site 24 hours a day to get the information they need, significantly reducing the need to contact customer service. While you may never be able to completely eliminate the resources dedicated to resolving customer inquiries, you can redirect a considerable amount of effort toward the profit centers of your business. More importantly, you’re building a relationship with your customers based on trust and service that will ensure they keep coming back to your site, and generate additional buzz through positive word of mouth.

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