If you’re launching a career in the cannabis industry, prioritizing the customer experience within your cannabis business will go a long way in helping you to create a sustainable and successful business model. As a term that encompasses all interactions between a business and its customers, customer experience is something that matters for each and every dispensary, no matter its size. Not only does the customer experience within a dispensary affect its legitimacy, but it can also influence levels of customer trust, satisfaction and loyalty. As a professional with a future in the cannabis industry, the better equipped you are to improve the customer experience within your business, the longer your business is likely to last.
The customer experience consists of a few important interactions, including:
- Awareness: When a customer comes across your business
- Discover: When a customer sees that your business can meet their needs
- Cultivation: When a relationship is developed with a customer
- Advocacy: When your business helps your customer see the benefits of your product
- Purchase: When a customer purchases cannabis from your business
Below, discover some tips for successfully following these steps and enhancing the customer experience your cannabis retail business offers.
Increase Your Brand Awareness and Reputation of Your Cannabis Retail Business
After completing your cannabis industry training and entering the world of cannabis retail, one of the first steps you can take in improving the customer experience is to build awareness of your dispensary, its brand and its reputation. After all, the only way your dispensary will be able to attract customers is if your business is on their radar. Some steps you can take for building awareness include:
- Creating a presence on social media
- Partnering with cannabis directories and organizations which specialize in promoting cannabis
- Conducting targeted marketing campaigns for your specific audience
- Publicizing your brand by attending events
Following these steps will enable you to increase the visibility of your business – the first step in any customer outreach strategy.
Improve the customer experience by making your cannabis retail business identifiable by customers
Take Time to Educate Your Customers
The cannabis retail industry is still relatively new. Although you may possess extensive knowledge about strains, dosages and various consumption methods, not all of your customers will be familiar with this information. You can improve the experience your customers have at your business by taking the time to educate your clients, helping them to make the right purchases and answering any questions they may have. Additionally, educating your customers enhances their safety, equipping them with the knowledge necessary to consume cannabis responsibly.
Your customers will appreciate learning more about cannabis while at your shop
Personalize Your Services
If a customer feels like the business that they’re giving your shop is being treated as just another sale, it’s likely that they won’t be enticed to revisit your store. In your cannabis retail business, you can conquer this problem by ensuring that the services you deliver to customers are personalized. This can be achieved by:
- Using dispensary software to keep records of customer purchase history, so that their preferences are known when they enter the shop
- Ensure that customers are greeted and assisted right when they walk in the door
- Take the time to learn customers’ names and engage in friendly conversation
Following these steps will help your customers to feel valued, increasing the chance that they’ll return to your business in the future.
Personalize your cannabis retail services by taking the time to get to know your customers
Create Trust
The growth of your cannabis retail business is closely tied to the amount of trust cultivated through customer interactions. When customers trust the information they receive from a salesperson, they’re more likely to have an enjoyable experience, make a purchase and even recommend the product to friends or family members. Trust is an integral component of a good customer experience. As a professional working in the cannabis industry, you can build trust with your clientele by:
- Making yourself available to answer questions
- Providing honest answers to customer questions
- Refraining from ‘pushing’ a sale
- Helping customers to come to a decision on their own by providing sufficient information
When your customers can trust you, you’ll see your cannabis business grow and your customers’ experience improve!
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