As they say, it’s “loyalty” over “royalty” that’s important in business. The same principle holds for those in the cannabis business. Scores of surveys have proved that loyalty programs offered by companies helped them expand more rapidly and their average revenue per user was also high. They were able to cut costs by leveraging on the existing customer base rather than spending exorbitantly on marketing to acquire new ones. The loyalty programs offer lifetime value to both customers and businesses.
As per a survey, about 84 percent of consumers believe in staying loyal to a business or a brand that offers loyalty programs to their customers. Around 66 percent of people think their shopping behavior changes when they get to know about the company’s reward programs. So how important are the loyalty programs when it comes to the cannabis business? In this article, we shall discuss different loyalty programs that employers can implement to win over customers.
Let’s dive in!
What’s Cannabis and How The Business Works?
The first commercial use of cannabis as a healer medicine goes back to the 18th century when Sir William Brooke O’Shaughnessy, an Irish doctor, studying in India, found that cannabis can treat patients suffering from stomach pain and cholera. It can now treat various ailments and serve recreational purposes. In this article, we are only talking about how companies can analyze customer behavior to offer the best products for recreational purposes. The needs of cannabis consumers are changing rapidly. As the cannabis consumer base increases, it becomes more important to present them with options so they can remain lifelong customers. Price, strain variety, and content, everything matters. That’s why it’s super important to focus on every aspect of cannabis production to deliver the best product.
According to a survey conducted by Marijuana Business Daily and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, average US users spend about $1,800 on marijuana for recreational and medical purposes. This is the national average, and in some areas, the average spending is very high. Overall, an average American is spending more on cannabis than alcohol and tobacco, which is a positive sign for the whole industry. A majority of people buy their products from genuine markets like dispensaries and recreational stores. A successful loyalty program can help boost the sales target, thereby helping you achieve financial goals.
Loyalty Programme Ideas
We have compiled a list of loyalty program ideas that can help set up a loyal customer base. These are:
Points Per Visit Or Purchase
This is one of the most widely used and successful loyalty programs run by several cannabis companies. Both the vertices of this program provide you insights on customer visits at a specific time and a detailed analysis of their buying behavior. As they remain glued to your business due to the loyalty program, you’ll be able to understand what’s working and what’s not. Products that should make it to the shelf and those not worth your efforts. It also saves customers from a lot of hassle of keeping up with physical punch cards when visiting the store.
Social Media Campaign
Though there are several restrictions in place on the online marketing of cannabis and medical marijuana products, you can still cash in on social media’s power to build a solid online presence using some smart tricks. You can encourage loyal customers to become brand ambassadors of your products online and tag your friends to be a part of it. For doing so, they can get rewards including points or cashback on purchases or discounts. They also share their experiences, give reviews, create DIY videos and get benefits on their purchase whenever they order something from your store. Social media is an important marketing tool these days. If you want to build a solid customer base, it should be the top priority for you.
Gift Cards
Gift cards play a huge role in strengthening your brand. They can be offered in two ways — first via incentivizing customers and second by offering gift cards on a specific purchase. You can incentivize customers with, let’s say, 10 percent off on purchasing a gift card of a specific amount. Similarly, on reaching a certain purchase limit, you can offer a gift card to them. This is a unique way to keep customers glued to your products. They will always see profit in buying from your store than trying a new one where they’ll have to pay at full market prices. Most often, gift cards are given by people to their friends and family, which helps in spreading the word out.
Annual Subscription Programme
This is also one of the most widely used loyalty programs these days. Made famous by the Amazon Prime subscription model, almost every company that’s into B2C space offers an annual flat-fee program these days. You can set a specific amount as an annual subscription fee to unlock all exclusive deals for your loyal customers. They should also get some kind of goodies, including T-shirts, sunglasses, and other smaller gifts, as they sign up for the flat-fee program. Most companies offer huge sales once or twice a year. Such a loyal customer base should get access to the store products one or two days before the sale starts for all customers. They can also be targeted via customized deals using data analytics and AI techniques.
Referrals
Word of mouth or referral is one of the oldest and most authentic ways of building a customer base. Those spreading the word should be incentivized with reward points for referring your brand to their friends and families. This marketing strategy can be helpful for both new and old customers as they both get rewards. You should seek their reviews on specific products via online forums as well as offline mediums. Feedback is a very important part of any business. Those who constantly correct themselves are the ones who scale up the heights and achieve greater results.
