The Value of Digital Marketing for Cannabis Dispensaries in Canada
Several years post-legalization, the cannabis market is growing quickly all over Canada. Even small towns now have several different dispensaries for residents to choose from, so how can you make yours stand out from all the rest?
Digital marketing for dispensaries helps you rise above your competition. With the right techniques, expertise, and a custom marketing plan, you can secure the loyal customers you need to help your business thrive.
Why Does a Dispensary Need Online Marketing?
Marketing plays a key role in most company’s bottom lines, but digital marketing is especially well-suited to the needs of the cannabis industry.
Dispensaries are extremely popular with younger clientele, which has significant implications for their marketing needs. This segment of the market is digitally savvy and constantly connected. They are just as likely to use their phones as their laptops to search for businesses that carry the items they need. Posters and flyers may not reach them, but an expertly crafted online ad campaign definitely will.
With digital marketing, you can increase your:
- Web Traffic. Attracting new users to your website gives you the chance to market to more people and may even lead to more e-commerce sales.
- Foot Traffic. Drawing new visitors to your physical location gives you many more opportunities to sell your products and puts you in touch with the types of leads who are most likely to become returning customers.
- Brand Awareness. Familiarizing your audience with your brand helps build your reputation and win you new customers based on the strength of your name alone.
Are you still setting up your dispensary? It is never too early to begin building the momentum that will drive your future sales. Investing in pre-launch marketing can help you get your new business off the ground.
How to Create a Cannabis Dispensary Marketing Strategy
Want to build a winning marketing strategy in just one step? Consult the experts! At WSI Comandix, we offer a full range of digital marketing services for cannabis dispensaries. From setting up a sleek, professional website to promoting your brand on social media, our assistance is sure to win your company more attention, customers, and acclaim. Contact us today at (905)475-3675 to start the discussion.
The Best Ways to Market Your Marijuana Dispensary
Do you need some extra marketing support to grow and flourish? Here are some of the many ways we can help.
1 – Dispensary Web Design and E-Commerce Services
Every dispensary needs an attractive, fast-loading website that is optimized for mobile browsing. With our web design and e-commerce services, you can get a new website for your business at the touch of a button.
A professional website not only shows your prospective customers what your company does but also communicates key information like hours of operation, current promotions, new shipments, and more. You can even sell your products directly from your site with a secure e-commerce interface equipped with plugins to help you manage shipping, inventory, and other online retail essentials.
2 – Cannabis SEO Services
There are countless cannabis websites currently operating online, so how can you help your audience find your content?
Search engine optimization (SEO) helps more people find your website and learn more about your company, brand, and products or services.
- On-Page SEO
- Backlink Building
- Technical SEO
3 – Dispensary Local SEO
All web traffic is good traffic, but if you want to get new customers through your door, you will need to employ some local SEO techniques alongside generalized ones.
Getting your company a spot in your local business listings, optimizing your Google Business Profile, and other marketing activities that emphasize your company’s place in your community all help to capture local interest and get people talking about and visiting your location.
4 – Dispensary Paid Advertising
Running ads for this product category requires a highly specialized set of skills and experience, as the category is subject to heavy regulation. An experienced agency can help you navigate various restrictions and requirements, from correct keyword selection and audience targeting to platform-approved copy and imagery.
- Search.
- Display.
- Local.
- Remarketing.
5 – Dispensary Email Marketing
Once a user leaves your website, will they ever return? Give your leads a reason to come back with targeted email marketing promotions that speak to their specific needs.
- Offers and Specials.
- Retention.
- Automation.
6 – Dispensary Google Business Profile Management
Google Business Profile is a key part of Google’s SEO ecosystem for small businesses. This platform allows you to list your company’s name, contact details, hours of operation, and other essential information in a standardized and user-friendly format. This framework helps people interested in your business quickly find out more about it and gives your business a better chance of appearing in the ‘local pack,’ some of the most coveted search rank spots on Google’s results pages.
Why Work With Us?
At WSI Comandix, we know our digital marketing services are effective sales tools for any dispensary. Here are a few reasons why.
- Extensive Industry Experience. The cannabis industry is one of the most unique markets in Canada. We have worked with many dispensaries over years beginning from when cannabis was first legalized in 2018, giving us excellent insight into the needs of this niche market.
- Monthly Reporting. Digital marketing is a long process whose full results are often not seen until months after the first campaign launches. We offer monthly reporting to keep our clients informed of what we are doing and how our efforts have impacted their business so far.
- Proven Prowess with Local SEO. The most successful cannabis shops manage to gain and nurture a strong local following. We incorporate local SEO techniques to attract attention from users located close to you, giving you the visibility you need to begin building local popularity.
- Irrefutable Results. Ultimately, digital marketing is a business investment that must pay off. Our digital marketing services have consistently generated an excellent ROI for our many clients. We provide real value to the companies we work with and are confident that our results will significantly impact your bottom line.
Our Process
Our 3-stage process will help you win over new customers and build your business one step at a time.
Stage 1 – Attract
First, we focus on building an audience. The more people know about your business, the more sales opportunities you will have. This can be done using a variety of techniques, such as:
- SEO to build organic search traffic from users searching for cannabis products.
- Local Search to more precisely target local cannabis shoppers who may visit your store.
- Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising to provide immediate and reliable results while your SEO campaigns build momentum.
- Display Ads to reach a wider audience and incorporate visual elements into your advertising.
- Social Media ads to keep your brand message on your users’ minds, even while they browse their social media feeds.
Stage 2 – Convert
Next, we capitalize on the interest of those leads by giving them more information on your products and services. We do this using:
- Your Company Website. Your audience has questions, and your website can give them answers. We create comprehensive websites that showcase your products, allowing them to quickly find the information they need or purchase a product right there on their web browser.
- Landing Pages and WebForms. To nurture your leads closer to making a purchase, you will need to find a way to contact them. We create landing pages and web forms that offer white papers, newsletters, discounts, exclusive products, and other incentives in exchange for leads’ contact information, helping you build an organic subscriber base for your marketing content.
- Email Marketing. Whether you want to show off your latest homegrown strain, offer a few tips on cannabis consumption, or run a big promotion to drum up sales, email marketing helps you spread the word fast. We craft targeted email campaigns that reach your leads with valuable content that speaks to their needs and may just entice them into making a purchase.
Stage 3 – Retain
Once a lead has become a customer, the next step is to turn them into a regular.
We use ongoing digital marketing techniques to hold existing customers’ interest and keep them coming back for more, even years after their initial purchase. These include:
- Online Customer Reviews. The more positive online reviews you accumulate, the more confident your leads will feel about shopping there. We help you generate more of these valuable reviews with calls to action, small incentives, and other prompts that get users talking.
- Engaging Blog Content. Your blog is an opportunity to publicly demonstrate your knowledge of cannabis and show off exciting new products to a loyal audience. Reinforce your business’ professional image with informative and engaging blog posts created just for your dispensary.
Understanding the Dispensary Marketing Funnel
Effective marketing does not end when someone purchases from you. The best cannabis SEO companies know how to create a funnel that takes people from:
- Strangers to Leads
- Leads to Customers
- Customers to Advocates
Each of these stages is equally important. Only marketing that moves people through all four will create the reliable, steady-building customer base that dispensaries rely on.
Market Your Dispensary with the Best Digital Agency in the GTA
Ready to kickstart your digital marketing? Contact WSI Comandix for help. With more than 20 years of experience and a team full of world-class talent, our digital marketing services will give you the edge you need to make your cannabis dispensary a market leader in your local community.
Speak with a WSI Expert today
Leave your contact details, and we’ll have one of our WSI Digital Marketing Experts follow-up and arrange a time that works best for you to have a quick discussion.
We look forward to chatting!
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“WSI Comandix is a highly capable Digital Marketing company, who take a personal and passionate interest in your business and success. Mike, Peter and the team at WSI Comandix take responsibility for results. This is in contrast to most D.M. companies that we encountered. I highly recommend WSI Comandix, and suggest to anyone new to Digital Marketing, educate yourself first. There are a lot of false claims out there in the Digital Marketing universe. Don’t get taken advantage of.”
Dave Geiss - Officescape Markham
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“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Mike and the WSI team for over 6 years and a variety of projects, big and small, for Herjavec Group. From entire website redesigns to ad-hoc support and development, WSI is always responsive, professional and knowledgeable. They remain my #1 trusted resource for web initiatives and an extension of our team.”
Kaleigh Tait - Herjavec Group
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“The team at WSI has been an absolute dream to work with. They spent countless hours learning about our company and our clients before laying the foundation of design. We received ongoing support and what seemed to be like endless changes until our website was exactly what we needed. All changes were made quickly, and responses from the team were timely. Our lead generation from google has tripled since we published our new and improved website. We are incredibly happy with the end result. I would suggest WSI to anyone that needs a website!”
Jessica Payne - Helping Hands Doula
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“WSI Comandix has progressively produced month over month starting with a small-scale campaign / budget and as results started to appear, I have increased to a larger scale campaign which has been rewarding. New customers are finding our brand and are engaging for highly profitable project opportunities.”
Sam Beninato - renoWOW!
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“WSI/Comandix is that digital campaign manager. When you have principal Peter Jasniewski and Senior Project Manager Mike Gualtieri on your marketing team you will have unquestionably the best campaign outcome for your digital dollars. They will propose, suggest, educate and implement for you and your entire team.”
David Hirsh - Brandy Lane Homes
