Marijuana Business Magazine - April 2018

ACCURACY, CONVENIENCE AND VALUE FOR ONLINE ORDERS products and interacting with patrons. They also direct patients to advisers with more knowledge or expertise on specific products or applications, Jolley said – con- centrates or vape cartridges, for example. If customers know what products they want, they can go straight to the fulfill- ment line to place their order and be in and out of the dispensary in a short time, Jolley said. “It gives us the most flexibility, makes it easier to … leverage the knowledge and experience of all our team members, and allows our customers to dictate their experience,” Jolley said. “Some want to walk in, choose their product and immediately see a cashier, and some want more interaction. If you wanted to, you could be in and out in three minutes, D ispensaries can enhance their customer service by offering consumers the ability to order cannabis online with in-store pickup or delivery. And store owners can go a step further by providing discounts or incentives for online orders. Washington state’s Hashtag Cannabis uses Baker Technologies software that syncs with Green Bits – the dispensary’s point-of-sale sys- tem – to offer an online menu to customers, said Logan Bowers, co-owner of Hashtag’s two Seattle-area retail shops. Accuracy is the key to providing customers with the option to order online, Bowers said. Once there are only three items in stock at the store, the product is removed from Hashtag’s online menu until the company replenishes its supplies. Each morning, Hashtag’s sales associates compare the online menu with its in-store inventory, Bowers said. It’s a labor-intensive process, Bowers said, but well worth the time. It nearly eliminates the possibility a customer will place an online order that the dispensary can’t fulfill. “We do it so folkswho are browsing onlinewon’t be disap- pointed,” Bowers said. In Nevada, The+Source’s two retail shops use a custom- ized version of software that also integrates with its POS. In addition, the company removes products from the online store when 10 or fewer of an item are in stock, said Andrew Jolley, The+Source’s owner. “We never want to be in a position where someone places an online order and comes into the store, and we’re out of the product,” Jolley said. California’s Harborside takes an additional step, staffing its own call center for online cus- tomers who have questions about the menu, products or the process of placing an order, said Andrew DeAngelo, Harborside’s director of operations. Harborside’s delivery drivers are also sales associates, so they have product knowledge and customer servicer experience. “We’ve extended that special Harborside touch and our products knowledge to our deliv- ery and web order experiences,” he said. The+Source and Harborside offer in-store accommoda- tions for online customers, too. They each have cashiers or counters dedicated to customers picking up online orders to expedite the checkout process. Discounts are added incentives for online customers. The+Source offers free delivery for orders over $100, and Hashtag offers online shoppers a 5% discount on all regu- larly priced items. “It’s faster to serve an online customer,” said Hashtag’s Bowers, “so we pass on some of the savings.” – Joseph Peña Logan Bowers is co-owner of Hashtag Cannabis in Washington state. Photo courtesy of Hashtag Cannabis but someone who might be less familiar with cannabis and has specific questions can stay as long they want and get the information they need.” On a given day, 15 to 25 sales associ- ates are on the retail floor at Harborside’s Oakland dispensary, DeAngelo said. Staff walk the floor with tablets, greet custom- ers, determine how much time and infor- mation customers need, then walk them to a display case to educate and consult. It’s a significant financial investment to have that many employees on the floor, but it streamlines the retail experience for customers, DeAngelo said. Sales associ- ates are brand ambassadors who create personal connections with customers, he said – and that makes the investment worthwhile. For added convenience, customers who know what they want can place an online order using in-store tablets and then wait in the fulfillment line. Alternatively, they can wait in line and place an order at the fulfillment counter. Harborside has worked hard to get good at customizing the customer experi- ence, DeAngelo said. “What we’ve learned is that people need information, and a lot of custom- ers want to talk just to learn,” DeAngelo said. “With the redesign in Oakland, we’ve created a new experience where customers don’t have to wait until they get to a counter to do that.They’re talk- ing with sales associates and looking in display cases and they’re engaged when they walk in.” ◆ 46 • Marijuana Business Magazine • April 2018