How’s your dispensary marketing plan coming along?

Don’t have one yet? Not to worry. Your marketing plan doesn’t have to be ready right this minute, but you do need one if you want your overall marketing efforts to be effective.

A sound marketing plan will help you create the strategies and tactics you need to reach your target customers, not mention help you deal with any pitfalls or setbacks you may encounter.

Here are the five best tips for creating the perfect marketing plan for your dispensary.

1. Create a Business Summary (and Include a Situational or SWOT Analysis)

Before you start thinking about what marketing tactics to employ, you first need to identify where your dispensary currently stands in relation to the market. You can do that with a business summary, which involves answering some basic questions like:

• What is the name of your dispensary?
• Where is your dispensary located?
• What is your dispensary’s mission statement?

In a SWOT analysis, you identify your dispensary’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Strengths: In what ways does your dispensary excel? How are you superior to the competition?

Weaknesses: What systemic problems does your dispensary face on a daily basis? In what areas does your business need improvement?

Opportunities: The cannabis market is rapidly transforming. What new developments (laws, regulations, products) can you capitalize on?

Threats: Who are your main competitors? In what ways can they prevent you from capturing your optimum share of the market?

2. Create Specific Goals

What do you want your dispensary marketing plan to accomplish?

• Are you trying to increase your sales by 15% per quarter?
• Do you want to implement an SEO strategy that gets your dispensary at the top of a Google search results page?
• Are you trying to increase your brand recognition and brand awareness?

Be clear about what goals you’re trying to achieve so that you know what types of marketing strategies to implement.

3. Identify Your Target Market

Who are your target customers? What demographic do they fall under? Some categories you should consider include:

• Age
• Sex
• Family makeup
• Income
• Location
• Lifestyle

Create a buyer persona. Get into the mindset of the ideal customer. Understand their habits, wants, and needs so that you know exactly how to speak to them.

4. Create a Budget

How big should your marketing budget be?

It depends on your marketing goals and how much of your projected gross sales you can afford to part with.

Of course, if you’re dispensary hasn’t opened yet, you’ll need to use part of the funding you’ve raised or borrowed thus far.

But don’t feel that you need to break the bank to get the job done. How you spend your budget is as important as how much you have to spend.

5. Choose Your Marketing Channels Wisely

Your budget will determine what types of channels you can use and how you use them, but certain basic channels should definitely take priority.

Website – This should be your absolute first consideration. These days, most people are hunting for businesses and places to shop online, so that’s where your dispensary needs to be.

SEO Optimization – Having an online presence is essential, but if people can’t find your site, then it’s all for naught. SEO involves designing and developing your site and its content in such a way that it receives a favorable search engine ranking. And since most online platforms, such as Google, don’t allow cannabis companies to advertise their products, organic search traffic is a must.

Social Media – Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Snapchat. Which platform should you use? Some additional market research will come in handy here, as you’ll need to figure out which platform your target customers are using the most. You may even need to create a separate marketing plan specifically for social media.Influencer Marketing – Because cannabis companies face so many advertising restrictions, some have formed partnerships with influencers. An influencer can be a celebrity, social media personality, or industry thought leader. Most importantly, influencers have their own online audience, and if they’re willing to promote your brand (for the right fee, of course), your dispensary has the potential to significantly expand its customer base.

Creating your dispensary marketing plan can be an overwhelming prospect, especially if you have a small or non-existent marketing team.

If that’s the case, take some of the burden off your shoulders and contact Hazy Marketing! We specialize in dispensary marketing, and we offer a free SEO audit if you already have a website up and running.

Give us a call at (702)-600-9687 or email us at hello@hazymarketing for more details!