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Cannabis Business Marketing: Is your Cannabis Business Ready for an Economic Storm?

Is Your Cannabis Business Ready for an Economic Storm?

Will your #cannabisbusiness survive impending economic changes (recession)?

Companies that invest in marketing (properly) will be able to survive the economic changes we will inevitably experience, but those that don’t, may not be able to make it through a downturn.

If you think that #cannabis is recession-proof…you’re right and wrong.

The data is proving that it is, but that doesn’t make every cannabis company exempt from going down in flames should a recession hit us.

Cannabis, however, is not bad, or lack of leadership proof, and that can pose a problem no matter what the economy looks like.

Companies that invest in their long term #marketingstrategy and effective #leadership (not just hiring freelancers or vendors to implement what they think they should be doing) those are the companies that will survive.

Which type of company do you want to be? 

The company that burns through freelancers or employees because there’s no real #strategy or leadership in place, or a company that values their employees, values strong leadership, and is defining their brand position in the market to be able to successfully weather any storm?

With many challenges facing the cannabis industry, having strong leadership to help define #branding is critical before any storms hit. 

Think of it as preparing for a hurricane, and not waiting until the last minute to get supplies.

Things to think about:

Are you memorable?

Are all of your marketing or advertising efforts standing out from the sea of green? 

Yes, cannabis has a lot of land mines to navigate, but that also doesn’t mean that you can’t push the envelope of what can be done to get attention and become memorable, making the most of your marketing budget.

Don’t be lame. Even as a highly regulated industry, we have to think outside of the box with fun and creative advertising. 

Is your imagery visually appealing?

Do you know how to stop the scroll, and demand attention from your ideal client? 

If not, you’re wasting money on your marketing efforts.

There are certainly limitations in the #cannabisindustry, but there are easy ways to overcome these obstacles, again, thinking out of the box and getting your head out of the sand to address the blindspots you aren’t even aware of, helping your team learn the true cost of lead generation.

Is your team writing good copy?

Do you know how to use words to get your ideal customer to take an action in the name of lead generation (whether you do this in-house or you rely on lead generation outsourcing?)

That’s what good copy can do, but if your team is just slapping something together for the sake of #content, then you’re missing valuable opportunities on a daily basis, and leaving money on the table….your competitor’s table, and they’re about to roll it up and smoke it. 💨

The choice is yours, but don’t get caught unprepared if (or when) the storm hits, and don’t say you weren’t warned. ⚠

#marketing #advertising #team #creativeadvertising #cannabiscommunity #cannabismarketing #brandpositioning #brandpower

Cannabis Marketing Strategic Quarterly Planning for 2023 and Beyond

We are quickly approaching the end of 2022. It went up in smoke, and we’re left wondering where the days went…did we squander the time and resources for effective cannabis marketing available to us during the year?

If you’ve spent any amount of time staying up to date on trends in the cannabis industry, you know that the major thing on the minds of brands and dispensary operators alike, is “how are we going to gain a competitive advantage in 2023?

Of course we can’t reliably predict federal legalization, but we can definitely start working on our cannabis marketing strategy now, before things drastically change.

You have a unique advantage if you already have an operating cannabis brand or dispensary because you can start implementing a strategy through the holidays and into the new year, getting a jump on your competition that are just trying to keep things together.

What are some pitfalls of not having a strategy in place for the coming year?

If your cannabis business has been operating without strategic leadership up until this point, you may find that your marketing efforts seem to fall short, or you know they could be improved.

You may either end up with a wasted budget, wasted talent, wasted data, and wasted potential.

What a bummer.

No one wants to spin their wheels when it comes to marketing and advertising their business, that’s why it’s important to not only track your KPIs, but it’s also important to have the leadership you need to help you navigate the haze of common obstacles that plague regulated industries like cannabis.

These are some pitfalls of not having effective leadership in place to help navigate your team to success:

  1. Wasted Budget: If there is no accountability on where to focus time, energy and resources, then it become a slow drip of money in wasted time, and wasted focus and missed opportunities. Not having a focused idea of where efforts should be concentrated will cause budget to get wasted rapidly. Slow drip of budget is scary for leadership because can cause the ship to slowly sink.
  2. Wasted Talent: This is also related to wasted budget. When you don’t have a data-driven strategy, like PPC metrics, and other critical data points, the personnel you do have will end up working on things that will not lead to income-driving activities. Your team thrives under inspiration and motivation, and without either of those, they won’t have the drive in them to meet quarterly and yearly goals. Wasting talent is a shame– people want to be proud of what they’re doing, but they might not be able to see where they’re going without a strategic leader helping to plan 3-6 months out for them so they can focus on doing only the necessary tasks at hand.
  3. Wasted Data: If you don’t own your data, that’s a whole other issue, however, IF you are collecting data, using that data to course correct, or you’re leaving that data to float about, hoping that your customers will continue to shop with you when they’re ready? If you don’t own your data…why? Why are you allowing a third-party provider handle your customer acquisitions? Sure it’s short term gains, but in the long term, you’re paying for the cost of taking short cuts by losing out on customer loyalty and brand building.

The benefits of having a strategic leader (Fractional CMO) that will help guide your cannabis marketing team:

  1. Properly Utilized Budget: When you have a Fractional CMO on your team, you’re able to not only operate within a budget, you’re able to properly utilize the budget and get the biggest “hit” for your buck 😉
  2. Excelling Talent: You’d be surprised at how a strong leader with a solid strategy will do for your team. Your team members will no longer feel like they’re being spread too thin. Why? Because you can’t expect to hire one or two people and make them take on the full responsibility of an 8 person team. There will be less burnout with your team, and will be blazing through their delegated duties, and able to be effective in the skills and tasks they can accomplish the best. Accountability is critical!
  3. Preserved Data: With a proper cannabis marketing strategy in place, you’ll be able to effectively track your customer data (and own it), course correct based on that data, and utilize the appropriate copy and creative to attract those ideal customers that you serve the best.

Ready to get your cannabis brand marketing strategy on the right track? Book a time to have a quick clarity call to discuss your 2023 plan for success in the cannabis industry.

5 Critical Cannabis Marketing Strategies for Startups in the Cannabis Industry

The cannabis industry is one of the hottest industries right now. With more and more states legalizing marijuana, both for medical and recreational use, there’s a lot of opportunity for growth in this industry. However, because the industry is still so new, it can be difficult to know how to market your cannabis brand or dispensary. That’s why we’ve put together a list of five critical marketing strategies that every cannabis startup should be using.

Develop a strong brand identity.

Your brand is what sets you apart from your competition. It’s what gives your customers a reason to choose you over everyone else. So, it’s important to spend some time developing a strong brand identity for your cannabis business. This includes things like creating a logo, choosing a color palette, and coming up with a tagline or slogan, and more!

Get involved in your local community.

One of the best ways to market your cannabis business is to get involved in your local community. This could mean sponsoring local events, donating to local charities, or even just hosting regular meetups at your dispensary or grow house. When you show that you’re invested in your community, people will be more likely to support your business.

Make sure your website is up to par

These days, most people will find out about your business online—which means that having a well-designed website is critical for success. Your website should be easy to navigate, informative, and mobile-friendly. If you’re not sure where to start, reach out!

Utilize social media

Social media is one of the most powerful marketing tools at your disposal—so make sure you’re utilizing it! Create accounts on all of the major platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) and post regularly. Use social media to share news about your business, and connect with potential customers from your local community. Just make sure you’re staying up-to-date on all of the latest social media trends so that you can take full advantage of this powerful marketing tool and stay within community guidelines. (Don’t risk account deactivations and suspensions, be sure to have a strategy to overcome this hurdle)

Implement an SEO strategy

If you want people to be able to find your website online, then you need to make sure you’re implementing an SEO (search engine optimization) strategy . This means including relevant keywords on your website , writing helpful blog posts , and making sure your site is easy to navigate. You can also use Google AdWords or other paid advertising platforms to help get your site ranking in Google searches.

Don’t forget: SEO isn’t something you can do once and forget about—you need to continuously work on it if you want long-term success and stay ahead of your competitors.

Marketing a cannabis business can be difficult—but it’s not impossible. By following these five critical marketing strategies , you’ll be well on your way to success . If you need any help along the way , we’re always here to lend a hand to help you get on the right path with your cannabis marketing strategy!

Happy World Book Day

Best Books about Cannabis

Happy World Book Day! We are big proponents of learning and reading and know that we don’t know everything there is to know about the magical plant we call cannabis.

Cannabis goes by so many names and has quite a history.

So where does one start if they want to start learning more about Cannabis?

Minorities have created the culture behind Cannabis, but for decades that has been behind closed doors, and now that legalization and decriminalization is spreading throughout the US and across the world, Cannabis dispensaries are looking for ways to reach the community where they’re at.

If you’re not a consumer of cannabis, knowing the culture can be difficult, especially having to deal with your own implicit biases.

It’s our goal to be able to combat stigmas, stereotypes, and roadblocks and help everyone in the United States get access to medical and recreational Cannabis.

The people are going to do it either way, so it’s all about using this important natural resource to help our economy in a sustainable and equitable way.

That being said, make sure to do your research!

Books, books, books!

Read as much as you can. Consume the latest news, and become a part of the community and politics.

As a professional, I’ve shied away from making a political stance and hide my knowledge of Cannabis culture, however becoming a public part of the Cannabis industry, it’s pretty impossible to not make a stand.

Social justice, equitable access, etiquette and more!

Are there any books you’d recommend to Cannabis CEOs to get a bigger understanding, whether you’re a seasoned black market pro, or relatively new to the White, legal market?

These are a few that are on our list and it’s growing:

Other recommended books to look into:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/katieshapiro/2020/03/30/the-best-weed-reads-to-build-your-cannabis-library/?sh=6397215e10c0

rollingstone.com/product-recommendations/books/best-books-about-weed-870807/

Search Engine Optimization

Local Search Engine Optimization

Have you ever asked yourself, “what is search engine optimization?” What’s the difference between regular SEO and local SEO? Do you know the difference and are you paying the right agency to do it? Do you know how to reach your local market if your business depends on geographical business? If you’re not optimizing locally and already running Search Engine Optimization (SEO), then you’re hurting yourself drastically. 

Help Customers Find You When They Need Your Services 

People automatically hop on Google if they don’t have a personal referral for a service or product they’re needing.  Even if they do, they’re researching the company to make sure the referral they’ve been given is competent and a good fit for them.  96% of people use online reviews from multiple sources to decide what business they want to choose as their provider.  The magical thing that happens when you pair reviews with search engine optimization and do it with an agency that has your best interest in mind, your business will start growing because you’re being seen more often by your target market.  Your reputation and your strategy revolving around this fact about human behavior will help you reach your ideal client because they’ll be contacting YOU instead of having to chase them. Imagine all the time you’ll get back in your life! What’s the price to pay if you ignore it?

Optimizing Your Website for Sales and Ranking

Do you know how to optimize your website to rank highly by Google and other search engines?  Are you telling a story for your potential customers as well as the robots scraping your website deciding where you should be ranked? If you’re not optimizing your current content, and adding more content consistently, you know, keeping things FRESH, you’ll become irrelevant. 

When you’re irrelevant with a bad reputation, Google pushes you down in search engine ranking results and drives down revenue.  Do you know what Search Engine Optimization is and why you need it for your business? If you don’t have both a long term and short term marketing plan for your business, then you may be shooting yourself in the proverbial foot.  Don’t wait until you’re stressing about where your next client is coming from.

Your business depends on people being able to find you when they need your services.  With a sea of options, what will make you stand out from the crowd?  Do you have the data you need to create a marketing plan to generate a consistent flow of paying customers?  If what you’re doing now isn’t working, you may need to turn your marketing strategy around. 


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Review Spam

What’s Review Spam and How Does it Affect Your Business?

Google Review Spam

 Have you ever seen local guide icons next to people’s names when they’re referenced on google?  Well, there’s a reason why, and that’s because Google has decided to give rewards to people for leaving reviews.  This helps encourage people to leave reviews for businesses.

Cool, right? People get fast and easy rewards for making fast and easy reviews on their platform. Some of those local guides will go through a list of businesses and rate them.  From 5 stars and below.  It’s great when you get a random 5-star review, but there comes a problem though…..what happens when your business is hit with a bad review from a review spammer that has never visited your business or has never contracted your services?  

The outcome is lowered ratings, and a bad reputation online.  Oh no!! How do we fix it?  There are multiple ways to address it, but if you don’t manage your business online reputation at all, those spam reviews can damage your reputation online and potentially offline when people you’re networking with see bad reviews about you. 

So what do you do?

A. You can leave it alone since you don’t want to rock the google boat (spoiler–not the correct answer)

B. You can address it and report the review

C. If images are allowed, report those as well. 

D. Create a system for addressing review spam and requesting new reviews from actual customers.

The correct answer: D

If you don’t know where to start, iFreshly Digital can help you push the bad reviews down, and get new raving reviews from your customers.  We can help you address the review spam as well so that Google is more likely to take it down.  What are you waiting for?