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Welcome to High On Marketing - A weekly newsletter where I show you how to strengthen your email marketing strategy for your cannabis brand. Learn how to nurture your audience, increase retention rates, and sell more weed.

⚡Quick Tip⚡

Today’s Email:

• Understanding Brand Differentiation

• Strategies for Differentiation

• Execution and Evaluation

Let’s Roll 🛼

Dispensaries are becoming the new Starbucks; one on every street corner…

In fact, there are nearly 15,000 cannabis dispensaries in the United States.

Starbucks? 16,000.

A quick Google Maps search shows more than 15 dispos within 20 miles of my house.

After being a consumer in the cannabis industry for a while, dispos kinda start to blend together…

Most shops near me have the same, or similar

• Deals

• Voices

• Themes

• Products

Following or copying what other brands are doing will never work the same for your brand. You have to let your brand’s uniqueness and values set the tone for your customer experience.

Especially if you’re competing with MSO’s and corporations that can offer more attractive savings and incentives to their customers.

Let’s get into how to differentiate your dispo and be remembered by your customers:

Understanding Brand Differentiation:

There are 3 things you need to establish and understand if you want your brand to stand out among the thousands of others:

1. Target Audience: 

   You HAVE to know exactly who you’re talking to. A deep understanding of your audience’s preferences, interests, lifestyle, etc. is absolutely crucial if you want to get through to them.

   (This post will help you have a complete understanding of who your audience is.)

2. Unique Selling Proposition (USP):

   What makes your dispensary unique? This is a lot easier than some people think…

   It doesn’t always matter what your USP is necessarily, but rather how you market it and promote it.

   Example: 

   Sustainability was found to be a leading deciding factor for a large number of canna consumers when choosing which dispo to shop at.

   Show your customers how much of a positive impact they’re having by shopping with you:

   "Thanks to your purchase of [product], you've helped save 100 gallons of water this month!"
   "Each purchase you make saves X lbs. of plastic from being dumped in a landfill"
   "Thanks for shopping! X% of the proceeds of your purchase are being donated to {charity}"

   Give them a reason to continue shopping with you.

3. Brand Voice and Personality: 

   Consistency is key here. Establish your brand’s voice; are you

   Professional?

   Educational?

   Friendly?

   Laid back?

   Find what’s resonating with your audience, and stay consistent with it.

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Strategies for Differentiation:

Ok, so there’s tons of ways to ‘be different’ in business. But one of the best ways in my opinion is to be BETTER, and let it be known…

Here’s 8 things that you could do better than most other dispensaries that will set you apart from the rest:

1. Product Quality and Selection: Offer higher-quality products or a unique selection that isn’t readily available anywhere else. More importantly, do research into what your customer’s favorite products are and why, and keep them in stock.

2. Customer Experience: Provide an exceptional customer experience from start to finish. In-person, online, on the phone, everywhere. This industry is fast-paced and a lot of dispos want to get you in and out ASAP. Focus on the customer experience more.

3. Educational Content: Position your brand as an industry thought leader with valuable and informative content. Be a trusted source for industry happenings.

4. Innovative Technology: Utilize technology to create a seamless customer experience. Specifically, utilize your CRM software to predict their behaviors and choices.

5. Sustainability Practices: Embrace environmentally friendly practices and show your customers how much they’re helping reduce their carbon footprint by shopping with you.

6. Community Involvement: Actively engage in your community through sponsorships, partnerships with local businesses, or charity events.

7. Loyalty Programs: Create a state-of-the-art loyalty program. Genuinely reward your customers for repeat purchases. Loyalty programs are where the big bucks are. Your program needs to be on point.

8. Visual Branding: Ensure your visual branding is distinctive and memorable. From your logo and store design to your website and social media.

   Consistency = familiarity.

When You’re Ready, Here’s How I Can Help You…

Click HERE to download the High On Marketing Evergreen Templates - 50 pre-written emails tailored for cannabis brands to educate, engage, and encourage action from your audience

Stay on top-of-mind while building a well-informed, loyal customer base.

Get your templates today and have the next 6 months of canna content covered!

⬇️Don’t forget to use your subscriber code for 50% off!⬇️

9VVS85T

Execution and Evaluation:

What’s the #1 most important part of creating brand familiarity??

✨Consistency✨

If you want your brand to be remembered, you need to be recognizable across all platforms and communications with your audience.

Consistent brand voice, message, themes, etc. reinforces your brand identity and helps build customer loyalty over time.

Monitor and Adapt: Most brands know how to analyze the effectiveness of their marketing strategies. But a lot don’t know how to actually improve their strategies based on their metrics and engagement levels. 

Market conditions and consumer preferences change regularly in this industry and it’s important to stay flexible, and be able to change course in your strategy if something changes.

Listen to your customers. Which leads me to my next point:

Create a Feedback Loop: Get your info straight from the source! Customer feedback is the ultimate form of data collection. Encourage your audience to provide feedback, answer surveys, interact with polls. Make it worth their time to give you their feedback; it’s priceless information for your brand!

Let’s Roll It All Up…

Brand differentiation isn’t actually always about being different.

It’s about being remembered, and more importantly, preferred.

Provide the best cannabis experience you can for your customers. Having high-quality products is just one part of running a successful dispo.

Focusing on what makes your brand unique or better and ensuring that every customer interaction reflects your brand’s values and promises is how you build a loyal, familiar customer base.

Happy Differentiating!

Steve

P.S.