If there is one market that businesses of all sizes can learn from, it’s the vaping industry. In previous years, many believed vaping to be a short-term fad that would disappear within a few years to a decade. Now, over a decade later, vapers are getting the last laugh.
Whether you’re a multi-million dollar business trying to capture more of the market or an up-and-coming business owner aiming to serve your community, here are some takeaways from the vaping industry that you can apply to your marketing strategies.
1. Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously
If there’s one thing that the vaping industry does well when marketing, it’s taking jokes in stride. With hundreds of memes and jokes surrounding vaping culture, business owners have used the inside, tongue-in-cheek catchphrases and topics as a way of extending their outreach and client base.
For readers that notice clients using their products or services as a topic of conversation, lean into this behavior. Embrace the comments — good and bad — and learn to implement the information into your marketing strategies and implementations.
2. Advertise New and Emerging Technologies in Your Marketing Efforts
Vaping is a technology that is consistently evolving and shifting with each passing month. With many archaic business models and marketing paradigms, they fall short on account of “doing things the way they’ve always done it.”
Instead of falling into this trap, business owners and entrepreneurs should follow market trends and customer needs with utmost precision. Rather than expecting the market to come to your doorstep, offer them technologies and solutions that are applicable within the current business climate.
3. Encourage Customization and Uniqueness
Vaping is a hobby filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of modifications, aftermarket additions and customizations. Going to a local smoke shop will give you a brief glimpse into the world of vapers and how they modify their rigs to suit their needs, expectations and personalities.
For future CEOs and business professionals, we encourage you to implement marketing strategies that incorporate customer involvement and uniqueness. Rather than setting the standard and expecting everyone to follow suit, give the power to customers and watch the magic unfold before your eyes.
4. Try To Go Viral
Let’s face it: If you want to gain attention in today’s technological environment, you have to go viral to some capacity. Whether it’s a funny video with your product or service or a unique marketing approach, interacting with potential clients is a must.
Major brands, such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s, NFL and Netflix, have used their social media accounts as a means of showing their ‘human’ side. Instead of using the platform for spamming robotic ads and overly-professional marketing paradigms, interact with followers like a friend or colleague.
While this approach may seem a little too simplistic to work, it provides an impressive return on investment (ROI).
5. Maintain a Social Footprint
In conjunction with step 4, the vaping industry has done an outstanding job of garnering social currency in our digital frontier. No matter how big or small your business or marketing strategy may seem, daily and even hourly, communication with your niche community is imperative.
By frequently touching base with your followers and admirers, you gain leverage over your competitors. Within the market of vaping products, we notice an influx of return customers that refuse to do business with other brands.
If this is the type of brand loyalty that your business desires, hiring social media managers and maintainers are an impactful way to control your marketing and advertising frameworks in real-time.
