Navigating the Cannabis Industry
We are all aware of the challenging times for cannabis businesses as many dispensary owners are struggling to expand their revenue, elevate their brand recognition and establish a worthwhile program to reward customer loyalty.
Digital marketing strategies for a cannabis dispensary are much more restrictive than other retail sectors and local businesses.
So, in order to increase sales at your dispensary, when cannabis retail looks more difficult than other businesses, you’ll need to get creative. Let’s jump into the 7 best ways you can begin the journey to increasing revenue at your dispensary.
Differentiate your customer experience from others
In today’s dispensary market, it is more important than ever to stand out from the competition, as more and more operators enter the cannabis space. With so many options available to consumers, both online and at store. It is essential that dispensaries offer a unique customer experience and provide loyalty rewards to keep customers coming back.
Differentiation is key in the cannabis industry – especially when it comes to product offerings. Offering a variety of products – from high-end, boutique strains to budget-friendly options – will allow you to appeal to a wider range of customers.
And remember, it’s not just about offering different types of cannabis – it’s about offering a complete experience. Make sure your dispensary is stocked with everything your customers might need, from rolling papers and lighters to edibles and topicals.
Know your target market, and apply a marketing strategy
The average age of cannabis consumers is 37, although the optimum target market for dispensaries falls between the ages of 21 and 34.
This is because this age group is more likely to be employed full-time, have a higher disposable income, and be more likely to live in an urban area – making them more likely to visit a dispensary. Scouring demographic data can show you potential expansion zones that are ripe for cannabis dispensary owners to succeed at cannabis retail.
By knowing your more about your consumers and understanding what they want, you can create an engagement strategy that will reach them where they are most receptive.
Understand how to compliantly reach your consumers
Social media is not the best place to market your dispensary. The problem with social media is that you are at the mercy of the platform you are advertising on. If you are displaying cannabis on instagram, linked in, facebook and other social media platforms, they can pull your campaign without warning or refund due to their terms and conditions.
So, if you’re trying to improve sales at your dispensary, you need to focus on a reliable communication method that allows you to understand your cannabis consumers and what they want.
Utilizing springbigs unique dispensary marketing platform, you can reach new customers and keep existing ones coming back. Some of our most effective dispensary strategies include SMS & email campaigns, native apps, and loyalty programs!
One more thing you can do for your website and e-commerce platform is begin a micro blog or weekly newsletter that focuses on educational content and search engine optimization. This is another right strategy that can leverage different tactics to engage your customer and deliver a unique dispensary experience.
Knowing your customer journey and perfecting it
The first step is looking at your customer journey and maximizing your outreach to more customers. Turning potential customers into new customers is what you should be seeking.
This can be done by knowing your consumers and what they are looking for. You should have a variety of cannabis products to appeal to different types of consumers based on sales data.
Content Quality
Aesthetic high quality content is also key in attracting new customers, checkout this post about increasing your content quality with MMS {{backlink to MMS post}}.
Once you have turned prospective customers into new customers, the next step is to turn them into repeat customers. This can be done by providing excellent customer service at your cannabis dispensaries. Customer retention offerings like loyalty programs or discounts for returning customers can also encourage repeat business.
The final step is to turn existing recurring customers into VIP loyalty program members. This can be done by offering more entrenched exclusive deals, an enhanced customer experience and tiered rewards for loyalty program members. Which is discussed further below.
Deploy a marketing and loyalty program
Customer loyalty programs are a great way to generate long term value for your retail cannabis store and deploy a unique marketing strategy to your customer base. Once a consumer completes the opt in you can reward customers by; incentivizing discounts and point redemptions to customers who visit your retail cannabis store regularly, encouraging them to keep coming back.
This will help generate long term sales, as loyal customers are more likely to spend more money at your retail cannabis store.
Once your loyalty system is up and running, you’ll be able to garner valuable sales insights into why your consumers purchase what, when they make their purchases and their preferred purchase method.
As well as critical data points that can guide your marketing campaigns to drive repeat business.
Marketing tactics to boost revenue and dispensary sales
The use of targeted, segmented marketing is a great way to increase sales at your retail cannabis store. By using Email, SMS and MMS messages, you can reach a larger audience with your message and ensure that it is received by those who are most likely to be interested in your product or service.
Springbig provides an easy-to-use platform that allows you to create and send these messages, track their delivery, and measure their effectiveness. This data-driven approach will help you fine-tune your marketing campaigns and maximize their ROI.
Analysis and A/B testing
A/B testing is a great way to fine-tune your marketing campaigns and find out what works best for your dispensary. By testing different versions of your email, SMS, or MMS campaigns, you can determine which ones are most effective in terms of open rate, click-through rate, and conversion rate.
Mistakes dispensary owners often run into setting up their cannabis business
Many retail cannabis operators make the mistake of over-discounting their products in an attempt to increase sales. However, this can often lead to customers devaluing the experience and products that your retail cannabis store has to offer.
It is important to find a balance between offering discounts and maintaining the value of your brand.
In addition, many dispensaries are limited in the number of products they offer, which can make it difficult to attract new customers.
By expanding your product offerings and tapping into the power of digital marketing, you can overcome these challenges and improve sales at your cannabis store.
Compliance and Strategy
One of the biggest challenges facing cannabis dispensaries is a lack of understanding of the legal limitations on marketing and advertising. This can lead to dispensary owners not taking advantage of their available marketing power sales-boosting strategies that could be highly effective.
By understanding the legal limitations and implementing effective marketing and sales strategies, you can overcome these challenges and drive sales at your dispensary.
No convenient ordering system
In addition, many new business dispensaries do not provide convenient purchase options, such as online menus and online ordering through e-commerce, which can make it difficult for customers to complete a purchase using their preferred method.
No client retention system
Furthermore, many dispensaries do not have any loyalty program in place to retain customers or attract new ones to become long term spenders. Current customers should feel invigorated in being a part of your customer loyalty program, earning points towards rewards they actually care about. This can be the foundation of building trust between you and your customers.
Conclusion
By understanding the challenges that cannabis retailers face and implementing effective marketing and sales strategies, you can overcome these challenges and increase sales at your dispensary.
By using targeted, segmented marketing campaigns and A/B testing to find what works best for your store, you can reach a larger audience with your message and ensure that it is received by those who are most interested in your product or service. For example pre rolls or a new strain text message campaign to people who frequent those two categories.
In addition, by expanding your product offerings and providing convenient purchase options, you can make it easier for customers to complete a purchase.
Finally, by implementing loyalty programs, you can retain existing customers and attract new ones. By taking these steps, you can increase revenue at your dispensary and ensure that your business is successful.
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