I WANT YOU!

[CubanSmokeRings]

Hey everyone, thanks for taking a second to read my message. The point of this thread is to help a friend of mine out who is starting a cigar company online. I'm going to construct the website for him and he told me the main goal of his page is to be completely different from every other online cigar company out there. He doesn't want the site to be about the cigars, but instead the cigar smoker, the buyer, you guys. What kind of stuff would you like to see in a website? He told me about different promotional stuff with deals coming out almost everyday and different assortment packs, but I was wondering if anybody has gone on a website to buy cigars and wished there was something else on the page. Any input would be hugely appreciated and all opinions and ideas will be taken seriously. I'll be sure to supply the link to his website as well as soon as I get it up and running.

Thanks again to everyone who responds and helps me help him out. Have a great day!

 

[grateful1]

Hey everyone, thanks for taking a second to read my message. The point of this thread is to help a friend of mine out who is starting a cigar company online. I'm going to construct the website for him and he told me the main goal of his page is to be completely different from every other online cigar company out there. He doesn't want the site to be about the cigars, but instead the cigar smoker, the buyer, you guys. What kind of stuff would you like to see in a website? He told me about different promotional stuff with deals coming out almost everyday and different assortment packs, but I was wondering if anybody has gone on a website to buy cigars and wished there was something else on the page. Any input would be hugely appreciated and all opinions and ideas will be taken seriously. I'll be sure to supply the link to his website as well as soon as I get it up and running.

Thanks again to everyone who responds and helps me help him out. Have a great day!

HOT CHICKS!

 

[parade]

With good prices and services, you don't need any gimmicks to get me to visit often.

Oh, and what Grateful said.

 

[Ginseng]

the main goal of his page is to be completely different from every other online cigar company out there. He doesn't want the site to be about the cigars, but instead the cigar smoker, the buyer, you guys.

No offense, but starting out with what the site is not going to be like is a rocky road. He needs to develop the identity for his project and make that as compelling as possible. There are a thousand crappy cigar sites out there and being unlike 500 of them still leaves you like the other 500.

What is the niche he thinks needs filling? Honestly I could care less to read about other cigar smokers. Cigars are a pastime that draws together people with diverse lives and interests. Contrary to what Shanken and his ilk would like you to believe, cigar smoking is not a lifestyle. It's simply a part of life. No glitz, no glamour, just a good cigar and humble appreciation for what life provides. I damn well don't need to own a $2,000 watch or golf to feel like a proper cigar smoker. We go to cigar retailers' sites to buy cigars and then we come here to share our experiences with them. That about covers what I need.

Sorry for the tirade, but my point stands. Find out what it is, and then make the making of that unlike the others.

Wilkey

 

[grateful1]

the main goal of his page is to be completely different from every other online cigar company out there. He doesn't want the site to be about the cigars, but instead the cigar smoker, the buyer, you guys.

No offense, but starting out with what the site is not going to be like is a rocky road. He needs to develop the identity for his project and make that as compelling as possible. There are a thousand crappy cigar sites out there and being unlike 500 of them still leaves you like the other 500.

What is the niche he thinks needs filling? Honestly I could care less to read about other cigar smokers. Cigars are a pastime that draws together people with diverse lives and interests. Contrary to what Shanken and his ilk would like you to believe, cigar smoking is not a lifestyle. It's simply a part of life. No glitz, no glamour, just a good cigar and humble appreciation for what life provides. I damn well don't need to own a $2,000 watch or golf to feel like a proper cigar smoker. We go to cigar retailers' sites to buy cigars and then we come here to share our experiences with them. That about covers what I need.

Sorry for the tirade, but my point stands. Find out what it is, and then make the making of that unlike the others.

Wilkey

What...no BOOBS!?

To add a little content:

You're looking for some marketing ideas. You want it to be customer centric.

KEEP IT SIMPLE.

The best product with the best price(and stock shipping). That's what works.

How you incorporate those things is moot. People will show up.

 

[Boomer52]

Having looked at quite a few sites, and in addition to what Wilkey said, I think the following is important for a start up site:

The KISS principal applies, Keep It Simple Stup… You get the picture.

Don’t use a lot of fancy fonts and colors that make it hard to read. My eyes aren’t what they used to be.

Make it easy to navigate. If I can’t find what I am looking for easily, I probably will not go back to that site.

Don’t try to get too much on the home page. Makes it look cluttered and is harder to find things.

If you want a section about smokers, put a link on the home page.

The site can always be changed and improved after your friend establishes his business. When starting up I think you need to get the product out there, have good prices, ship from stock, and great customer service.

Good luck with the site and business.

Oh, and don’t forget the boobs.

Just my 2¢

 

[Ginseng]

What...no BOOBS!?

To add a little content:

You're looking for some marketing ideas. You want it to be customer centric.

KEEP IT SIMPLE.

The best product with the best price(and stock shipping). That's what works.

How you incorporate those things is moot. People will show up.

Damn straight there ought to be boobs! Especially now since CAO have retired the Flavourettes. What a crying shame. I never got to see them in person. I've met the local CAO rep though. He's not as easy on the eyes though.

Simple, straight forward. Boomer's comments on readability are key. And please, please, please take it easy with the cigar descriptions. Sometimes when I read the Holts or Two-Guys catalogs, I feel like I'm going to hurl. Straight talk. Good selection. A web experience that doesn't piss you off, and good prices. And consider cultivating your relationship with the customers where they live. That means establishing a perspective here and at other sites.

Let's be clear about one thing, it will take work and it will take establishing connections with folks often one on one. That's how the best of CP's resident retailers do it.

Wilkey

 

[moki]

Two points:

1) Expert design, whether it is a web site, a store layout, or what have you, is a skill. Asking us how the web site should be designed is a shortcut that is unlikely to yield the kind of results you're hoping for.

2) Eschewing all other cigar web sites out there is shortsighted. Look at them all, evaluate what works and what doesn't work, and take the best of each. Reinventing the wheel for the sake of invention is rarely wise. Most cigar (and other retailer) web sites work a particular way for a reason: it's effective.

 

[CigarStone]

HOT CHICKS

 

[nobius]

I can't believe noone has said Hot Chicks yet.


Seriously though. There is no trick to a retail website. Easy access to product, be up front about how much you have and at what price.