Labor Day weekend is here and while time and time again it has proved to be one of the most profitable days of the year for the cannabis industry, many cannabis dispensaries still fail to prepare and advertise for the festivities.
In fact, the profits are so high during labor day that the three day holiday is said to be the third highest sales period in the cannabis industry after 4/20 and the 4th of July. In fact recent studies by BDS Analytics suggests that the holiday might be the busiest multi-sales period of the year for the cannabis industry.
Why does Labor Day encourage customers to spend big? Well, for many the holiday represents the last good weekend of summer before things start to get serious at school or work, and before the temperature starts to dip below the optimal summer-time temperatures. On top of this, labor day weekend prompts sales in other industries besides the cannabis industry, so consumers are already in the shopping mood. All that leaves for you to do is get their attention, and once you do that you can sit back and watch your numbers go up.
On Labor Day, springbig clients tend to boast huge sales numbers. In 2018 springbig saw a 284% increase in sales the Friday before labor day. In this, the most popular products were flower and concentrates:
For labor day 2020, with cannabis laws state to state becoming more lax and more and more people getting into the industry, these numbers are sure to be higher. With prospects like this, it would be a shame for any retailer to miss out on the fun which is why we have decided to put together 5 cannabis marketing strategies for Labor Day 2020.
Stay open!
While many will be taking this Labor Day off to enjoy some much needed time off… for those in the cannabis industry it’s going to be worth it for you to stay open. In this, you’ll want to make sure that you customers know that you plan on staying open so they don’t automatically assume that you’re closed for the holiday.
Instead of taking Labor Day off, why not just give your employees an extra long Christmas break?
Utilize text message marketing and social media
Like we said, if you’re staying open you’ll want to get the word out to you customers about all of the great deals you’ll have for them while they’re enjoying their day off bar-b-queing and relaxing with family and friends.
To do this, your best bet is to leverage what is in our opinion the two most important marketing strategies for cannabis dispensaries in 2020: Text message marketing and organic social media marketing.
Here at springbig we are especially fond of text message marketing because time and time again, it has proved its effectiveness. Just think about how many people have their phones on them at all times… now think about how nice it would be to be able to send a message straight to their phone. Well, that’s text message marketing for you. Text message marketing boasts impressive stats, with a 98% open rate rate with 90% of those messages being opened within the first 3 minutes of being sent.
Along with text message marketing, spreading the word on social media about your store hours and special deals that you’ll be having is key. Not only will it help you remain active on social media, but it can also produce quality leads that could lead to new loyalty rewards members and big sales numbers.
Focus of flower and concentrates
When it comes to what your focus should be when marketing you’ll want to put a majority of your emphasis on flowers and concentrates. As you can see from the graphic above, flower and concentrates consistently lead sales on labor day.
Since you know what customers are looking for, then you can bring more customers in by offering deals on flowers and concentrates. While other products are important to advertise as well, focusing on these two consistently yields the highest sales.
Hold an event
Some people may not have much planned for their Labor Day weekend, so why not give them something to do? Holding an event at your dispensary or virtually because of the virus is a great way to introduce new customers to your dispensary’s culture while also showing existing customers that you appreciate them.
Whether it’s a bar-b-que in the parking lot or a virtual smoke sesh with guest speakers and games, whatever you do your customers are sure to appreciate the effort.
Make the most of new customers coming in
Like we said, customers are looking for ways to spend on labor day, and that means you’ll have a lot of new faces coming through your doors. Don’t let these customers be one-and-done shoppers. Instead, recruit them to your loyalty program.
It’s not enough to just ask them to join your loyalty program, you’ll have to give them a reason to think that your dispensary is worth remaining loyal to.
That’s why advertising some of the best deals you can is crucial this coming labor day. While you may not make as much per purchase, you will undoubtedly increase the number of sales you make while also making a good impression on new customers so that they join your loyalty program.
In this way, you not only increase sales, but you also increase the number of repeat customers you have which are said to spend on average three times more than one-time customers.
Recap
Clearly, you don’t want to miss out on Labor Day cannabis sales, and you won’t if you’re take advantage of these five marketing strategies: Stay open, get the word out, focus on flower and concentrates, hold an event (virtually or in person), and make the most of new customers by recruiting them to your loyalty rewards program.
If you can do all of this, not only will you most likely see a huge spike in sales, but in the process you’ll also be able to recruit customers to your loyalty program and grow your brand awareness.
Springbig can help you with all of this, from loyalty programs to text message marketing, we’ve got you covered. Click here to see how.
CEO and Co-founder of springbig
Jeffrey Harris