Cutting Through the Competition

I don’t know why but it still surprises and excites me to see when there’s new cannabis brands popping up. And as a cannabis brand you may not be as excited as I am. And for good reason; more competition. 

If you have been a cannabis brand that has been on the scene for a little while now, you may have felt a bit anxious to see where your industry and your competitors are headed. Especially if you are losing repeat customers because of the shiny new business in town. But there is something you can do about it.

Obtaining and Retaining Cannabis Customers

There are always going to be brands out there that you might view as better than you or ones that you could care less about. But what you might not consider is not necessarily what they’re doing, but who wants them and why. Side-by-side comparisons of your products, service, knowledge, etc. may prove fruitless. There are going to be a ton of similarities, especially if the cannabis market grows to the full potential of future projections. “The projected total U.S. economic impact from cannabis sales is expected to reach $160 billion in 2025.” (Lipson, 2022). Everyone wants a piece of the pie. 

How are you to get a leg up on your competitors if your similarities stack up over and over again? And the honest answer is by getting a true understanding of your target audience better than anyone else. Become the expert in your target audience.

Anticipating the needs and desires of your target market ahead of your competition is the true understanding of where your cannabis brand stands and will stand in the future. There are several ways in which you can conduct research to find out more. Most businesses simply rely on what is seen on the web in terms of reviews and social listening. But additionally, you can send out surveys through email, text messaging, printed materials (which is a great way to hit the Boomer demographics), telephone calls or even putting a pop-up on your website. “A mixture of quantitative and qualitative feedback will provide a more rounded view. Understanding the customer experience at each touchpoint will be an important part of your audit. As there is plenty of data available, these anecdotal customer stories will help humanize the audit and provide an idea of how people perceive your brand” (Smith, 2016).

Leverage your company culture, unique employees, your own unique vision for why you created your business and create memorable customer experiences that drive a focus on who they are and meeting them where they are. Creating an experience that only your brand can provide to your customers in a way that they want it, will not only carve out a spot in your local market, but also create brand advocates and loyalists through reviews, word-of-mouth, user generated content, etc. Which of course as you know, all contribute to stretching your marketing efforts further. 

Taking your expert knowledge of your customers to make informed decisions about your cannabis brand strategy is going to help you cut through the ever-growing clutter of competition in no time. It just requires a combination of your diligent research, knowledge and experience, brand personality and messaging, customer experience, quality of products and of course nurturing true connections and relationships with your customers. 

Resources:

Lipson, Ross. Where Is the Cannabis Industry Headed In 2022?. Forbes. 2022, February 18. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/02/18/where-is-the-cannabis-industry-headed-in-2022/?sh=7632b55672e2.