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TOBACCO OUTLET BUSINESS
MAY/JUNE 2012
trench marketing
The Cigar Room is not easily spotted from the
road—it’s set into a corner nook within Lafayette
Village Shopping Center, a small enclave of mostly
clothing and accessory shops. Since the store doesn’t
advertise, word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied
fellow cigar smokers are pretty much the only way
anyone new wanders in. Customers—most noticeably
police officers and the military—from as far away as
Texas have even contributed flags, patches and other
décor to bring personality to its rooms.
So why do smokers rave to their friends about The
Cigar Room and go out of their way to festoon its
walls? “I think it’s because this is not just a retail store
where you buy something and leave,” says Gonnello.
“We listen to our customers, we know what they like
and we treat them like family. If I see someone buying
a cigar that’s too strong for him, I’ll say, ‘No, don’t
buy that. That’s too harsh, try this instead.’ It might
mean a smaller sale, but it’s more important that a
customer has a good experience than that they spend
more here.”
Gonnello also strives to educate customers,
particularly those new to cigar smoking, on everything
from the various cigar regions to how to store cigars.
Most, however, are regulars who come into the store
every other day or so, he says. Customers who go the
extra mile and join the store’s membership club for a
“She owns the store, but
because of the way she is,
I feel that it’s my store too
and I believe that’s how our
customers feel as well—it’s
like a second home to them.”
Customers enjoy multiple seating areas