Every piece of marketing research out there consistently shows that not all consumers are price conscious and it is this group we need to target in order to grow sales. These are the ones who will always buy something 'new', whether its a thinner, more natural rolling paper or the latest vaping flavour you picked up.
You are of course not in the cosmetics business, but smaller retailers could learn a thing or two from the way they engage their customers, many of whom will be local and regular. Masters of this are a company called Benefit, whose policy is to get the customer sat on the chair while they try out all the latest products on them and SHOW them what to do with them.
Benefit products are great, and I like them, but so are the other brands. Many similarly priced competitors have similar or better quality, and there are cheap alternatives which deliver good results - however, from the moment I sit down, I'm buying the brand because they make me feel confident that I need it - and it works. Benefit stands are consistently the busiest - because they turn their customers into brand ambassadors through product engagement.
In a former life, I ran a tapas bar - my % sales of premium wine sales was higher than most of my peers, despite the fact we were a very small outlet - my secret was letting customers have a small taste of what I was drinking - and I never, ever drank the cheapest wine! At the cost of one bottle every few days, I sold 2-3 times more wine at a higher profit margin... and the customers who drank it would bring their friends in to try it... but how-, you may ask, does that relate to smoking accessories?
The answer is to do the same with your smoking accessories - get some of your more loyal customers interacting with your premium products. A percentage of your customers want to feel special and will upgrade to a product with a higher margin, and they will thank you for it! You just need to hook them in.
One individual packet of smoking papers costs you peanuts, so if you have a new brand in, let your regulars who seem receptive to an upgrade have a look and feel of one or two papers out of an open pack you keep by the counter and ask them what they think! You'll find that by letting them engage with the product, some of them buy a pack of the new papers to try - and still buy the ones they originally planned to get, because people are creatures of habit. They will be trying the new brand with a positive perception.
Similarly, if you tell them why the new brand is special whilst they are engaging with your product, eg these are thinner, these are all natural, these are flavoured etc. your customer feels they have valuable information. Another class of people like to feel special and they will market your products for you as they go and share their new found knowledge with their friends - and that customer is less concerned with price, and will feel loyal to the ' teacher'.
It doesn't work for every customer, you will always have your die hard green rizla smoker - and thats ok, but you will make a difference where you can to the customer who is not price conscious, and they are the ones who will come back and ask you what's new next time... relationship established, and all for the price of a few papers.
Here's some products which are perfect for this:
Go on, give them a try... and start to build a loyal following.
