Don’t Forget the Big Brands — They Need Help, Too

I started chewing tobacco when I was 16.  My friends and I played sports, so smoking was out of the question.  On my 26th birthday, I quit.  Unfortunately, the following day I bought a pack of smokes.  Four years ago (this month), I quit, with the help of a vape.  Six month later I was not only smoke-free, but vape-free as well.  In the spring of 2017, Amanda started smoking again, and I foolishly joined her.  Labor Day of that year, I quit.  Have not smoked since, and ZERO desire for it.  I do, however, still vape.  And I like to buy the juice online.  I bought some from an online store a couple months back.  Yesterday morning, I went to place an order, but couldn't remember the store name.  I frantically searched through my inbox, and found my receipt.  The last email I received from them was mid-November.  This is supposedly the largest online vape shop in the US.  And they are doing a terrible job with email marketing.  I went back to their store to place an order.  In that time, I opted in on the pop up on their site, for a 10% off coupon.  I never received the email.  So I tried again last night, and no email.  I emailed support about it, and pointed out a few other areas they were slacking.  According to Similar Web, their store received 550,000 visitors last month alone.  That is some serious traffic, and they are dropping the ball with email. And that would be the understatement of the year.  I had some fun with the email I wrote them, and cracked some jokes. Sent it off to support, and shockingly, I still have not heard back from them.  Quite a few lessons here... Even big companies need help with their marketing, not just the dentists, lawyers & chiros so many focus on.  I imagine this vape shop does a few million per year in sales.  Just some rough math estimates... Per Similar Web, I am guesstimating they are generated about 2.6 million visitors last year.  Somewhat hockey stick growth from Sept - December.  Average conversion rate is about 3% 2.6 M x 0.03 = 78,000 customers.  I'd imagine their average order value is around $30 (likely more) and that brings us to about $2.3M in revenue.  This does not include repeat customers, which I imagine, is a pretty high percentage. Even getting half their customers to place ONE more order in the next 12 months would add about $1.2M to their bottom line.  Email would be an excellent channel to make an immediate impact.   Another lesson is this.... There are opportunities EVERYWHERE, you just have to look for them.  I had zero intention on pitching a vape store yesterday.  Just sat at my desk, and started typing away.  I enjoyed writing the email, and we'll see if I hear back from them.  Just some random thoughts swirling around my head on a Friday night.