Reasons Why Branding Cannabis Dispensary Products Matter As such, branding became front and center when it comes to marketing weed. Here are some reasons why:
- A wider target audience. Stoner skateboarders are no longer the de facto target audience of marijuana businesses. Today, you have the elderly or the sickly who are looking for ways to cope with chronic illnesses and pains. You have a growing market of women recreational users, who has as much (or even greater) purchasing power than their male marijuana enthusiast counterparts. You have health enthusiasts who are looking for organic products to replace their chemical counterparts. With such a diverse crowd, branding will help in creating strategies that will speak volumes to each and every one of them.
- Newbies looking for clear information. One cannot also discount the emergence of newbie recreational users who are looking to experience cannabis products but don’t exactly know where to start. This is why dispensaries like BC Medi Chronic need products that have very clear information on how they are used, what level of experience one can possibly get, and other literature that will help a burgeoning enthusiast navigate his way around the world of cannabis products.
- A luxury market. Marijuana products have also now made their way from the underground to the top of the party lifestyle, much to the relief of the A crowd who also want to stamp out illegal, chemical drugs and replace them with something safer like weed. Suddenly, there is a demand for luxury items and unique experiences that involve marijuana – all safe, pleasurable, and high in style. It takes specially-designed products and a specially-crafted strategy to market to these folks, especially since it can be quite challenging to get the approval of their premium taste.
- Demand for novelty items. While dried leaves and oils are a permanent fixture in the cannabis products and Canadian medical marijuana industry, you cannot deny that there are people demanding for novelty items that include weed. They will pay good money for low fat, prepacked brownies, relaxation balms, hard candies, and the like. Branding these products will send the right message across: that cannabis come in many forms, and a good number of them answer the need for the innovative, the imaginative, and the enjoyable.
- The need for reassurance. And of course, you have the worrisome set. You have those who are very particular about their product: the THC content, medicinal benefits, and – above all – assurances about legality. In short, reassurance will build trust and repeat purchases from customers who believe and patronize your products.
With all of these in mind, what kind of approach then should a cannabis dispensary have when it comes to branding? The following elements should be seriously considered:
- Attractive logos and colors in a well-designed packaging. The packaging itself should already capture the audience’s attention, whether it is a packet of dried leaves for smoking or a small vial of oil. The logo of cannabis products should reflect the taste of the audience – whether that is minimalist, elegant, sporty, or otherwise. Packaging should be easy to handle yet shows that freshness is guaranteed.
- Create a story to go with the product to appeal to customers. If the creation of a particular brand of medical marijuana in Canada was due to someone’s grandmother being in pain and in search of an alternative that worked, that will work really well as a product story. Strive to deliver a sense of the experience even when the customer is only about to try it for himself.
- Explicitly stated advantages. Nothing convinces a customer more than finding out that using a certain product will go with some very welcome benefits, so do your research and find out what can be written down! Don’t just stick to the medical benefits but go out of your way and talk about accessibility, ease of use, and others.
- Equally sleek dispensaries, online or otherwise. A classy product should be housed in a classy store, whether that store is an online dispensary like BC Medi Chronic or a brick and mortar one. Customers also enjoy the experience of browsing, selecting and finally, paying for their cannabis product. If you can make the experience more enjoyable with an easy to navigate and well-designed store, that will also count as plus points for your branding efforts.
- Continuing education and information. And of course, it is important to keep your customers informed about products in the medical marijuana industry. Make the effort to make them aware of differences between cannabinoids, what exactly THC and CBD are (and what kind of experience they deliver), and anything else that you think will be useful and interesting to your audience.