Although running a vape shop can be very lucrative, this is a crowded industry. In other words, there are probably several other smoke shops in your area. How will you stand out? Luckily, we’re here to help. Here at Lifelong Merchant Services, we have experience with smoke shop marketing and business solutions. With our smoke shop ideas, you can reach more customers and see your business grow.
Setting Up Your Smoke Shop for Success
To start, your smoke shop business needs a business plan. Many owners skip this part if they don’t intend to take out a loan or work with investors who require a business plan. Don’t make this mistake. A smoke shop business plan will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses and develop a deeper understanding of your finances. When you write a business plan, you’ll discover facets of running your business that you otherwise might not realize until they are problems.
Writing a business plan might seem like great advice for how to open a smoke shop, but what if you’re already in business? It’s never too late! If you’ve never written a business plan before, this is a great place to start. Find a business plan template here. Review your business plan every year. Also, do a deep dive to update it at least every three years (or whenever your business changes significantly).
Marketing Your Vape Shop – Dos and Don’ts
Smoke shops are a heavily regulated business since many of your products will contain tobacco or other substances that minors cannot purchase. Not only does this mean that you need special licenses to sell these products, but you also must follow certain rules when advertising and marketing your shop. Every state has different regulations, but here are a few general dos and don’ts.
Do and Don’t:
- DO market to adults only. Some of this falls on manufacturers who make the products. But, as you are creating promos or logos for your shop or planning events, make sure that you don’t use cartoons, give away promotional items for kids, etc.
- DON’T make any claims that your products help people stop smoking or have any kind of medical or therapeutic value. Claims involving health or ingredients are highly regulated federally. So, you could find yourself in hot water if you promote your items this way.
- DO allow customers to sample your products. However, make sure that you card anyone who samples the same way you would card anyone who purchases the product.
- DON’T market your products to people who don’t already use tobacco or smoke products. Your marketing should be directed to people who already smoke/vape.
- DO post reviews of your products from real customers. It’s also okay to have other people review your products on their blog or social media sites. However, paying for reviews of vape products is not allowed in most areas.
- DON’T advertise products that contain tobacco without understanding the warning label requirements. Keep in mind that if you are just doing general advertising for your shop, not a specific product, you typically don’t have to include any kind of nicotine warning.
Laws regarding advertising and marketing your vape shop change constantly. Consequently, make sure you stay on top of federal and state requirements.
Using a Loyalty Program to Get More Sales
It’s always easier to get a returning customer than to get a new customer, as long as you sell quality products and have good customer service. Here at Lifelong, we can help you set up a loyalty program for repeat customers. With the right loyalty program, you can see a huge increase in sales without doing hours of additional promotional work. It’s one of the easiest ways to boost your profits.
Our loyalty program integrates with our point-of-sale system. POS systems are about more than just being able to take credit card sales (though we can certainly help with this too!). You can set up our POS system to not only track a customer’s purchases for the loyalty program, but also run reports to see what people are buying the most. Our system also makes it easy to see which promos are the most successful, when you need to reorder certain products, and if certain brands you carry are outperforming others in terms of both profit and sales volume.
This article has more information about how loyalty programs work and why starting one is one of our top marketing ideas for smoke shops.
FAQs About Promoting Your Smoke Shop
Our team would love to sit down with you to not only show you a demo of our POS system, but also talk to you about other smoke shop ideas for bringing in new customers. We’d be happy to answer any questions you have. Here are a few we hear frequently:
Is owning a smoke shop profitable?
Smoke shops can be a good business, especially if you are knowledgeable about these products and what consumers in your area want. However, this is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Vaping has become more popular and more states allow products with THC. Therefore, smoke shops are popping up fast in most cities. You need a solid business plan that differentiates your shop from the rest so you can create a community of loyal customers.
How do I track inventory in my smoke shop?
You can use our POS system to keep track of exactly what is selling best in your smoke shop, down to the brand or even characteristics like vape flavors. Tracking inventory will also help you create customer promos and sales. Likewise, it ensures you never run out of the products your community wants to buy.
What smoke shop ideas will work best for me?
It’s all about doing your research and tracking your results. No two smoke shops are alike, so there isn’t one cookie-cutter template for how to best promote your shop. We can help you brainstorm smoke shop ideas that will work well in your community. Then, we’ll use our POS system to see what is really bringing in the most profit so you can replicate those promotions. Contact us today to set up a free consultation.
