Blog : Social Media

Full-Circle Marketing

Full-Circle Marketing

We hear it all the time: I don’t have budget to do what I should do for marketing.  Or: How can I be guaranteed that marketing will work for me?  Or: My budtenders handle my marketing.  At Cannabis Marketing, Inc., we get it!  As business owners, every single dollar that you put into the business needs to be accounted for.  This can mean cutting corners when it comes to marketing, or tasking employees to handle your marketing in order to save money.  In this blog, we will discuss candidly why hiring a team of cannabis marketing experts makes sense over fragmenting your marketing strategy among separate people or multiple agencies.

When you first started your business, like most entrepreneurs, you probably did not have a lot of capital for marketing.  So maybe you assigned email campaigns to one person on your team, and then assigned social media to a savvy family member, and then assigned graphic design and printing to someone on your management team.  Then, as you started gaining traction and your business started to grow, you probably got bombarded by outside sales people trying to sell you print ads, or coupon book sections, or digital service packages.  Without having the connections or experience in marketing (because after all, you are a business owner, not a marketer), maybe you elected some additional marketing campaigns that did not pan out.  Maybe you spent money on a new concept that promised return and found that nothing happened.  Maybe the marketing company wasn’t transparent about what your campaign did, so you actually have no idea where your dollars were applied, or what those dollars accomplished. 

WE GET IT! When you start a business, it can be incredibly difficult to understand what makes the most sense when it comes to spending money on marketing. This is where Cannabis Marketing, Inc. can help.

Cannabis Marketing, Inc. is not like other cannabis marketing agencies that you’ve encountered.  We pride ourselves on becoming a part of your team, not simply a vendor or a yes-man.  Our team is carefully compiled of experts in each leg of your marketing campaign.  This means, that our social media team lives and breathes social media every day; attending seminars, webinars, and ingesting articles so that our knowledge is on trend and we can change your strategy as quickly as the social media landscape changes.  Our SEO team has decades of experience, and we make sure to use only the best proven strategies for Search Engine Optimization so that your website goes farther.  Our compliance team is constantly researching and learning about the newest changes in legislation and cannabis compliance so that our clients are first in the know when changes could impact your marketing strategy.  Cannabis Marketing, Inc. also has strong connections nationwide for every type of marketing avenue.  This means, we know the companies who are reaching out to you.  We know what to ask for and how to research new strategies to make sure that anything that comes across your desk is vetted before implementation.  Our team works closely together to ensure that we are doing what’s best for you and your cannabis business, every single day.

The other thing that sets Cannabis Marketing, Inc. apart from other agencies is that we eliminate fragmented marketing.  Fragmented marketing is when you have one person in charge of one thing, one department in charge of another thing, and more often than not, those people do not communicate effectively.  This means, that instead of your social media, email, radio, SEO, website design, and print advertising all working together to promote your message, your brand, and your specials; each advertising piece is instead working alone.  We all know that there is strength in numbers, and Full-Circle Marketing works when your entire team and strategy is on the same page.  Cannabis Marketing, Inc.’s team helps to make sure that all of your marketing pieces are branded, beautiful, and cohesive.  We analyze and plan every piece of your chosen marketing strategy so that radio is supporting social media, social media is supporting email, email is supporting specials, and your print ads are driving traffic to your website.  Every piece of your strategy works together to promote your brand or storefront, resulting in increased sales over time.  Eliminating fragmented marketing is the number one way to make sure that your marketing dollars are being used as effectively as possible.  After all, you are running a business to make money!

If a straightforward approach to marketing is something you can appreciate, let’s see if we are a good fit!  Utilizing Full-Circle Marketing with Cannabis Marketing, Inc. will get you the results that you are looking for.  Our expertise in the cannabis industry is unmatched, and our team is passionate about the cannabis industry.  Check out our case studies on the home page of our website, and give us a call to see how we can help you grow!

Why Social Media is Important for Your Cannabis Brand

Why Social Media is Important for Your Cannabis Brand

You hear it all the time: you need to be on social media in order to reach your customers and fans.  But the fact is that social media can be incredibly time-consuming and confusing with the constant algorithm changes.  At the same time, your cannabis business could either be blacklisted, banned from advertising, or shadow banned from the social media profiles you use the most.  So, how can your cannabis business thrive on social media if you can’t seem to use it the way you need?  This is a frustration we hear from clients all over the nation.  At Cannabis Marketing, Inc., we employ the best strategies for each client, which means that we may recommend Social Media on top of multiple other marketing strategies.  Of course, the marketing strategies that we are able to employ for our clients depends on their budget and what fits their target demo.  Every client is uniquely different in what they need and what they are trying to achieve.

Social Proof

No matter how small your reach is, no matter if you are beginning a business or have been in business for years, Social Media is a must.  The reason for this is because of social proof.  Have you ever looked at reviews before purchasing a product?  Have you ever asked your friends what their opinions are before dining at a new restaurant?  Have you ever left a positive review for a product that you loved, or maybe a negative review for an experience that was distasteful?  The reason that we as human beings look to one another before we make purchases is called Social Proof.  Social Proof is our nature to do things that our peers also do.  It sounds a lot like copycatting, but it is so much more.  By first understanding Social Proof, Social Media becomes a no-brainer for your cannabis business.

The Rules

There are rules when it comes to social media, and we encourage our clients to be as compliant as they can.  The fact of the matter is that simply being on social media as a cannabis company may be against the “rules”, so every single time you post, it’s even more imperative to make sure that it is of high value and that there is a specific strategy behind each post.  The thing that we often see is that cannabis businesses will post, simply to post.  In the social media space today, it does not make sense to post simply to have a presence, especially when your cannabis business may only be seen by a fraction of your followers.  Due to various algorithms, it makes it even more important to post high-value, branded content, every single time.  It is actually better to post once a week with something that is gangbusters, than to post every single day with boring or tired graphics and information.

Human-To-Human Interaction

The beautiful thing about implementing social media along with your other marketing campaigns is that your social media will help to establish you as a legitimate business owned by a real human.  Think of it as that warm and fuzzy feeling where you can reach those clients who are searching for you and let them know more about you.  Social media is your chance to expand upon what they heard on the radio, or what they sought on a flyer, or what they heard from a friend.  By overlapping your social media with your other marketing strategies, you have the opportunity to create brand presence and human-to-human interaction that your new and existing customers crave.

Enhanced Customer Service

The other beautiful thing about social media for your cannabis business is that it is an excellent customer service platform.  When you have a team of people monitoring your social media platforms to answer questions, tag fans, and thank people for sharing content, it gives you the opportunity to set yourself apart.  Social media is supposed to be exactly that: social!  So by having a strong social media presence, and using these platforms to add a level of communication for your customers, social media makes complete sense.

Outsourcing Social Media

The other thing we see a lot of in the social media space is that owners will assign social media duties to their budtenders or internal management.  We get it!  Having someone in-house to take pictures, attend events, and post on the spot is certainly valuable.  However, you hired your management to do a job, and do it well.  So let them be managers for your business.  Your budtenders are highly-personable and everyone has a great experience?  That is exactly what you want.  Allowing your staff to do exactly what they were hired to do, without adding the extra burden of social media marketing, is smart.  Outsourcing your social media allows each person on your internal team to focus on their strengths instead of trying to learn something that they may not even be passionate about.  At Cannabis Marketing, Inc, we take pride in becoming part of your team.  We visit your store on a regular basis, getting to know your staff and becoming one of the family.  We attend all of your events and will even help organize pop-ups to maintain great relationships with your vendors.  We are passionate about marketing, and that includes your social media.  We consistently learn the newest tactics and attend trainings to make sure we are in the know for you.  Did you know that the algorithm for Facebook recently changed?  Our team took a week-long training on how to utilize the best social media strategies, and we now implement those strategies so that we can get you the best results.

In conclusion, when it comes to Social Media for cannabis businesses, having business profiles on major platforms is a must.  Investing in your marketing with a team of experts is always the best strategy; hoping that people will come in the door is not.  We would love to help you grow your business, why not call us for your free consultation today?

5 Ways to Improve Your Customer Experience Using Social Media

5 Ways to Improve Your Customer Experience Using Social Media

“The customer’s perception is your reality.” (Kate Zabriskie)

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” (Bill Gates)

“Kindness and courtesy are at the root of a positive customer service experience.” (Shep Hyken)

These three quotes simply scratch the surface of what customer service means to the success of any business.  Customers drive everything, from reviews to social proof to sales to success.  And while it would be utterly fantastic to have only 5-star reviews, and only happy customers, that is not always the reality.  This is why any business owner works hard to make sure every customer is happy, every time.

Think about the avenues in which you allow your customers to communicate with you when they have an issue.  Do they speak to the budtender and hope that there is a manager available?  Do they call or email your dispensary incessantly until they get in touch with you?  Do they write reviews on Google and Yelp that slam your business to the world?  Some of these avenues don’t give you the chance to address your customer’s problem in a manner that reflects your customer service style, which is where social media can come into play.

Using social media as an additional outlet for any unhappy client may seem counter-intuitive…Why would you want to provide yet another avenue for unhappy customers to voice their opinions?  There are several reasons that we will quickly cover: First, in our digital age, people have come to expect immediacy.  Social media is quickly becoming the ideal platform to voice concerns, post reviews, and have interactions with businesses both near and far.  Second, Millennials, (the largest demographic of consumers), don’t want to call and talk to you, sad as that may seem.  Millennials want to send you a note or an email and be answered quickly.  Third, by answering a client’s concerns for all to see on social media, you have the golden opportunity to showcase your customer service skills while turning unhappy customers into loyal advocates for your cannabis brand.

People do business with those they know, like, and trust.  Providing customer service on social media creates the impression that you are on standby; ready and willing to take on your customer’s concerns and make the situation better.  You can show that you are willing to go above and beyond, that you are human and sometimes make mistakes, and that you are there for your customers even after the sale has completed.  Even if your disgruntled client doesn’t notice, everyone else who visits your site will see the interaction.  It’s a prime opportunity to gain new clients by showing that you are someone worth doing business with!

Here are 5 tips so that you can effectively manage customer service via social media:

  1. Create a Twitter account specifically for customer service. If a customer reaches out for assistance on your main Twitter profile, respond and let them know your customer service department (@YourCustomerServiceTwitterHandle) will contact them.  Then, your customer service Twitter department can message the customer directly to help resolve any issue or answer questions.  This helps your timeline stay on focus (the focus being how great your cannabis brand is), and shows others that you are willing and ready to help.
  2. Reply to all reviews, both good and bad. Responding to good reviews is easy, so don’t ignore your 5-star brand ambassadors!  You want your happy customers to see that you appreciate their time and business, especially when they have taken the time to point out how great your product is.  On the other hand, negative reviews give you the opportunity to chat directly with a customer, apologize, and show them (and everyone else) that you are willing to help.  Bad reviews are my favorite, because they give you an inside peek into how your cannabis business may be able to improve.  A poor experience may be something you had simply overlooked, or an area where you can further train your staff.  Negative reviews also give you a chance to highlight the things that you are doing right.  Apologizing for the situation while adding in what you do well doesn’t negate the complaint, but helps other potential clients to see something more positive about your brand.
  3. Be as responsive as possible. Imagine starting a conversation with someone and they don’t answer until 24 hours later.  Annoying, right?  Make answering customer service concerns your top priority (or delegate the task to someone who will).  This shows again that you care and that you will go the extra mile.  Both huge bonuses in the eyes of your customers!
  4. Be friendly and courteous. The worst thing you can do while working with an unhappy customer is to get defensive.  Staying calm when you’ve poured your heart, soul, and energy into your cannabis brand is truly difficult when someone bashes it.  It may feel like a personal attack, but rest assured, it’s not.  The best thing to do is to take a breath, remain calm, respond politely, and remember that although your business is your livelihood, bad reviews sometimes happen. Your job is to make as many customers as possible happy; while trying to fix any issues that may arise.
  5. Include a greeting with the person’s name when possible. This helps to create that Human-2-Human interaction that your customers are looking for.  The name is also useful if there is ever a dispute in the future as to who you were conversing with.  #CYA

We hope these tips help you to thrive in the customer-service world of social media.  You can create a truly unique experience for your cannabis clients, while forming bonds with your fans that won’t be broken.