cannabis dispensary mobile apps

In recent years, the cannabis industry has changed and grown at an unprecedented rate, much to the appreciation of medical marijuana dispensary owners in Florida from to fully legal retailers in Ontario. As for the coming years, there are many indications that this growth will maintain its pace. With a growing community of cannabis consumers and new markets likely to emerge with more legalization, cannabis dispensaries will become ever more common and frequented by customers.

With all of this competition having the best digital marketing footprint in the cannabis dispensary space is essential to staying ahead. As cannabis retailers and dispensaries compete to capture these emerging markets, it is crucial that your dispensary has a strong cannabis marketing plan to keep you ahead and ready for incoming changes.

The latest must-have tool in today’s app-happy world? A sophisticated cannabis marketing app geared toward engaging your customers and offering them a simplified shopping experience.

What Cannabis Apps Can Offer Your Dispensary

Cannabis marketing apps offer dispensaries unprecedented access to their customers, who can effectively connect to all their needs wherever they are.

A dispensary mobile app serves as a one-stop shop where customers can do everything from access offers to browse menus and make an order through cannabis ecommerce and delivery services all in one place. Everything from information on the newest strain you have in stock to the ability to leave some feedback and appreciation for their budtender

Customers appreciate the convenience an app provides (as it’s often less time-consuming than waiting in line), while dispensaries enjoy the many benefits afforded to their dispensary marketing efforts. Let’s take a look at what an app can offer your cannabis store. Each feature provides an opportunity not only to please your customers but a source of reliable information and data on what is making them happy, and what is not.

Mobile Marketing

Your own app is a marketing powerhouse. Sitting on a customer’s mobile device, which they are likely to almost always have on their person, an app offers dispensaries an unprecedented ability to expand a cannabis business reach to customers and in turn, expand user access to your dispensary. The ability to connect on a personal level cannot be overstated.

The cannabis world is a bit behind in terms of data and technologically advanced operations, but with an app that is no longer the case.

Not only are customers seeing the app icon on their home screen, but they also can see push notifications with offers, details on the latest cannabis products, or more information about your dispensary.

When app users want cannabis, they can reach your dispensary with a touch of their finger. The app just sitting on a customer’s phone is marketing your brand all by itself. The customer appreciates the convenience, and your dispensary develops as the customer’s go-to whenever they decide to shop for cannabis.

Expanded Loyalty Engagement

In much of the way a punch card can earn you a free coffee at your local café, a dispensary app is a major asset for promoting participation in your dispensary loyalty rewards program.

Whether customers prefer shopping in-store, online, or in-app, dispensary apps allow users’ loyalty rewards points to be easily and automatically tracked and counted.

With a traditional paper punch card method, you are more than likely to misplace or leave behind your card. With loyalty directly on apps, customers’ rewards points are automatically counted or easily added by presenting their phone ” something they are far less likely to leave behind.

And as we know, customer participation in your loyalty rewards program is a win for them and a win for you. Apps just make it that much easier.

Online Sales Boost

As the logic goes, the simpler it is for a customer to make a purchase, the likelier they are to make one. It is no different with marijuana. No matter your business model or your latest products, an easy-to-use sales platform will help you sell weed ” which is the bottom line, after all.

Even simpler than online e-commerce built into your website, an app is the easiest way for your customers to see through a cannabis purchase. A convenient path to purchase and an easy-to-navigate menu are important features of any sophisticated cannabis app.

Integrated Communications

Between push notifications and the general accessibility afforded to mobile apps, weed apps are extremely effective at reaching customers.

Mobile apps and push notifications are especially useful for communications because they are often difficult to miss. Your message appears directly on the front screen of users’ phones, making it less likely to slip through the cracks like an email might.

The communicational possibilities of mobile applications are difficult to ignore.

For the cannabis industry, marijuana apps can offer an effective communications delivery system with strict compliance, real time tracking of customer engagement rates, and the opportunity to share all sorts of cannabis content.

The Pieces of a Dispensary App

The best weed apps will have certain qualities and features that prioritize customer engagement. Providing customers a pleasant in-app experience drastically improves customer retention and the prospect of future sales.

Your cannabis mobile app should include the following features:

An Up-to-Date Menu

An intuitive and well-organized menu should be a centerpiece of your cannabis app. A strong menu will be organized, sorting different cannabis strains into their appropriate categories, and should be organized by type of product. The listings should be sortable across different criteria, including price and quantity.

Many dispensaries fall short on their menus by struggling to keep them up to date. If your menu and your inventory are not aligned, you are likely to frustrate customers and lose their business to other cannabis businesses.

Online Shopping

As mentioned, it is critical for users to be able to make purchases directly in your mobile app.

The simpler the process of completing an order the better for your sales. In many cases, your already existing e-commerce or online shopping platform will integrate directly into your app.

Rewards and Offers

Another major perk of having a dispensary app is your customers’ access to offers and rewards.

From rewards awarded through a loyalty program to more standard promotional offers, a strong dispensary app will have an organized page dedicated to a customer’s available rewards and offers, as well as how they can qualify for future ones.

These rewards and offers should be conveniently redeemable directly in the app, whether the customer is shopping in-store or online. It may be counter-intuitive, but encouraging customers to cash in on their offers is better for your long term sales than making it difficult to access a discount.

Messages and other Communications

Marijuana apps, ultimately, are just another vehicle for dispensaries to reach the cannabis community.

Accordingly, your app should take the communications element of it interface very seriously. The app can utilize a “message center” and push notifications to reach customers with your dispensary’s latest news, offers, or other cannabis-related content.

Medical and Recreational Marijuana Personalization

Every dispensary and cannabis brand specializes differently, the most common distinction being between recreational and medical marijuana. Your app should reflect what makes your identity unique, so being able to customize your app and your customers’ in-app experience should be a priority.

You should personalize and customize your app according to your brand identity and the services you offer. Medical marijuana apps, for example, should opt for a different theme than recreational apps.

Your identity will also affect the content on your app. For instance, if you offer delivery services, you are likely to make that well known.

Promoting your App

Your app is only as successful as its usage, so you should also have a plan for marketing and advertising it. How you will get the word out will vary based on your goals, but make sure you have a plan and resources allocated to market the app itself.

Ways to Spread the Word about your App

Promoting your app is similar to promoting your dispensary. You will want to utilize all the communication channels available to you to tell your community of existing customers as well as new customers about the app. Do not be shy about how the app will enhance customers’ dispensary and cannabis experience!

Use App-Exclusive Promotions

The power of the promo. A great way to get customers onto the app is by offering promos only accessible through a customer’s first in-app purchase. Not only will customers enjoy the discount, but they will see the app’s utility and, hopefully, become frequent users of it.

Some promotional ideas include:

Partner with Delivery Services

Seek out a cannabis delivery service in your area and offer free delivery on in-app orders.

Discounts for the first 100 app users

Use the incentive of exclusivity to your advantage. A promotion geared to a limited pool of people will bring people onto the app ” and quickly.

the app built to take on the cannabis industry

Take a peek at springbig’s latest development, ” an app built to meet the needs of your dispensary. With a suite of customizations, every dispensary can offer a unique experience on re:source. A wide-range of features and pages give your customer an unprecedented cannabis shopping experience.

With a messaging center built around cannabis communications, customer profiles, loyalty rewards and special offers, and your menu built right in, re:source has been thoughtfully designed to meet the customer-facing needs of dispensaries today. Easily integrate your e-commerce or preferred delivery app right into re:source and make your customers’ experience as simple as possible.

Enjoy deep insights and analytics through your customers’ app usage, allowing you to curate more relevant customer experiences and offers while learning about your brand’s performance.

Intrested in getting your own custom mobile app at your dispensary? Click Here and sign up!