People are falling in love with concentrates. Since 2004, sales of concentrates has grown by 412%. By comparison, edibles have grown 272% and flower has grown 149%.
Putting numbers aside, there’s a lot to dig about concentrates.
From vape pens to wax dabs to rosin, consumers are diving into this world of varying consumption methods. Concentrate brands and retailers can capitalize on this growing trend and position themselves as the go-to product or spot for concentrates.
What’s not to love about concentrates?
From concentrate novice to aficionado, there’s a lot to get excited about when it comes to concentrates. But the hardest part is education.
The concentrate novice may feel intimidated by this new world of consumption. And many times they don’t want to ask questions and risk looking like a novice. Flower enthusiasts are similar. They know flower. They love flower. They may never get the nerve to ask you what concentrates are all about.
Then there’s the concentrates aficionado. They know it all when it comes to concentrates. And they’re eager for the next big thing and ready for you to tell them all about it.
In this article, we’ll give you a description of each of the three concentrate shopper personas and what you can do to encourage them to choose you for their cannabis concentrate needs.
How to attract the Concentrate Novice.
The concentrate novice is the customer who has no idea what concentrates are all about. They don’t know how to use vape pens, and they may have some misconceptions about processing methods and the quality of concentrates. The world of concentrates is reasonably intimidating for them and they’re looking for answers.
The most important thing you can do to help this group is to educate them. Teach them about the tools and equipment they need to use. Help them get comfortable by explaining the vocabulary surrounding concentrate culture. Here are some questions your concentrate novice may have:
- What is the equipment and how do you use it?
- Is butane and hash safe to use?
- What is a dab?
- What’s the difference between butter, shatter, and crumble?
- What are the THC levels? How will that impact me?
- What are the effects of using cannabis concentrates?
- How do I get started?
- Is this safe?
Remember your concentrate novice may also be a cannabis novice. Don’t be afraid to take the first step to introduce them to the world of concentrates. Your budtender can view their order history in MJ Platform, and strike up a conversation about concentrates. It’s also super effective to host open houses or events where retailers provide the space and manufacturers educate and present their products.
Also, make sure you inform the novice about the benefits of concentrates. Vape pens may often be more discreet than smoking combustible flower which may fit your customer’s lifestyle better.
Once you recruit a novice, they are more likely to be loyal to your brand or shop. They’ll see you as not just another cannabis business, but a trusted source of information.
Get the attention of you Flower Enthusiasts.
With the Flower Enthusiast, your goal is simple. You want to augment and convert the customer loyal to flower to branch out and try something different.
A lot of Flower Enthusiasts are curious about concentrates, but they’re afraid to ask questions. They know a lot about flower. They don’t want to look like a novice again. So they may appear uninterested.
Your job, whether you’re a brand or a retailer, is to provide a safe, non-judgmental space where they can ask questions.
Flower Enthusiasts may have a lot of ideas about concentrates from the rumor mill.
They may believe the purity of the flower is lost during the extraction process. They may view butane and propane as toxic, dangerous, and unhealthy.
However, concentrates remove more impurities from the product. So, there are plenty of myths you can bust for your loyal flower users.
Focus your education for these users on the following four questions:
- How are concentrates processed and is this harmful to the final product?
- What are the tools I’ll need to consume?
- What are the cost benefits over flower?
- How is the consumption different from flower?
You may even suggest infused pre-rolls to begin with as an entry point for flower enthusiasts. Infused pre-rolls are a safe and small way to begin exploring concentrates for those who are used to smoking flower.
Capture and Retain the Concentrate Aficionado.
They already have their minds made up. They know what they like. They know what works best for them.
They live on the cutting edge of the concentrates market. They may even know more than you about concentrates.
If you can market to them and attract them into your store, you can build a reputation and capitalize on the growing concentrates market.
Here are three things to keep in mind to create raving fans out of the concentrate aficionado:
1. Appeal to their experience and knowledge.
Have the newest tools and products available. Be in the know or have someone available in your store, like a brand ambassador, who is in the know. This goes past just dab tools- be sure to have the more exciting brands like Vessel or PuffCo on hand to show your brand authority in the concentrate space.
2. Educated them on the high end. They know what’s out there. They want to know what’s the best of the best. Educate them about the new concentrates on the market. Encourage them to experience new, advanced equipment and products. Someone may dab a lot but not necessarily understand the difference between BHO products and rosin. This could be an awesome opportunity for education on the salesfloor on how concentrates are processed and what separates rosin from BHO.
3. Offer a loyalty program.
When customers start visiting your shop a lot and increasing their dollar spend, incentivize them with perks, points, and awards. Make them feel right a home so there’s never a need to shop anywhere else. By segmenting your loyalty programs and identifying your concentrate customers you can target them with specific deals on dabs.
For 710, you know how to market to every concentrates customer including the Novice, Flower Enthusiast, and Aficionado. By using the MJ Platform customer segmentation for loyalty you can target each of these groups to both educate and entice them to remain loyal to you.
For a free live demo on how you can leverage our loyalty program to drive sales, connect with our team right here.
