Cannabis marketing doesn’t have to be difficult.
Yes, it can be a tough, and bumpy road to navigate, but you can still get to your destination….more traffic, more customers and a brand that stands out from the rest with a community of loyal customers.
The market is rapidly changing, and setting yourself up for success now is critical to the future of your dispensary or cannabis brand strategy.
“If you build it, they will come” is a passive way to build a solid business, and is an even worse way to run your marketing strategy because you’ll always be behind your competition.
I’m sure at this point, you’re thinking, sure, “blah, blah, blah…get to the point”
So what are some ways to help your dispensary or cannabis brand to stand out in a sea of a competitors in a wild west market that’s also regulated?
The cannabis industry is a cluster and many are operating on speculation, but there are some principles that are going to help you get your brand on a solid footing and reach your perfect customers in the doors more often, and actually keep them for longer.
- Identify Your Ideal Customer: Do you know who you’re selling to? It’s one of the most basic thing to identify when you’re starting a business, but most don’t start there. They’ll create their logo, website, and other marketing collateral without taking into account color psychology, fonts, their company vision/mission, tone of voice, and building a true brand identity that will connect and build a community of raving fans.
- Branding: Now that you know who you’re marketing to, now you need to make sure that you’re building an authentic brand that connects with the community you want to build. Why waste time doing anything else until you have a guide on how anyone in your organization should represent the brand?
- Attract those Ideal Customers: If you’re not focusing on local SEO, you’re leaving some serious money on the table when your ideal customer is searching for “dispensaries near me” or “dispensary near me”. Why? Your customer is going to go to the first 3 results, and if you’re not on that list, you’re missing out people that are actively looking to find your business. Your customers can’t become loyal fans unless they’re able to find you. There are so many platforms for cannabis brands to utilize safely, however having the right road map for success will make the most out of your marketing budget.
- Talk the talk and Walk the Walk: Are you leaving the right impression on your community? Are you showing up in the places that your people are hanging out at? Are you making interacting and doing business with you as easy as possible? Don’t spread yourself too thin. A strategy, and brand guide is going to help you determine how to respond to customers, where your people hang out, and how to create a strong relationship with your customers, keeping them longer as raving fans who spread your word for you much faster.
- Don’t compete on price or with the big dogs: The race to the bottom is a painful one. If we want to make cannabis a sustainable market, let’s take a cue from the “legacy market” that operates on value and convenience than they are on price. Customers pay what they ask because they want/need it and don’t have easy access to it, and the legacy market players make it convenient for you whether they come deliver it to you, or are available at the last minute and after hours. How can you implement this idea in your marketing strategy to create a unique experience for your customers? The answer to that is going to determine your success in the rapidly changing cannabis industry.
Cannabis marketing is easier when you have a leader driving strategy that can help you stand out in a market that’s rapidly changing.
Leadership in this industry needs to have knowledge of the legacy market and knowledge on how to navigate obstacles like compliance and community guidelines, bridging the gap, is helpful to direct your organization in the right direction, helping your organization identify how to show up for the community in a safe and legal way.
Do you know what KPIs you should be tracking for your cannabis or dispensary brand? Request your access to your top 5 KPIs all Cannabis CEOs should know today and schedule a time to speak to a cannabis marketing Fractional CMO to discuss your brand and cannabis marketing goals!