TOB Magazine

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[ 16 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ MAY / JUNE | 17 ]
TB recently spoke with Ted Swearingen, chief
operating officer at , on the
practices that made the business such a suc-
cess, and what lessons other entrepreneurs can
learn from the company.
SET YOURSELF APART
One of the things did from
its launch that was unique to online pipe retail
was its introduction of the practice of selling
pipes individually, a single SKU at a time, even
if by all appearances one pipe was identical to
another. “We took the time to photograph every
pipe individually and sell them as unique individ-
ual products,” Swearingen explains. “That was
something we did before anyone else that set us
apart in the online pipe market that had a very
positive impact on our pipe retail business.”
Another differentiator for Smokingpipes.
com was the way it described its products to
consumers. The company took product de-
scriptions very seriously, often writing hun-
dreds of words detailing why the pipe was not
just a utilitarian object, but rather a work of
art, even a high-quality work created by an art-
ist. The company’s product description sought
to contextualize each pipe, giving it a history
and providing a narrative about pipe making
that didn’t really exist in an online retail for-
mat before. By providing such detail and back-
ground on its products, customers are able to
read and understand the time and effort put
into a pipe’s creation and have a better idea of
what they’re spending their money on.
ALWAYS STRIVE
FOR QUALITY AND GREAT
CUSTOMER SERVICE
puts a great emphasis
on quality and great customer service, two
things Swearingen attributes to the compa-
ny’s success. According to him, customers
are both the most rewarding and the most
challenging aspect of running any type of re-
tail operation. Despite the challenges, Smok-
urges its employees to think of
serving its customers, not necessarily selling
pipes, as their top priority. “There is some-
thing magical about providing a service to
customers, particularly when it’s a product
you’re passionate about like pipes or pipe to-
bacco,” Swearingen says.
He describes randomly taking a call one
day while in the office and speaking to a cus-
tomer who was also new to pipe smoking. The
customer asked questions about pipes and
different blends of pipe tobacco. At the end
of the call, the customer praised Swearingen
for being helpful and taking the time to speak
with him about pipes and the hobby.
“Customers are giving you their hard-earned
money,” Swearingen points out. “They’re giv-
ing you their trust. Serving customers is a chal-
lenge—make sure you’re living up to their ex-
pectations, make sure you’re getting it right all
the time, ensure operational improvements and
make sure you always have the right amount of
inventory so that your customers want to keep
doing business with you.”
KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER
In addition to offering the best service possible
to your customers, pipe retailers must also make
sure they take the time to get to know their cus-
tomers. Twice a year, con-
ducts a short, two-question survey on its website
that customers can respond to in less than 30
seconds. The questions asked are: “From 1-10,
how would you rate our service?” and “Would
you recommend us to a friend?” The respons-
es to these seemingly simplistic questions are
key to how gets to know its
customers. The company’s employees read all
of the responses and reach out to anyone who
complains or offers a suggestion on how to im-
prove their business or service.
“If you don’t know who your customer is,
you don’t know who you’re selling to,” ex-
plains Swearingen. “You don’t know who’s
really interested in buying products from you
and you’re really just shooting in the dark.
Know who your client is. All the way down to
small mom-and-pop shops to the big online re-
tailers, you have to know who your customer is
and who you’re working with.”
Surveys, whether short or more in depth,
are important to every business’s marketing
plan. Surveys can provide insight into what
type of service, product, promotions and dis-
counts your customers are expecting from
your brand. Based on responses gathered from
a survey, you should either strive to meet your
customers’ expectations or start looking for
new consumers. Another way to get to know