With 420, 710, then the holidays all lined up for Q2, Q3, and Q4- the cannabis year is equally stocked with shopping cycles begging retailers to duke it out for dominance. Couponing is a tried-and-true way to entice new shoppers and reward returning consumers, and MJ Platform actually found the easiest ways to run promotions.
Coupons can be accessed through ‘Facility Settings’ and under the ‘Coupons’ tab. From there, it is possible to view both active coupons (the default page) and inactive coupons which have been turned off or have expired. Within the ‘Create Coupon’ section, retailers can set up several different kinds of fields for creating specific kinds of promotions. Different coupons offer engaging touchpoints for shoppers from their retailers. Here we will discuss some nuances between different coupon categories and how to leverage these for your business best.
Retailer Standard or Manufacturer Standard Coupons
An essential partnership play is for a production partner to offer reimbursement for specific SKUs sold, essentially allowing the producer to eat the cost of the promotion price. This supports the retailer and allows them more wiggle room to run promos and build trust between brands. While other platforms cannot intuitively account for these partnerships, MJ Platform identifies this as a manufacturer standard coupon. Reports can efficiently be run on these kinds of coupons to communicate the effectiveness of the promotion to your partner seamlessly.
This is a lifesaver for some users who have had to run reports on ineffective or straight-up erroneous platforms. Other platforms make this function difficult, with reporting that may not capture hours well, can’t differentiate between a retailer or manufacturer coupon, or does not play well with optimizing business operations. From difficult differentiators to unreliable reporting, not all systems are built for business development.
Retailer standard coupons act like a “normal” coupon, cutting into your direct margin with no bounce back or reimbursement from the production partner. These can also be tracked and analyzed with seamless reports internally. While these are more common, they don’t strengthen brand relationships as much as a manufacturer coupon may. Building partnerships with partners to coordinate efforts for promotional deals builds positive brand affinity both internally for your teams and externally for your shoppers.
Applicable Facilities
The applicable facilities field allows the admin to set the coupon to only work at specific locations. While many coupons are companywide, like employee or veteran discounts, some make sense for select locations only. Locations near an event center may offer discounts for shoppers in town recently for an event (like a trade show or festival). Campus-adjacent shops may have a special education professional discount. This works for geographical and stock deals- if one location has an overstock of a specific SKU that is flying at other locations, it may be a good time to do a locational deal to even the SKU breakdown if transferring product between facilities isn’t an option. The best way to utilize this function is to be creative with individual location identities and what’s moving at specific locations over others.
Coupon Valid… Between
Unlike other tedious platforms, we can go through entire infomercials when we say you can set it and forget it. Not only can coupons be set to only work on specific days, but they can be set to specific hours. No more setting reminders to turn off your happy hour deals. No more waking up early to set up a doorbuster deal. Honestly, just set it and forget it!
Coupons can be set to specific days only- so whether it’s a Monday-only deal or a weekday Monday-Friday moment, the platform can be prepared for whatever you’ve planned. To drill down even deeper, you can set specific coupons to only be valid between certain hours. This gives you space to do doorbuster deals or happy hours to accommodate for slower shopping times. This can be a draw for shoppers to wake up early or swing by after work to score a good deal, and you get to keep your shop busier during typically slow times.
Profit From Promos
Some promos are simple- spend $50, and get a pre-roll for a penny. Locals get 10% off. Buy one, get one half off. None of these are new and may work- but why not get creative? Go past the easy answer and create unique activations with the MJ Platform’s couponing capabilities. We go more in-depth on some of these couponing ideas and more in our blog, Discounting Strategies to Extend the Holiday Season. While that’s focused on selling during the holiday shopping season, MJ Platform is here to see you succeed all year.
Want to see it in action for yourself? Secure a spot for a free live demo today.
