Tobacco Business

[ 88 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ MAY / JUNE | 21 ] also the feeling they wanted their patrons to have the moment they stepped through their lounge’s doors. “As a cigar lounge, you can either have a Cuban theme or that of a den with a super-rich leather type of feel,” says Brandon. “There isn’t anything in between, but Industrial Cigars was something different. It was fresh. It was modern but still classic at that. Yeah, let’s take off.” Ensuring that Industrial Cigar Co. was different from other lounges and businesses in the area was important to the Frakes family as they built their business. From early on, Industrial Cigar Co. has been able to attract some of what it considers to be the best customers in and around Frisco. Some of the store’s customer base travels hours from other areas of Texas, including northern Dallas and Fort Worth, just to experience and be a part of Industrial’s cigar culture. That appealing cigar culture is attributed to the lounge’s team and staff that regularly connect, discuss issues and provide feedback to improve the store’s business. “Every Monday we connect as a team, and our whole mission is to be 100 percent real with each other. “It’s in those moments where you might think you were doing pretty good until you realize you dropped the ball here, here and here,” Brandon explains. “Just having that accountability of the team and of yourself to realize, “We are not providing the best cigar experience possible. We need to make alterations.” Internally, our shared purpose is rock solid, and it is guarded and defended like a group of Vikings. We can’t drop this standard.” Staying connected with the staff and lounge’s customers is how the Frakes family continues to build Industrial Cigar Co. It was fellow retailer and Crux Cigars founder Jeff Haugen that offered the Frakes family the advice that when running a cigar lounge, the store’s owners should see the lounge as belonging to the customers—the owners simply run it on behalf of the customers. The family understands that getting people into the lounge’s doors is all about providing them with an opportunity and a memorable experience they can’t get anywhere else. Industrial Cigar Co. has two lounges: a public lounge where anyone and everyone is welcome and another that is accessible only to the store’s members. Industrial Cigar Co. is also home to the world’s first Atabey-branded cigar lounge, a private, exclusive lounge that is only accessible by those with a membership that starts at just $49 per month and comes with a personal locker space that’s connected to the store’s humidor. One thing that remains consistent in all the lounge areas is that regardless of what lounge area customers are in, they are treated like they are part of the Industrial Cigar Co. family and part of something special. Offering a consistently high level of customer service and meeting the expectations of each person that interacts with its business is the foundation of the business that the Frakes family strived to create and build. Brandon advises other retailers looking to build a loyal customer base to ask a lot of questions of their current customers. “Always be asking your customers the ways you can get better because people will quietly sit in the corner and wish you did something, but without asking, you will see silent resentment build up. Just ask, ‘Hey, what’s important to you?’ It takes effort to ask this question, but all of our best ideas—the vast majority of them—weren’t our ideas. We just bring other people’s ideas to life.” Creating a strong brand awareness is tied directly to how well a retailer can also develop or create an experience that gets customers talking about your business, Brandon explains. Exceeding expectations is the best way retailers can build brand awareness for their stores. Also, business owners need to know how to best use their time. Know your strengths and your weaknesses. Create partnerships and hire help in those areas where you’re weak, and spend the majority of your time focusing on delivering an exceptional experience however best you can. Building a loyal customer base also requires diehard consistency. Retailers should focus on connecting with everyone who enters their stores and lounges. Customers are what keeps a business’s lights on, and not consistently delivering and exceeding expectations will be what makes or breaks any retailer. Always be asking your customers the ways you can get better because people will quietly sit in the corner and wish you did something, but without asking, you will see silent resentment build up. — Brandon Frakes