Attracting new customers to your dispensary involves more than just marketing strategies; it’s about creating a compelling brand experience that begins with offering a great selection of products, outstanding customer service, and a strong, consistent brand identity. For dispensary owners, this foundational approach ensures that once customers are drawn in—whether through advertising, promotions, or community events—they encounter a business that meets their needs and exceeds their expectations, encouraging repeat visits and word-of-mouth recommendations.
Here are seven effective tactics to increase traffic to your dispensary, each tailored to attract specific types of dispensary shoppers.
1. Utilize Targeted Cannabis Dispensary Marketing Campaigns
Attracting: Canna-sseurs and Brand Loyal Customers
Effective cannabis dispensary marketing begins with understanding your audience. Targeted marketing campaigns allow you to reach potential customers with precision, catering to their specific cannabis preferences and needs. Whether it's health-focused consumers interested in CBD's therapeutic benefits or connoisseurs searching for premium, niche strains, personalized marketing messages can significantly enhance your outreach.
Using analytics from your POS system like Meadow can guide your marketing efforts, ensuring that your campaigns resonate well with the intended demographic, thereby improving the efficiency of your advertising spend or ROI. Meadow's advanced analytics tools go beyond basic tracking; they provide insights into purchasing patterns, consumer behavior, and market trends.
Maximizing Customer Insights with Meadow
Meadow's POS system is designed to make customer data collection both seamless and robust, allowing you to focus on creating effective marketing strategies based on solid data. With Meadow’s customer intake iOS tool, you can effortlessly record customer demographics during their first visit, capturing essential information such as age, gender, and how they heard about your dispensary. This immediate data entry helps in creating a customer profile that you can leverage for future marketing initiatives.
Meadow automatically tracks sales data, providing a comprehensive view of what your customers are buying, their spending habits, and their preferences. This allows you to send out targeted marketing campaigns that are highly relevant to individual customers. For example, if a segment of your customers frequently purchases STIIIZY products, you can tailor your communications to inform them about new product drops or special promotions, making your marketing efforts not only targeted but also highly personal. The key to effective marketing is advertising deals that your customers actually care about.
Engaging Customers Through Personalized Campaigns
Leveraging the detailed insights provided by Meadow, you can create dynamic marketing campaigns that truly speak to the needs of your customers. This could involve:
- Email Marketing: Send personalized email newsletters that feature products and offers aligned with the customer's previous purchases and shown interests with our API integration partner Alpine IQ.
- SMS Campaigns: Use SMS messages to send instant updates about flash sales or exclusive deals, particularly effective for time-sensitive offers with our API integration partner Happy Cabbage.
- Weedmaps Deals: Advertising deals on your Weedmaps listing is highly effective for bringing in new brand loyal customers. You can track order sources in Meadow to see what your Weedmaps shoppers are most commonly purchasing then curate deals to reach more of that clientele.
- Push Notifications: With a dispensary-specific application, use push notifications to advertise deals to customers who have downloaded your shop’s easily accessible mobile app with our API Integration partner Thunkable.
2. Enhance Online Presence and SEO
Attracting: Tech-Savvy Shoppers and Millennials
A robust online presence is crucial in today's market, where most dispensary customers start their search online. By optimizing your website for search engines, you make your dispensary more visible to potential customers performing online searches for local cannabis providers. Ensure your site is user-friendly, mobile-responsive, and full of useful content like detailed product descriptions and informative blog posts, which can help in educating your customers and positioning your dispensary as a trusted source of cannabis knowledge.
Meadow's Menu Pro: Customizable Cannabis eCommerce
Meadow's Menu Pro allows dispensary owners to launch a customized eCommerce platform that resonates with their brand and appeals to cannabis consumers. This user-friendly design tool enables you to create a personalized menu and shopping experience that not only stands out from the competition but also caters to the preferences of your dispensary customers. With features like mobile responsiveness and live inventory updates, your website ensures transparency and ease of use, which are critical for converting visitors into loyal customers.
Real-Time Integration with Meadow’s Weedmaps Integration
Meadow’s Weedmaps integration exemplifies how dispensary tech can work seamlessly to enhance customer satisfaction and streamline operations. With automatic menu updates, potential customers gain real-time insights into product availability, which is essential for driving online sales. Orders placed on Weedmaps are tracked, managed, and fulfilled directly through Meadow's POS system, reducing manual errors and saving valuable time for your staff.
Boosting Online Reviews with Edge Integration
Enhancing your dispensary’s reputation online can significantly impact your SEO and attract new customers. Meadow’s integration with Edge (formerly EyeRate) leverages the power of customer feedback to boost your online presence. This API integration encourages your team to deliver exceptional service by offering cash bonuses for positive mentions in online reviews. Such incentives lead to higher quality customer interactions and more frequent positive reviews, which not only improve your SEO rankings but also enhance the overall perception of your dispensary business.
3. Offer First-Time Customer Discounts and Promotions
Attracting: Bargain Hunters and New Cannabis Users
Promotions and discounts for first-time customers can serve as a powerful incentive for people to choose your dispensary over competitors. Such offers not only encourage visits but can also help convert occasional visitors into regular customers. These are particularly effective in attracting those new to cannabis or those who are cost-conscious and looking for a good deal on their purchases.
Introducing first-time customer discounts can encourage individuals who are comparing different dispensaries to make a decision in your favor. These discounts can be strategically advertised through various channels such as social media, your dispensary website, or through local advertising, reaching a wide audience of potential new customers. The key is to create offers that are compelling enough to get them through the door but sustainable for your business model in the long run.
There are several types of promotions that can be effective in attracting first-time visitors:
- Percentage or Dollars Off: Offering a certain percentage off on the first visit can be a simple and transparent way to attract new customers.
- BOGO or Bundled Deals: Providing discounts on product bundles can introduce new users to a variety of your offerings while increasing the size of their initial purchase.
- Gift with Purchase: This type of promotion can create additional value for the customer, encouraging them to spend a minimum amount to receive a free gift, which could be a small product sample or branded merchandise.
4. Host Educational Workshops and Participate in Events
Attracting: Newbies and Enthusiasts
Hosting educational workshops and participating in local events can attract a variety of customers—from beginners seeking basic cannabis education to seasoned enthusiasts interested in advanced topics like cultivation techniques or the science of terpenes. Cannabis events not only provide value to attendees but also strengthen your dispensary’s reputation as a knowledgeable and customer-focused business.
Extending Your Reach with Meadow’s Dynamic Delivery
Meadow offers an innovative Dynamic Delivery Setup. This feature allows dispensaries to easily expand their presence at local events through onsite sales, turning any venue into a potential sales hotspot. Here’s how you can use Meadow’s system to maximize your outreach at events:
- Partnerships with Venues: Meadow’s system facilitates an opportunity for partnerships at various venues or brick-and-mortar businesses. Dispensaries can set up temporary kiosks equipped with digital menus and a dedicated delivery vehicle.
- Creating Exclusive Delivery Zones: Establish a delivery zone that encompasses only the event location. This zone can be set up to manage orders from event attendees, providing a seamless shopping experience without the need for a physical inventory on site.
- Stocking Delivery Vehicles: Prepare a vehicle stocked with up to $10,000 worth of popular grab-and-go products. This mobile inventory can efficiently serve the immediate needs of event-goers, offering a selection of your best-selling or event-specific products.
Utilizing Events for Brand Exposure and Education
By integrating Meadow’s Dynamic Delivery at educational workshops and other events, dispensaries can not only educate but also directly cater to the needs of attendees, providing immediate access to cannabis products. This direct engagement not only boosts sales but also enhances customer education, as they experience first-hand the quality and variety of your offerings. Furthermore, these events provide an excellent platform for gathering direct feedback from new and existing customers, which can be invaluable for refining product offerings and customer service strategies.
Read more blogs about Cannabis Events and Culture
5. Develop a Strong Community Presence
Attracting: Community-Oriented Customers and Advocates
Building a strong community presence can attract customers who value businesses that contribute positively to their surroundings. Engage with local events, support community projects, and collaborate with nearby businesses to enhance your visibility and appeal to community-oriented customers. This approach not only broadens your customer base but also builds long-lasting relationships within the community.
Case Study: Posh Green Cannabis Boutique’s Community Engagement
An exemplary case of effective community engagement is seen with Posh Green Cannabis Boutique, San Francisco’s first equity retail cannabis dispensary independently owned by a woman of color, Reese Benton. Since its establishment in 2016, Posh Green has been at the forefront of integrating community service into its business model, thereby solidifying its reputation as a leader in social equity within the cannabis industry.
On January 19, 2023, Posh Green collaborated with PAX and other local cannabis businesses and organizations to host the Day of Peace compassion event. This event commemorated Martin Luther King Jr.'s National Day of Service by distributing free cannabis products to medical patients who needed them the most, including veterans, LGBTQ+ individuals, and trauma survivors. The initiative leveraged the Dennis Peron and Brownie Mary Act (SB-34), which permits the tax-free donation of cannabis to low-income patients, underscoring the dispensary's commitment to community welfare and social justice.
Lessons for Other Dispensaries
Posh Green’s active role in the community sets a compelling precedent for other dispensaries. By aligning business operations with community values and participating in socially responsible initiatives, dispensaries not only enhance their brand image but also contribute meaningfully to societal progress. This case study illustrates how integrating community service into your business strategy can attract a loyal customer base that values and supports your commitment to community development.
6. Implement a Dispensary Loyalty Program
Attracting: Repeat Customers and Value Seekers
Loyalty programs reward repeat customers and enhance dispensary loyalty by offering points, discounts, or exclusive deals. Such programs are particularly attractive to regular users who benefit most from ongoing discounts and to those who appreciate being rewarded for their loyalty. Effective loyalty programs keep customers coming back and encourage higher spending per visit.
Key Features of Meadow’s Customizable Dispensary Loyalty Program
Meadow’s loyalty program is designed to grow your business by building a community of loyal customers who are incentivized to make repeated and larger purchases. Here’s how Meadow’s loyalty program stands out:
- Flexible Rewards Options: The program offers a variety of reward types including cash back, flat discount, percent discount, and free products, allowing dispensary owners to customize the rewards according to their business needs and customer preferences.
- Redeem Anywhere Feature: Meadow’s loyalty points can be redeemed across multiple platforms—online, mobile, in-person, during pickup, or delivery—ensuring a consistent and rewarding customer experience regardless of the shopping method.
- Built-in Promo Codes: The system includes easy-to-set-up, single-use promo codes that offer dollar or percentage discounts on orders, facilitating targeted promotions and sales boosts.
7. Leverage Social Media Platforms
Attracting: Young Adults and Social Media Enthusiasts
Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and X (fka Twitter) offer powerful tools for connecting with potential customers. Regular, engaging posts that showcase new products, promotional events, or educational content can keep your audience informed and engaged. Social media also enables your customers to share their experiences and purchases, acting as a form of peer-to-peer marketing that can attract new customers who trust personal recommendations over traditional advertising.
Of course, be weary of your content as Instagram often flags accounts for going against community guidelines regarding cannabis. Take the following proper precautions to ensure your account doesn’t get removed for elicit activity:
A few tips to avoid getting your cannabis brand shadow banned on social media as told by Kushy and Medium
- Be mindful of your hashtags
- Avoid the plant!
- Avoid showing cannabis consumption
- Highlight the scientific research on cannabis
- Diversify your content
- Follow community guidelines and terms
- Don't post excessively
- Don't advertise anything that can draw children's attention
By combining these targeted strategies with a foundation of high-quality products, excellent customer service, and a strong brand, dispensary owners can not only attract new customers but also build a loyal customer base that supports sustainable growth and long-term success.
Next up on the Meadow Blog: Utilizing Customer Data for Dispensary Success
