Marijuana Business Magazine - March 2018

Reward Your Customers Customer rewards programs are a way for cannabis retailers to build brand loyalty and incentivize consumers to choose the regulated market over the black market. Washington state’s Dockside Cannabis uses Baker Technologies – a marketing automation software company serving MJ retailers – for its point-based loyalty program. Denver-based Baker’s software gives retailers the flexibility to adjust rewards and discounts on their own and has been a successful tool in engaging consumers, said Jackson Holder, the pro- curement manager for Dockside. The Seattle-based retailer’s custom- ers are prompted to sign up on an iPad when they visit a Dockside location, and they immediately receive 50 points they can redeem the same day for $10 off an item of $30 or more. After their first visit, customers receive 20 points every time they check in on the iPad in the dispensary and can redeem 100 points for 10% off a purchase or 250 points for 25% off a purchase. Hawaii’s Aloha Green Apothecary has various loyalty programs and perks for its return medical marijuana patients. For every $50 a customer spends, the dispensary offers $5 coupons that can’t be redeemed for two weeks immediately following the sale, but then must be used during the two weeks after that. Veterans, meanwhile, receive a 20% discount on all products, and all patients who sign up to receive email newslet- ters and text message updates receive a 10% discount on product.The latter ensures the dispensary can communicate regularly with its patientss – and that has a positive impact on sales. “Our sales numbers see a direct cor- relation with our communication,” said Helen Cho, director of integrated strat- egy for Aloha Green.The dispensary has seen up to a 25% increase in sales on days when a communication is sent to patients via text message. The Honolulu-based dispensary also has The Healing Club, a loyalty program for its highest-spending or most loyal patients. In Hawaii, patients are limited to purchasing 2 ounces of MMJ product every 15 days. Patients who purchase more than half their limit at Aloha Green qualify for The Healing Club and receive discounts on products, advance notice for new products and a call from an Aloha Green manager when their favorite strains or products are in stock. That “high-touch,” targeted commu- nication with consumers is something the black market doesn’t offer, Cho said. Corporate giving is another way of appealing to the “conscientious con- sumer,” said Michael Ray, founder and CEO of Bloom Farms, a California cannabis business that donates one meal Jackson Holder is the procurement manager for Washington state’s Dockside Cannabis. Photo courtesy of Dockside Cannabis W hether you’re operating in a newly medical or adult-use mar- ijuana market, illicit cannabis sales are an ever-present threat to the legal industry. While you can’t control how the black market operates, there are ways you can encourage consumers to instead buy from a licensed, reg- ulated business. Put simply, it requires going above and beyond what black-market operators can offer by way of service and products. From rewards programs and corporate giving campaigns, to educa- tion and advocacy, executives in states with regulated markets shared tips for how to win – and keep – consumers. March 2018 • Marijuana Business Magazine • 51

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