Tobacco Business

Desiree Sylver, owner of Drunk Chicken Cigars, loves analytics and using data to give her business a competitive edge. Here are three things you should be tracking regularly in order to better understand and serve your customers. • Who’s buying? Who are your customers and why are they buying your products? Don’t assume you know why they are buying from you. Identifying who your customer can help you better market and sell your product. • Buying frequency. Are your customers buying your product just once or are they coming back for more? You need to understand your customers’ buying habits. If they’re only buying once, focus on finding out why they aren’t making another purchase. • What’s trending? What’s selling right now, what’s hot, what’s not? These are questions that should always be top of mind for you and your company. Understanding trends can help you fine-tune your product and service offerings and give your business more focus. DefiningYour Customers The Real Competition Though Drunk Chicken Cigars is small in size, Sylver isn’t concerned with competing with anyone other than herself. There may be bigger companies in the cigar category, but Sylver knows competing with them is a losing game. Trying to keep up with others in the industry will take her focus away from her own brand and business, and keeping up with so-called competitors will lead to her going bankrupt, she explains. She’s focused on things that she can control: creating a quality cigar and customer service. As someone who’s obsessed with data and analytics, Sylver is competing with others by asking what she feels are the right questions—questions that will ultimately lead to Drunk Chicken Cigars putting out products that appeal to a wide range of cigar enthusiasts and that will help expand her business. Like any brand owner, she’s watching what’s happening with regulations and has a lawyer on hand to help navigate the legal waters of cigars, but she’s more focused on the bigger picture: future growth. At this year’s Premium Cigar Association (PCA) trade show, Drunk Chicken Cigars opened 27-30 new accounts. She also got to spend time with other brand owners who have offered her advice on what to do in order to achieve success. “At PCA, Matt Booth [of Room 101] gave me great advice,” says Sylver. “Basically, he reminded me that customer service was important and said he felt like when you have less customers, you can be a better company. Hiram & Solomon … I love them. I feel like they’ve adopted me. They’ve been super, super nice in providing advice. I met them in Pennsylvania and had them smoke my cigar. They gave me feedback, saying they loved the cigar and that I was doing the right thing. Every time I see them, they both are very encouraging. Right before PCA, I actually told them that I felt like I couldn’t do this. They said, ‘No, you’re doing the right thing. You will be OK. Keep up the good work.’” Many don’t see or understand the work required to own and run a cigar brand, Sylver explains. There’s very little “fun” to be had for a brand owner, but she’s OK with that—this is her business, and she’s willing to put in the hours and effort necessary to make Drunk Chicken Cigars a success. It’s why she’s willing to be “on” at all times to promote her brand and why little things, such as people calling her company by the wrong name (it’s Drunk Chicken, not Drunken Chicken) don’t phase her that much. Her company may be small and boutique, but there’s nothing small about her vision of the future. Drunk Chicken Cigars has a future in the industry, and despite being boutique, from its products to its customer service, it’s a premium cigar company through and through. TB Sylver named her brand Drunk Chicken Cigars after her backyard and its fowl occupants. [ 38 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ NOVEMBER / DECEMBER | 21 ]