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How To Get More SMS Opt-ins
SMS Marketing is quickly becoming one of the most effective digital marketing strategies for retailers. An SMS campaign can quickly and effectively deliver marketing messages to potential customers at very little cost. Additionally, research indicates that most people are receptive to SMS marketing. SMS messages have an incredible 98% open rate, and most customers indicate […]
Illinois Cannabis Reform Makes a Major Leap Towards Social Equity
One of the stickiest issues in cannabis reform is the question of reparations. There’s wide agreement that for decades, communities of color were disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs, the Nixon-era program now widely regarded as a costly failure. But the question of how to redress those wrongs in a concerted and equitable way […]
Think Globally, Act Locally: Why Dispensaries Need to Use Hyperlocal Marketing
It’s no exaggeration to say that 2020 has been a year for the record books (and it’s only halfway done!). For cannabis dispensary owners and operators, it’s been a rollercoaster ride and then some, as many dispensaries were shut down in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, only to find themselves designated essential businesses […]
Important Webpages Your Dispensary Website Should Have
An informative and well-built dispensary website is a must-have for any dispensary. A website establishes your online presence, raises awareness, engages potential customers, drives traffic through your doors, helps you build your brand, and grows your revenue. However, a weak, unappealing, or outdated website may actually have the opposite effect, driving potential customers to check […]
How A Cannabis Blog Can Help Your Dispensary
Building an appealing and extensive cannabis blog for your dispensary website may seem like a costly and time-consuming venture. However, content marketing is a crucial part of SEO, and a cannabis blog can drive traffic to your website, engage potential customers, and develop your brand. Building trust and goodwill with potential customers via content is […]
The Hows—and Whys—of Investing in Digital Marketing for Cannabis
It’s no exaggeration to say that digital advertising is the future: So many of the incredible services we rely on—like email, internet searches, mapping, and others—are free because of digital ads. Already a massive market—valued at $90 billion in 2017 and projected to reach $350 billion by 2026 per marketwatch.com—we believe digital ads are going […]
Growing Your Dispensary Loyalty Program
Is your dispensary’s loyalty rewards program helping you create repeat customers and consistent recurring revenue? Or are you just collecting info and not doing anything with it? According to one recent study, 81% of consumers indicated that customer loyalty programs made them more likely to continue doing business with a brand. And Aas long as […]
Everything You Need To Know About The ROI of Link Building
Inbound and outbound links are a crucial part of search engine optimization. While Google continues to prioritize content over links, a healthy amount of active links is a clear indicator that your website is valuable, authoritative, and relevant.
Why You Need To Get More Organic Traffic To Your Site (And How)
Organic traffic has become one of the most dependable sources of traffic and revenue for many businesses. According to research from Hubspot, organic search is responsible for 94% of all web traffic. This is perhaps unsurprising when you consider how important search engines like Google have become in helping people learn, shop, and more.
Digital Marketing for Dispensaries Is Crucial: Here’s Why
Stop racking your brain for different ways to advertise your dispensary while remaining compliant—digital marketing is a customizable solution with an abundance of tools that will fit your budget. Here’s the bottom line: Digital marketing can help to grow almost any kind of small business. And thanks to the legal restrictions placed on traditional marketing […]
CASL: What Is CASL & How Does It Affect Digital Marketing in Canada?
The Cannabis Act has plenty of advertising restrictions that have made Canadian dispensaries feel like they can’t get the word out about their stores while remaining compliant. Thankfully, digital marketing provides dispensaries across North America with a reliable, measurable way to reach new customers. At the same time, using digital marketing means that you also […]
The Data Compliance Laws You Need to Know About
As a dispensary owner or CMO, you know there’s a long list of regulations you have to deal with. From where you can set up shop to what you have to report to the state, it’s pretty easy to get lost in the weeds. These regulations differ across state lines and even between cities in […]
Do You Need to Focus on SEO for Dispensaries During COVID-19?
These uncertain and unpredictable times have many businesses closely reviewing their budgets, and marketing is no exception. According to one recent Conductor survey, 65% of marketers expect a COVID-19 related decrease in their marketing budget – and just as many believe that this decrease will make it harder for them to achieve their marketing goals. […]
How to Calculate the ROI of Content Marketing
It’s estimated that, on average, nearly a third of B2B and B2C marketing dollars are spent on generating content; and many experts believe that this trend will only continue. By the end of this year (2020), experts and analysts believe that the content marketing industry could be worth as much as $300 billion annually. For […]
4 Geofencing Strategies To Get Your Campaign Started with a Bang
Geofencing is a location-based mobile advertising strategy that establishes virtual ‘fences’ around geographic areas in order to deliver specific marketing messages to viewers in those areas. Instead of casting a wide net and hoping for the best, geotargeting allows marketers to spend their budget more wisely by only targeting people in very specific locations. For […]
Geo-Advertising: What It Is and Why You Need It
Geo-advertising, also known as geofencing and geotargeting, allows advertisers to send personalized messages to people depending on where they are in real-time. With geo-advertising, you can get your display and banner ads right into your customers’ hands. Plus, with our network of cannabis-friendly sites and apps, you can remain compliant while advertising to people on […]
Guide: Instagram 101 for Dispensary Owners
Instagram can be an incredible marketing platform for dispensary owners. That being said, Instagram marketing for dispensaries can also be incredibly frustrating for any business in the cannabis industry. Why? When it comes to cannabis, the rules are maddeningly vague. Nonetheless, many dispensary owners find marketing on Instagram to be well worth the risk. And […]
Essential Cannabis Marketing: How to Share Your COVID-19 Updates
Cannabis dispensary operators are finding themselves in an unusual position right now. Because dispensaries have been designated essential businesses in many areas, they’re better positioned than most to survive and even thrive during the coming months of the COVID-19 / Coronavirus pandemic. But not everyone knows this. If you’re not reaching out to current clients […]
How to Use Geo-Ads Effectively During the Coronavirus Pandemic
According to Google’s mobility report, people aren’t out and about. So how can you use dispensary GEO-Ads to increase your sales? What Are Dispensary Geo-Ads? Geo-Ads are display and banner ads that show up during mobile search or app use. We create these ads for our customers, then use our cannabis-friendly network to get them […]
Push Notifications and How They Drive Traffic
Digital marketing presents dispensaries with a variety of tools for sharing their messaging and capturing a larger audience. One little-used tool — push notifications for dispensaries — can help you re-engage with your customers and get them back to your online menu. Let’s dive into a few of the basic questions about push notifications and […]
Connect With Your Customers via Chat
Customer service is crucial to the success of a business, and dispensaries are no exception. According to one survey, 90% of Americans use customer service as a factor when deciding whether or not to do business with a company. Plus, 49% of Americans switched companies last year due to poor customer service, and customers are […]
5 Benefits of SMS Marketing You Should Know About
SMS marketing has become a popular way for businesses and brands to communicate with customers, and for good reason. Consumers are more likely to open text messages before any other kind of marketing communication. Not surprising, considering how much time the average person spends on their phone each day. Research indicates that the average person […]
Coronavirus Marketing for Your Dispensary
We’re living through a health crisis right now, and it’s having a huge impact on retailers. By changing your messaging and how you market and work during this time period, you may be able to protect your business, mitigate the damage, and even thrive during the uncertain weeks ahead. Start implementing these coronavirus marketing ideas […]
COVID-19 and Cannabis: Could Coronavirus Affect Cannabis Legalization?
After many grueling years of grassroots organizing, intensive lobbying and epic state-by-state battles to legalize adult-use cannabis, will it be the coronavirus pandemic that finally pushes cannabis over the finish line? We’ll return to that question in a moment, but first, let’s take a moment to recap the state of cannabis as it relates to […]
12 Actionable Dispensary Marketing Tips to Boost Your Bottom Line
Running a cohesive marketing campaign that nets you a return is no easy task. By implementing these dispensary marketing tips as you create your strategy, you’ll be better able to craft a comprehensive strategy that appeals to your target audience. Prefer to watch some of these tips in action? Check out our webinar. Dispensary Marketing […]
Don’t Fall For This Dispensary Digital Marketing Trap!
Every industry has it—those bottom-feeding companies that promise the moon while begging for scraps. You know the ones I’m talking about. They’re the guys telling you that they can give you the same quality as a more expensive service for less than half the price. It’s like being told you’re getting an authentic Louis Vuitton […]
SEO: Expectations vs Reality
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a marketing tactic that is used to boost a webpage’s position in Google’s rankings. In turn, this can lead to more traffic, more leads, and growing revenue. Many business owners expect to quickly see positive returns on a one-time SEO investment. However, in reality, the SEO process can take time […]
Digital Marketing is Agile Marketing
One thing that the current pandemic has made clear is that agendas and challenges can shift week to week and month to month. So why implement a strategy that doesn’t change along with them? We recently noticed that some of our pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns were no longer as effective as they once were. And it […]
Why You Still Need Digital Marketing During COVID-19
The global COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected every aspect of our personal and professional lives. As the economy grinds to a halt, many businesses are forced to ask tough questions and make tough decisions. During a time of falling revenues and continued expenses, many businesses have begun to look towards slashing budgets and cutting corners. […]
Why Marijuana Delivery Service Marketing is Key
The Covid-19 pandemic and the fear that is gripping the nation means that more people are turning to delivery services to get their needs met. From groceries to cannabis, delivery services are having their moment. What does this mean for dispensaries? For starters, if you’re able to offer delivery in your state, it’s time to […]
Cannabis in the Age of COVID-19: Click & Collect Purchasing
The worldwide COVID-19 / coronavirus pandemic has rocked societies all over the globe, and in the wake of mandatory shutdowns, many businesses are struggling to adapt. As we’ve written previously, cannabis dispensaries occupy an unusual place: While many have shut their doors in an effort to slow the spread of an unusually transmissible virus, they’re […]
Is it Time to Open a Dispensary Drive-Thru?
Forced to adapt to new social distancing protocols by COVID-19 / coronavirus, some cannabis dispensaries are turning to drive-thrus as a solution. Are they a temporary fix or the wave of the future? Cannabis and Coronavirus: 20th-Century Solution to a Modern Problem The drive-thru as we know it dates to 1930 when the Grand National […]
Facing a Business Slump? Prep for the Future.
Often, we’re racing on a hamster wheel trying to just take care of the things that will get us through the day or the next day. When sales are fast, it can hard to keep up with smaller tasks and maintenance. With the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19 forcing many of us to slow down, it’s […]
It’s Time to Offer Dispensary Delivery or Express Pickup
The worldwide COVID-19 / coronavirus pandemic has upended nearly everything we took for granted, including the ways we do business and conduct simple transactions. Because the current structure of the retail cannabis industry is cash-based and involves numerous small transactions, the potential implications for the health and safety of both customers and dispensary staff are […]
COVID-19 Update: Dispensaries Seen as Essential Service Providers
As the global COVID-19 / coronavirus pandemic unfolds in real-time and at lightning speed, official policy is proving to be something of a moving target. But after an unprecedented statewide shelter in place order, California’s two largest population centers—Los Angeles and the Bay Area—have recognized cannabis dispensaries as essential businesses. Elsewhere, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania, […]
Cannabis Update: Ontario Sales Rise in Face of Coronavirus
For those of us who keep an eye on the cannabis industry, one of the major questions of the moment is: Will the global coronavirus pandemic help or hurt cannabis sales? As of mid-March, it’s far too early to offer a definitive answer. But if the examples of some Canadian provinces are any guide, things […]
Dispensaries, Safety and Social Distancing: Staying Open During COVID-19
If the impact of the COVID-19 / coronavirus pandemic is still very much an open question, one thing isn’t in doubt: Demand for cannabis is surging. According to cannabis-focused news outlets including Marijuana Business Daily and Ganjapreneur, sales in most legal North American markets have seen dramatic increases in sales over the last week. Whether […]
Is Your Dispensary Appealing to Seniors?
A new study puts the official stamp on what dispensary operators have known for years: That senior citizens are the fastest-growing demographic of cannabis users. That’s great news, on so many levels, though it may seem to be on the more surprising cannabis trends. It suggests that long-held taboos around cannabis are breaking down—that even […]
Rock 420 This Year—All Month Long
It’s 2020—which means that 420 lasts a glorious 30 days. If you aren’t planning on taking advantage of this fun fact, then prepare to lose some sales to the competition. Here’s the thing: a month of 420 is novel, and it won’t happen again for another hundred years. Take advantage of the timing and invest […]
Where Will Cannabis Be on the Ballot this November?
If you thought 2016 was a big year for cannabis, 2020 is shaping up to be equally pivotal. As of late February 2020, a multitude of ballot measures—and, perhaps more indicative of future trends—legislative actions may come into play come November. While it’s far too early to make predictions, we can say this: This election […]
How Mobile Ads and Geofencing Can Get You More Sales
Geofencing has emerged as an effective tool for location-based mobile advertising. By targeting customers in specific geographic areas, mobile marketing messages can be fine-tuned to be more relevant—and more effective. In turn, this leads to higher-quality leads, higher conversion rates, and more efficient ad spending. And that all boils down to more sales. While the […]
Opening a Dispensary? Don’t Do Without These 4 Essential Hires
You’ve built a strong business plan, scored a prime location, forged relationships with growers and producers and suppliers. But as you get ready to open a dispensary, you’ll recognize that where the rubber truly meets the road is your staff. They’re the first human point of contact between your customers and your business, and that […]
Start These Digital Marketing Services Before Opening Your Doors
Planning on opening a dispensary soon? Don’t hesitate to make the most of digital marketing tools and services before you launch! Waiting to get your digital marketing services going could lead to you playing catchup once your doors are actually open. After all, proper preparation prevents poor performance! Starting early will not only help you […]
The POS Features Your Dispensary Needs
Choosing the right point-of-sale (POS) system for your dispensary is crucial. A cutting edge POS system can help your staff better process sales, collect customer data, manage inventory, minimize mistakes or theft, remain compliant with state regulations, and more. However, not all cannabis POS systems have all of these features, and not all cannabis POS […]
5 Must-Have Dispensary Technology Platforms for a Successful Opening
Make sure your dispensary is set up for success. Get yourself off on the right foot by having the right tools in place from Day One. Having these five dispensary technology tools in place can help you pull off a smooth grand opening and ensure your ready for the transition to every day. Dispensary Point […]
Dispensary How-To: How to Nail the Best Practices of the Press Release
Press releases are as old as the media, but that doesn’t mean they’re yesterday’s news. Getting your dispensary written about is one of the most powerful tactics in your toolkit, with the potential to grant you powerful visibility, authority, and often great word-of-mouth all at the same time. And here’s a little secret: They’re easier […]
How to Build Your Dispensary Mailing List
Despite being one of the oldest digital marketing strategies in the book, email marketing still works. According to one recent survey, 59% of marketers said that email marketing was their biggest source of ROI. Plus, the public has proven to be quite receptive to email marketing. According to a 2016 survey, 73% of millennials prefer […]
The SAFE Banking Act: Why It Could Be a Breakthrough for Cannabis Entrepreneurs
The lack of a financial infrastructure is one of the biggest roadblocks to stability and growth in the cannabis industry. Many financial institutions refuse to handle accounts associated with the cannabis industry; many that do reverse course without warning, leaving entrepreneurs scrambling to pay their employees and suppliers with little to no warning. It’s a […]
How Dispensaries Can Make The Most Out of Segmentation
Segmentation can help your dispensaries spend their marketing dollars more efficiently. Instead of just casting a wide net and hoping for results, segmentation allows marketers to better target specific customers with precise messaging. While the “spray and pray” technique can get you some sales, segmentation results in a higher ROI and better relationships with your […]
Weedmaps Taking Down Fake Shop Listings
If you’re in the cannabis business, Weedmaps is a fact of life. The popular online dispensary directory is the go-to resource for customers looking to find local cannabis suppliers and brands, browse dispensary menus, and place orders online. Whether or not you choose to pay their steep fees for sponsored listings, Weedmaps can’t be ignored. […]