You set your cannabis business up for 4/20 success. The stars were aligned, you saw astronomical sales on the industry’s busiest day of the year. And now you’re coming off the high of 4/20, and you may find both your staff and sales are exhausted.
You can draw parallels between April 20 and any major retail season, like Christmas. The holiday season means a surge in demand, followed by a pause in the public’s purchasing habits. Money is made in the margins. It’s important to continue pushing business as usual while competitors may be pausing their sales efforts.
Here are some tips and tricks to help differentiate your business from competitors and keep your sales soaring beyond 4/20.
Everything revolves around a good deal, according to Jared Leighty, Weedmaps Vice President of Sales Logistics. “Everyone wants to get a good deal. The deal gets people in the door,” Leighty said. “Then you provide the best customer experience possible to ensure they keep coming back.”
It’s a simple formula, but an important one. Adjusting your prices allows you to remain competitive. The right deal could easily grab the attention of people who have never even heard of your business and bring them into your storefront.
Deals come in many different forms, from sale prices, specials, and promotional offers to giving away free products to entice people back again. The first step in figuring out which deals you’re going to provide is to make sure you know your inventory at all times. Do an audit to discover your highest selling and most popular products. Then, feature these products in a deal. Be sure to carry popular brands and offer a strong variety of products to cast a larger net in the marketplace. It’s important to remember that deals are intended to convert new customers into returning customers, not to make a ton of money. It’s a short-term investment that holds long-term value. Don’t forget to share your discount on your social media channels and on Weedmaps to drive these new customers to your store.
On 4/20 you likely saw new faces coming through your doors. The cannabis community is a very social community — it still relies on word of mouth and is heavily driven by reputation. Make the best first impression with first-time customers. Providing the best possible customer experience will convert that person into a returning customer.
Your Budtenders Can Be a Huge Help
A great deal will draw in new customers, but a great budtender who engages and educates customers will keep them coming back. Train your budtenders to help people find what they’re looking for in a personable way. Remember that budtenders stand at the forefront of educating consumers about the effects, benefits, and overall experience of cannabis products. They should serve as guides and tailor their service to all levels of experience. A great budtender will make the customer’s experience more memorable, all while making it look easy.
Sign Up for Orders on Weedmaps
Did you know you can help save your customers time and energy by signing up for orders on Weedmaps? Give your customers the option for delivery and in-store pickup to help them get in and out, even during peak business hours. The more customer benefits you offer the more likely you are to draw loyalty from your clientele.
Across industries, most businesses will spend up to 20% of their bottom line on marketing. While every business owner has their own marketing and advertising strategy, it’s easy to overlook the importance of spending on it, especially after 4/20.
Most of your competitors are likely canceling or pumping the brakes on their advertising efforts following 4/20. Although it’s easy to slip into a slow pattern of sales, you might want to take advantage of all the new customers you acquired over the weekend with a robust post-4/20 marketing initiative.
Amplify Your Reach
While the market is less saturated, you have a great opportunity to amplify your reach to customers. It’s important to identify the channels and tactics that bring the most traffic to your business. If it’s by offering deals or adding new products to acquire new customers, strategically look at your inventory and make sure you’re stocked up on the products that are in demand. Maybe your approach is to host events. Whatever channels you choose, you should be presenting a unique selling proposition that will get noticed by customers and capture them for the long haul.
Find Key Areas of Differentiation
Whether with customer satisfaction, deals, or other continued marketing efforts, keep pushing to make a name for your business with strong points of differentiation.
Look carefully at your competition. If there are other smoke shops in your town or neighborhood, ask your employees, friends, and family to visit those locations. Have them look out for strengths and weaknesses during their shopping experience and see what they come up with.
If neighboring shops have subpar edibles, you can set yourself apart by providing quality cannabis edibles. If your competition isn’t offering deals or isn’t doing enough to let customers know about them, start offering weekly or monthly deals on flagship products. The key is identifying the gaps in your market that you can fill before anyone else does. Holding steady to your sales momentum following 4/20 is possible when you keep these best practices in mind.
