8 Ideas for a Successful Dispensary Marketing Plan

Recreational cannabis usage has been legalized in 21 states to date, with Missouri and Maryland the latest to pass state-level legalization in the 2022 Midterms. However, just because it’s  a fast-growing industry doesn’t mean that it’s easy to dive in and hit the ground running. In fact, the industry is quickly becoming hyper-competitive, with the number of new businesses and amount of investment growing by the day.

At the same time, a lack of federal legalization creates huge obstacles when it comes to advertising options available to cannabis industries, and creating an effective and compliant marketing plan requires a depth of knowledge and planning to succeed. Fortunately, we’re here to help you figure out an effective marketing plan that attracts customers without overstepping the boundaries.

Unique Issues Dispensaries Face with Advertising

Whether you look toward conventional or digital advertising first when formulating your dispensary marketing plan, it won’t be long before you find friction. Conventional advertising and marketing for cannabis dispensaries is very limited, and it operates on a unique state-by-state basis where maintaining compliance is something you constantly need to stay up on.

When looking at digital advertising, the situation may be even more bleak: Google Ads and most mainstream platforms ban all advertising related to cannabis sales, and even the options that have some wiggle room require you to tightrope the rules and regulations. Typically anything directly related to sales is grounds for a ban or penalty.

One of the things that we take great pride in at Green Leaf Marketers is our Compliance team, and our ability to stay up to date on the latest in cannabis compliant marketing and advertising across the industry.

Here are some crucial tenants to any successful dispensary marketing plan. While there are different ways to go about accomplishing them these are all proven to lead to success:

Website with Online Menu 

One of the proven ways for a dispensary marketing plan to catch on is to build an easy-to-use store website. Make sure it has an equally easy-to-use menu that will help your customers quickly find what they’re looking for. Additionally, ensure that each store has an accurate and well-optimized location page. It’s imperative to do this as you won’t be able to augment it with online advertising, and it’s critical forfor users trying to find you. As will be further covered in the next section, impeccable website SEO and local SEO are crucial to reaching users.

You can use other cannabis-specific resources to drive traffic to your site, including platforms such as Weedmaps or Leafly. These are paid platforms but ones that do have large user bases, so this will need to be decided on an individual basis based on your specific goals and marketing budget. 

Optimizing Your Google My Business (Local SEO)   

All types of brick-and-mortar businesses can improve their customer numbers by claiming their Google My Business profile. The best part? It’s free! Local listings receive prime real estate in search results pages for dispensary-related and local cannabis queries, making this resource absolutely invaluable to growing your customer base. Spend the necessary time to ensure that you’ve set your business listing up properly, and your listing should more than pay you back. 

Ensure that the following is included when setting up local SEO for dispensaries via a Google My Business account: 

• NAP (accurate and up-to-date information about your company, including an accurate name, address, and phone number.
• Your website link. 
• Take a moment to verify that your map location is sitting in the accurate spot. 
• Provide accurate business hours.
• List special accommodations such as wheelchair access. 
• Provide a compelling and clear description of your business and call out specific features, including your product categories and selling points. 

It may take a bit of time to properly set up your Google My Business account, but it will definitely be worth it. Once configured, you can also import your GMB listing into Bing Places for additional coverage in Bing search results. To maximize your GMB performance, encouraging customers to leave genuine reviews and providing responses to them in a timely manner is a proven method to improve ranking signals in local searches.

Email/SMS Marketing

Because other forms of marketing are inhibited, using email and/or SMS marketing is going to be crucial. And let’s face it; for today’s customer, texting is often the predominant form of communication. A whopping 98% of text messages are opened, so there's really no better way to get your business in front of an audience.

Before you get started, though, you need to understand that there are regulations that must be followed when collecting phone numbers and email addresses, as well as rules governing how you can leverage user data as established by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). First, put a sign-up box on your website. That way interested consumers can quickly and easily sign up to receive marketing texts. 

Be sure to use at least one opt-in prompt, though often it’s better to use two. Make sure that each text message makes it clear how to opt-out and notify your recipients that standard messaging fees apply. Finally, be creative in how you reach out to your customers. Some cannabis-related terms are not allowed in text messages, so use holidays, weekends, etc. instead to grab their attention.

You can use similar ideas with your email list, if you opt to include this in your marketing plans. Many cannabis businesses stick with SMS for promotions, however, because it’s much more immediate and less likely to end up in a junk folder or ignored. 

Cannabis Direct Mail

Sending direct mailers was previously difficult for the cannabis industry. However, Green Leaf Marketers has cracked the code! We’ve worked every step of the way with the U.S. Postal Service, ensuring that we can deliver compliant cannabis and CBD direct mail marketing services, taking the guesswork and anxiety out of the equation for dispensaries and more.

Why is this a great option for your marketing money? Because it’s: 

• Effective 
• More personal 
• Maximizes local visibility 
• Unique and often dramatically under-utilized in the industry! 
• Shelf life of 17 days, on average (that’s how long consumers will keep your direct mailer around) 
• Won’t get caught in a spam filter 

What it does allow you to do is choose precision targeting for each mailer. Therefore, each mailer can be targeted based on demographics, geographic area, and more. With 18% (or more) of the U.S. population using cannabis, it’s a huge industry to break into. By comparison, 19.3% of the U.S. population exercises daily, and that industry added up to $33.25 billion spent in 2021 alone. 

Using direct mail puts you on the cutting edge of cannabis marketing. Many dispensaries aren’t using this method yet, which makes sending one even more effective. After all, if you send a direct mailer and you’re the first dispensary in your area to do so, you’re going to have a lot of dedicated eyes on your advertising. And with an average 17-day shelf life, it becomes extremely likely that you’re going to get new customers, including those 21+ who haven’t tried legal cannabis before.

For dispensaries looking to build their network and reach other companies in the industry such as growers, trimmers, finance, etc. we also offer cannabis B2B direct mail services as well.

Dispensary Rewards Programs

As a consumer, what is better than getting substantial discounts on products or even free stuff? The great thing about offering a reward program is that it incentivizes people to return to your dispensary over and over again. Most dispensaries offer some sort of loyalty or rewards program. Data shows that two-thirds of dispensary shoppers stick to their preferred store,and rewards programs play a significant factor. This is also something you can easily promote on your website, as well as in your SMS/email marketing efforts. 

One thing to note, however, is to ensure that your reward program is properly operational. There have been dispensaries that have offered a program, but then failed to apply any points to the accounts of registered users. Compatibility with existing POS and marketing systems is key. One platform we’ve seen leveraged well is Springbig, though there are also several other great options to choose from.

Dispensary Signs and Billboards

It may seem a bit old school, but, for locals going about their day, there’s nothing that grabs attention better than a brand-new dispensary sign or billboard on their route. Your dispensary sign is key. In fact, almost 80% of customers will enter a shop for the first time based solely on the signs they have in their front window. This is the primary reason why, for instance, Property Management companies keep putting out balloons and signs to attract attention. They may not draw much attention for most people, but interested renters can spot them from a block away. 

Another thing that dispensaries have invested a lot of money in are billboards. They can be quite effective. Just make sure you pay close attention to the regulations and laws of your local state and city,  which (as with anything in the cannabis industry) can be unique by each locale. As long as you stay in compliance the potential to truly get creative is endless - and if you need inspiration don’t hesitate to check out this list of some of people’s favorite dispensary billboards.

For example, in Metro Detroit, Michigan, most of the dispensary billboards are extremely clever, including one that advertises “Lake and Bake.” Dispensaries say they’re spending the lion’s share of their marketing money on billboards in Michigan, and it’s certainly easy to see why they’ve decided to go this route. It’s possible to take a drive from Ann Arbor to Detroit and see dozens and dozens of different dispensary billboards.

At Green Leaf Marketers we offer a full selection of signage and can also work with you on everything that goes into putting up billboards - including a full-fledged marketing compliance and legal team - so don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions!

Social Media

Using social media for your cannabis business can be tricky. One wrong move, and your account will be shut down. Instagram is probably the most cannabis friendly of social platforms, but there are still several rules you have to follow:

• Don’t mention cannabis/marijuana/weed, etc. in your bio. 
• Be sure to mention that your account is for users 21+. 
• Try to turn your Instagram followers into SMS recipients. Otherwise, you could lose contact with all of them if Instagram shuts off your account. 
• Talk to people in the comments of your posts. Failure to do so can hurt your company. 
• Make sure that you post on a consistent basis. 
• Don’t list any prices or attempt to sell anything. 
• Do NOT post images of people using cannabis or of cannabis on its own. 

You might be struggling to figure out what to post. We suggest taking a look at the Kiva Convections account to get some ideas. They post product pictures, but since they’re for edibles instead of flower, this isn’t an issue. Why not? Because Kiva is careful to never show a person consuming their edibles. That’s how they’ve gotten 59,000+ followers and have been able engage with customers on Instagram for more than three years. 

Promotional Products and Events   

If you want to capture attention and build awareness of your dispensary’s brand, it’s a wise idea to come up with some promotional products, along with signing up to go to cannabis related events. You could go to a cannabis trade show, for instance, where you can get to know your vendors. Even better, show up at the trade show with branded promotional products.

Don’t forget you can also sell branded products in your store. Most of your customers are going to need a grinder, rolling tray, etc., so why not put your company’s name on them? It fills a need and allows you to increase your profit margin, while promoting your business – a true win-win. 

Contact Us to Learn More

At Green Leaf Marketers, we believe in elevating the cannabis industry with solid marketing fundamentals and unique cutting edge tactics. We work with cannabis businesses across the country on direct mail campaigns, printing and signage, promotional products and more. Our Compliance team stays up to date on the latest in advertising restrictions and leaves no stone unturned and without the risk of pushing the limits.

If you are a new or established cannabis business and want to take your marketing strategies to the next level, contact Green Leaf Marketers or email us at info@greenleafmarketers.com.