How To Educate First-Time Dispensary Customers

More than half of the American population are living in states with legalized medical marijuana. Canada is also looking to legalize recreational cannabis in 2018. This will raise the current medical cannabis industry to more than 20 billion in sales.

As legalization increases, a new form of customer will rise: the first-time cannabis users. With new customers come lots of opportunities for dispensaries to increase their customer base, get involved in their local communities and educate the public about the power of cannabis use. In today’s economy, you can’t just focus on the bottom line, you have to be lazer-focued on providing value.

In states like California and Colorado, competition is fierce. Even in medical jurisdictions like Washington, DC and Maryland, dispensaries work hard to win patients.

Here’s how you can educate first-time cannabis users and really stand out in the marketplace.

1. Charm Them

It’s important that you appeal to the curiosity of first-time dispensary customer, whether your dispensary serves consumers for recreational or medical use. Usually, most new users may be intimidated by the cannabis’ culture. This isn’t the time to avoid inexperienced people.

The last thing that the new users want to feel is being left out when they visit your dispensary. Adapt your approach, marketing, social media, and in-store literature to the needs of new cannabis users. That way they feel welcome and comfortable. For example, you should have a routine way of measuring the interest and needs of new customers & patients. They may not want flower for the first time, but be more interested in edibles. Be curious, ask questions, and serve their needs.

2. Display Products For Visual Presentation

For the first-time cannabis users, it’s paramount that dispensaries can cater to enhance their cannabis education effectively. This means sufficiently displaying products in a way that aids customers to quickly identify products. Retail cannabis stores should display products in easy-to-open glass jars to provide consumers a chance to smell them.

3. Let Customers Browse Current Inventory

Menu displays are great way to allow new customers to browse your current inventory quickly. Customers can also compare prices even before going back to the showroom. Some dispensaries even provide iPad stations for their consumers to browse the present selection of inventory.

4. Show The Cultivation Process

Some dispensaries allow their first-time customers to watch their cultivation process while shopping. That way new users will get to see where the cannabis comes from and feel more confident about the product’s safety and quality they’re consuming.

5. Signage For Guidance

Signage is a great tool to guide the buying experience for your customers. In Colorado, a lot of dispensaries opt to display signage made by the state’s Good to Know advertising campaign.

These state-regulated signs educate consumers of important rules when consuming cannabis like not driving when high. To prevent overconsumption, they also inform about the length of time it takes for the edibles to kick in. Spreading this type of information is very important as more individuals aim to become cannabis experts in the growing legal marketplace.

6. Make Recommendations Based On Experience Level

When introducing cannabis to new customers, make sure that you educate them on the right dosage based on experience level. Train your budtenders to recommend the correct variety by asking questions, like what sensation they would want to feel: stimulation, sleep, or relaxation. Also, don’t forget to educate customers about the entourage effect, the mingling of different compounds to generate every strain’s unique feeling.

Are you ready to upgrade your cannabis operation?

MJ Platform can help. Start managing customer relationships based on real data of who is shopping in your area, when they’re shopping, and what they’re buying. Contact us today.

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