Selling cannabis can be a lucrative and rewarding opportunity. Marijuana helps people relax and can also provide a host of health benefits. You’re providing a quality service, but how do you get the information about business into the hands of consumers? This article will focus on some guidelines for content marketing as a member of the cannabis industry.
Professionalism Wins, Every Time
Recreational use of cannabis has developed its own subculture, and that subculture often grates against mainstream sensibilities. Because cannabis is still illegal in the majority of the United States, it has a stigma surrounding it that affects everyone – even if they aren’t cognizant of it.
Marketing a product that is traditionally viewed as taboo is not without its challenges, and one of the biggest steps towards marketing your business is establishing it as a legitimate enterprise in the eyes of your consumers.
Edgy advertisements make a lot of people uncomfortable, and while users of cannabis are most times a little more open to nontraditional marketing strategies, you’re going to reach a wider audience with a more palatable campaign.
This tip is especially important for those focusing on medical cannabis. You’re offering a health service, so make sure you advertise yourself as a medical treatment rather than a way to get high. Here are some tips to help you with that.
People in pain who have not gotten the help they need from traditional medicine, and they make up a valuable market and an important part of your customer base. Straddle the line between traditional and alternative medicine to give the impression both that it’s outside of mainstream medicine and that it’s effective and backed by research.
Make Sure You Have The Ability To Deliver on Promises
This tip is equally as important as the first. Make sure that you’re not overselling yourself, or setting yourself up as an unreliable business – or even a downright liar. Cannabis is still a touchy subject for many people, and a lot of consumers are unsure and nervous about taking the step to buy from your business. Offering a different or lesser service through advertising than you actually offer is a recipe for disaster.
Consumers are trusting in the legitimacy of your business. Failing to deliver on your promises will erase that legitimacy and cause them to view your business as shady or taboo rather than the customer-centric company you’re trying to be.
Push Through Resistance
Ultimately, trying to advertise a product like cannabis presents challenges that a lot of other businesses never have to worry about. Even following these tips, it’s likely that you will struggle to get the results you need right away. Keep making yourself visible. Putting yourself out there and being a legitimate presence in your local community may start to change customer perceptions over time.
It’s 2017 and we’re slowly but surely moving towards a future where cannabis is just another part of daily life. As part of the industry, you’re a member of a movement that’s going to drive public perception towards normalization of a beneficial way to relax and heal.
All in all, just continue to push through resistance and build your business through continued marketing routines. You may see a difference sooner than you think!
