9 dispensaries in 12 hours on my drive down the CA coast to Benzinga's Cannabis Capital Conference in Culver City. Here are six observations on what some retailers are doing well and where I see opportunity: * Budtenders over everything ... A beautiful setup, great first-time discount, product variety, fancy technology, etc., all come second to an informative and happy team member curating a personalized experience. * Farm-to-shelf ...Vertically integrated operators can do a better job of spotlighting their product. It's rare for a consumer to get to meet the grower, but you're offering the next best thing. Tell me a story so I can have a deeper connection with your in-house brands, and make them easy for me to find. * Alternative lanes ... Lines are the kiss of death. Having a self-service kiosk is an easy option to divert traffic when things get busy. * Sniff-Sniff-Pass ... Until you offer taster stations like Costco, the best way to show off high-end flower is the sniff jars with a button to push air into the container, heightening the smell test. * Capture repeat business ... Eight of nine retailers had a first-time discount, but only one promoted an incentive for the 2nd and 3rd visit. * Keep learning - Only one dispensary sent me a survey after my visit. It gave me the choice to score the budtender on a scale of 1-5 stars, which seemed like a missed opportunity to capture more feedback/data about me. What would you like to see dispensaries doing more of? #cannabisindustry #cannabisretail #california
Bill Sluben
8mo
Illustrates the opportunities that are being missed in cannabis retail. All resources fire to attract a shopper for the first time, and then no or limited additional follow-up. * Capture repeat business ... Eight of nine retailers had a first-time discount, but only one promoted an incentive for the 2nd and 3rd visit.
Solidifying bridges between product and everyone else.
8moThat’s the ultimate high-way