With more and more competitive brands popping up, it can be difficult to properly promote new products in your dispensaries. There truly is an art to being an effective cannabis marketer. The industry places tons of restrictions on marketing so traditional approaches don’t always apply. That means when it’s time to launch a new brand, it can be hard to stand out and gain that positive attention you need to move big units. That’s where we come in!
Bookmark this page for the next time you’re struggling with ideas to promote your products.
Split the Bill
With a new product, brands know they need to factor in some marketing budget to help get the word out. Dispensaries and brands in cannabis do share one key feature- budgets are going to be tight. One fantastic way to not only get the word out but also build your relationships with the cannabis brand in question is to split the cost of an ad. A brand can provide assets of their new product and the dispensary can put together the asset with the dates and legal lines. If your region allows for print ads in local magazines, go in on a full-page ad together. Highlight the product and its unique functionality or whatever makes it special and include a callout that it is now available at your dispensary. This approach can certainly work for other touchpoints like billboards as well. Core concept- work with your brand partners to keep costs low for both your teams while still effectively communicating the offering.
In-Store Display
A tried-and-true way to land a sale? Show off what you’ve got on the salesfloor! Encourage your brand partners to come in with props or swag and give the shelf display some love. It doesn’t have to be a lot- something small like a branded accessory or a platform to elevate the sample product can do wonders to make the display stand out. Some stores may even feature newer items regularly rotating out of a specific shelf, so customers are trained to look there for new products (similarly to Trader Joe’s).
Budtender Besties
Want to butter up your budtenders so they push a specific product? Let the brand come in and present during a pre-shift all about what makes their new offering special. Encourage your brand to also offer samples to your budtenders. A recent study showed that “31% of respondents trust budtender advice or recommendations”, something we’ve referenced before. By getting your brand ambassadors connected with team budtender, they can ask questions and be prepared to recommend the product when it makes the most sense for customers. Don’t be too precious about giving brands access to your staff- encouraging it puts the education opus on the brands themselves and creates smarter budtenders. It’s a win-win, and it’ll only cost a bit of time on everyone’s end.
Book Brand Ambassadors
What better way to follow up a team shift meeting with having a brand ambassador join your budtenders on the salesfloor? If you’re launching a new brand or product, it’s important to have representation from the brand itself onsite for customer and staff questions. A customer may come in and ask something no one else thought off and turn a sale into an educational moment. Brand ambassadors are the brand’s front lines in terms of customer education. Exposing budtenders to that level of knowledge helps everyone do better together. Your budtenders may also pick up language habits from the brand and be able to speak better to those products after hearing the official sales pitch in action.
Shout it Out!
Your usual marketing levers can’t be underrated when it comes to promoting new products or brands. If your dispensary has regular emails, you can dedicate a specific one-off email to showing off the new product. Within MJ Freeway, our users can segment customers by favorite type of consumption method. If you are launching a new vape and have a list of dedicated dabbers who love disposables, they should be your first thought when it comes to reaching out. Craft your email like it’s an exciting new product that your store is proud to share with them. Offer photos and those key product identifiers right off the bat, and if your dispensary offers click-and-collect or delivery, drop in a call to action to get the product now.
We mentioned in-store pop-ups being a huge opportunity for sales and customer education. If you’re not seeing the right returns on your pop-ups, we can help.
Check out our FREE e-book covering exactly how to curate a fantastic in-store pop-up every time:
