Dispensary Marketing That Works
Cannabis dispensaries are popping up all over North America and the competition is getting hot. During the early years of the cannabis boom, all you needed was a state cannabis license to make money, but with more competition, many of these cannabis pioneers are getting crushed by savvier cannabis settlers. This article is an overview of how you can get your marketing and sales strategy back on track and start smoking the competition. – If you need professional expertise to help you strategize, execute, and communicate your dispensary marketing plans - reach out today.
Cannabis and hemp companies require special skill sets and knowledge that traditional marketing agencies just aren’t prepared to handle. Cannabis and hemp marketing agencies face many hurdles when it comes to dealing with FDA, marketing, and state regulations. One of the biggest hurdles is understanding the niche cannabis target markets and having a handle on where the legal cannabinoid and hemp markets are going. For example, real-time online menus and same-day delivery or pickup are major elements of creating an elevated customer experience.
If you’re a board member who is looking to improve your management communication and execution of eCommerce strategies we can help here as well. We have worked in the cannabis and marketing industries in a wide variety of positions and have the experience to teach board members what they need to know to hold their management teams accountable. With the shift to digital advertising, executives and board members need better understand what digital Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) they should be looking at and where to allocate capital.
Local SEO (search engine optimization)
When it comes to picking up the low-hanging fruit it doesn’t get much lower than optimizing your local SEO. People are constantly searching for “local dispensaries near me” and this is one of the biggest opportunities dispensaries have when it comes to finding quality leads that are local. The people that are searching for local dispensaries are local, are typically searching on their phone, and are qualified buyers that are often looking to make an immediate purchase. If you haven’t submitted your dispensary and website to Google My Business then you’re letting your competition take all the low-hanging fruit. This is a 100% free service that is offered by Google and allows your business to be seen in Google Search and Google Maps. The competition for organic search positions has become incredibly competitive in mature cannabinoid markets and focusing on long-tail keywords may provide an advantage.
Using Google My Business is the easiest way to get consumers to your dispensary, website, or contact your company. If you’re not sure if your dispensary or cannabinoid brand is set up with Google you can double-check by simply searching for your brand name in Google. If your marketing team has picked up the low-hanging fruit you should see a detailed listing on the right side of the search results. With Google My Business the more information you provide and the more 5-star reviews you get, the higher your rank will become. Google especially likes to see new photos, videos, and posts getting uploaded on a regular basis and always respond to customer questions or reviews. Don’t forget to ask happy customers for Google reviews and Instagram and Facebook aren’t the only areas where you should be sharing your dispensary or brand photos.
Google Ads
Similar to Google Search, dispensaries can win big by using Google Ads. These advertisements can be set up to only target local consumers. With Google Ads, you end up paying for every website visitor that clicks your link or gives you a phone call. Many dispensaries can now take online orders that can be picked up in-store and Google Ads is a great way to get consumers to your dispensary menu.
Send Better Emails
At Trichome 5 we specialize in working with cannabinoid brands and we’ve seen a lot of shitty emails. We’ve signed up to nearly every dispensary’s newsletter and the majority of them are uninspiring and most likely thrown together by either people that don’t understand how to write with emotion or people that don’t understand the cannabis industry and the cannabis target market. The first thing your dispensary needs to do to start writing better emails is to redefine your target market and brand standards. – Click here to download our ebook on how cannabinoid companies can optimize email while staying FDA compliant. (insert a funny gift or meme about someone using email poorly.)
Content Marketing
Content is everywhere we look, but relevant and authentic content is a rarity. Brands are accusing Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter of censoring their brand’s posts, but what is really happening is that these social media giants are censoring irrelevant content. Stop promoting irrelevant content.
The inconvenient truth is that too many marketing agencies and departments are producing average ass content that nobody cares about. Brands are left with two choices. Use paid advertising to promote their average ass content and ads, or start producing content that drives organic engagement and shares. The modern-day marketing agency has truly forgotten the importance of sharing (grassroots marketing) and has gone all-in with Big Tech.
Let’s be honest, content marketing can scare the crap out of business owners who simply think that they’re paying people to write stories, but brand messaging and story-telling make up the foundation of all sales and marketing strategies. If you don’t have good website content then you won’t have high ROI on paid advertising and you’ll continue to stagnant. In order to boost your email marketing, organic search, Local SEO, and Google Ads campaigns, you’ll be wise to complement these efforts with the glue that holds everything together, content marketing.
Social media has largely become a pay-to-play platform, but if you’re producing relevant content you still have the opportunity to go viral or at least reduce your cost-per-click (CPC). Currently, there are far too many cannabis and hemp companies putting out less than stellar content and this is leading to low ROIs. When brands use bland messaging our use messaging that doesn’t connect to their target market this will reduce engagement rates with the target customer and tend to increase your costs that are associated with paid advertising.
Being a good content marketer all starts with understanding and targeting your specific niche. Don’t be the executive or board member that ignores content marketing and the importance of brand messaging. One of the best ways that dispensaries can generate free content is to develop a local influencer program that encourages local influencers to submit their own content for your dispensary to promote.
Build A Terpene Education Wall
At Trichome 5 we specialize in helping our clients connect with their target market by stimulating all 5 senses (hence the 5 in our name). Studies have shown that over 60% of cannabis shoppers prefer smelling their products prior to buying, but many states don’t allow dispensaries to sell with smell. That was before cannabis strain and aromatic terpene scratch and sniff marketing material became a thing. By working with Trichome 5 we will be able to not only build you a terpene education wall (or kiosk), but we will be able to work with your top brands to get them to provide you with strain-specific marketing material that users can smell. Aromatic marketing material will be a hit in your dispensary, but it will also give you a good reason to send mail to your customers and website visitors.
Installing a terpene education wall that is complete with scented and educational marketing materials will allow you to provide a customer experience that other dispensaries can’t. MG Magazine called terpenes, “the secret sauce for marketing cannabis” and we are a full-service marketing company that is meeting consumer demand.
Dispensaries can also work with Trichome 5 to develop terpene and cannabinoid kiosks that can be transported to local events. If there is a farmer’s market to go to or a community street festival you can sell with smell legally outside of your dispensary! Plants will naturally produce terpenes for a variety of survival benefits and each strain of cannabis has a different terpene profile (chemovar) depending on the plant genetics and environmental factors. Consumers should be educated that just because a certain flower is marketed under the same strain name doesn’t mean all strains will share a similar terpene profile. Terpene and cannabinoid profiles are unique to each grower and each flower batch will have slightly different synergist effects.
Improve the Retail Environment
The dispensary experience is more important than the quality of the products. Dispensary owners and managers need to realize that the product they are selling is an experience, not a product. Your target market can get the same great brands in a handful of dispensaries and the only way to create customer loyalty with the locals is to offer remarkable dispensary experiences. Remember, your product isn’t cannabis; your product is the dispensary experience. When people talk about your dispensary they are going to talk about specific details and wow moments of their experience, not what cannabis brand they bought. Ask yourself and your team members the question, what is the desired customer experience, and how can optimize our retail environment?
Your dispensary operations need to revolve around the customer and your dispensary needs to provide remarkable experiences through the visit. One of the leading reasons why consumers don’t go back to a retailer is the lack of a WOW experience. Dispensaries are no different. Dispensary managers, marketers, and owners must also recognize the customer experience needs to be seamless when it comes to in-store, offline, and online brand experiences.
Free Idea: Dispensaries can remove any nervousness or uncertainty that cannabis buyers experience when going to new dispensaries by showcasing your dispensary in video forms. A Trichome 5 we farm out video development, but we will gladly help you write an award-winning script.
What is the first thing a customer experiences when they walk into your dispensary? Is it that friendly face at the front counter or your beautiful and clean décor? The answer is neither; the first thing consumers recognize when they walk into a new retail establishment is what it smells like. Our sense of smell has a direct connection to the area of our brand that controls emotions and decisions and if consumers get a pleasant smell that makes them salivate for juicy buds then you’re doing your job as a marketer. Studies have also shown that retailers that pump unique smells into their environment will see an increase in checkout size. When it comes to using scent marketing in your dispensary we suggest focusing on the more citrusy mono-terpenes that will uplift your customer as they walk through your door. Your scent of choice may also change depending on what products you are offering. If you’re doing a sale on pineapple express ounces then we suggest offering a sweet pineapple smell during that week. If you’re offering a cherry pie special then let us help you make your dispensary smell like grandma’s cherry pie. These types of promotions and scent marketing should also be paired with visual representations of what they’re smelling (i.e. if you’re running a pineapple express deal then run to the store and set some pineapples on your counter. If you can legally give customers pineapple samples while they’re waiting in line try that next.)
Scent marketing in the cannabis industry will provide your patient care specialist or budtenders the perfect educational tool tools to teach consumers. If you’re running a special on Lemon Kush you can have high amounts of limonene, a citrusy terpene being pumped into the environment and your budtender can talk about how limonene is known for its energy boost and mood-elevating properties. The same thing can be done with Blue Dream, which is high in myrcene, a terpene that is known for relaxation and sleep. Are your bud-tenders educating with smell? Our professional and passionate team at Trichome 5 can help your dispensary sell with sell-by creating strategies, marketing material, and providing strain-specific blends to meet your specific needs.
While consumers are standing in line or getting their ID checked their unconscious mind or lizard brain is experiencing a unique scent that is telling them to BUY MORE! This is the customer experience that you need to give to your customer’s and Trichome 5 will deliver you results. Tapping into consumers’ unconscious minds is the same reason why department stores route everyone through the fragrance section and why aromatherapy is known to provide therapeutic benefits.
Referral & Loyalty Campaigns
Last and definitely not least is to build a referral marketing and customer loyalty campaign. Many marketers will break these two strategies up, but we believe your best opportunities for referrals are going to be your most loyal customers so these two strategies go hand in hand.
Many people will use cannabis by themselves to watch a TV show or get creative, but your top cannabis consumers will have a tight-knit group of fellow smokers and edible fans. Marketing is all about connecting emotionally with your target market and there is no better marketing tactic than leveraging the networks of your top clients. Every dispensary should understand who their top clients are and these top clients need to be turned into your local ambassadors.
Referrals can happen by themselves without a brand doing anything, but for best results dispensaries need to define and execute a specific referral marketing strategy. At Trichome 5 we can help you develop and execute your referral marketing strategy and one of the top website tools to incorporate into your business is Referral Candy.
Go Full-On Guerilla
With COVID-19 restrictions and the rise of digital marketing, many dispensaries have forgotten how to hustle offline. A few decades ago Guerilla Marketing was the entire craze and we urge our clients to embrace their inner Guerilla. At the end of the day, marketing is all about building relationships and the best way to build relationships is by interacting with people on a personal level, this is where Guerilla Marketing comes in. One of the best guerrilla marketers over the last few decades has been Sir Richard Branson of Virgin. Branson was doing air balloon, Superbowl, and PR stunts way before it were acceptable. He was a trailblazer that inspired the strategies behind other companies such as Redbull Media. If your dispensary is already located in an area that gets a lot of foot traffic then get one of your charismatic leaders outside on the sidewalk to invite people in or educate them on how to get a medical cannabis license. Guerilla marketing puts you in the best position to connect emotionally with large amounts of local customers and could include:
Co-promoting local charity events.
Passing out stickers.
Sponsoring a local artist competition (our favorite)
Starting a local movement or getting involved in one.
Passing out strain scented marketing material and scented menus that smell like real cannabis strains.
Encouraging your dispensary team to volunteer at local events.
Host a community pot-lock.
Invite food trucks to vend at your location.
Have a local event with a local brewery or distiller (recreational only).
Partner with local medical providers for education opportunities.
All guerilla marketing efforts should have specific PR strategies to optimize the reach of each campaign.
That’s a Wrap
After reading this article we hope you have a better idea of marketing opportunities that are available to your dispensary or cannabis brand, but we also hope that you’ve learned a little about how Trichome 5 can help you. You’re also probably asking yourself the question of “why didn’t they mention social media?”. We believe social media is an important piece to any marketing strategy, but at the end of the day companies that are trying to market themselves do not own these social channels and these social channels should never be a focal point of any marketing campaign. Marketing and digital marketing specifically is so much more than social media and if you don’t develop a solid foundation of
If you’re interested in learning more about how we work contact us today or download a copy of the Terpene Sensory Marketing ebook.