Top 10 Ways to Improve Your MMJ Dispensary

So you want to open your very own Medical Marijuana dispensary.

Finding a location, getting a license, and acquiring a coveted city permit is no small task.

However, the real challenge begins when managing daily dispensary operations.

A Powerful Point Of Sale

Intuitive and comprehensive point of sale software is the backbone of any growing dispensary. With increasing customer traffic the more complicated and overwhelming it can become.

Don’t worry, there’s an app for that. IndicaOnline has developed a powerful and integrated POS software for the Apple iPad making for quick and hassle free transactions. The clean and simple design of IndicaOnline’s all-in-one hardware unit connects the iPad to the electronic cash drawer and thermal receipt printer to quickly process sales.

It also includes a barcode scanner and magnetic strip reader making it effortless for budtenders to ring up products and run credit cards with ease. In addition, it connects seamlessly with digital scales that precisely weigh and price flower eliminating the chance for human error.

To maximize efficiency, app navigation needs to be intuitive and accessible. IndicaOnline has done this flawlessly with their simple selection of either flower, concentrate, or edible.

Promotional offers and discount are preset so budtenders don't have to keep track of happy hours, daily discounts, sale items, or first time patient rewards.

Patients will no longer need to remember their loyalty card for each visit, instead their customer profile will keep track for them. Returning patients can take advantage of their loyalty points which are automatically embedded into the software.

Front of House

I can’t overstate how important the first-impression is upon entering into a MMJ dispensary. It’s easy to get lost in the many details that make up your dispensary lobby. Whether its decor, lighting, furnishings, or reading materials, it’s worth remembering the process is the most important.

A friendly and attentive receptionist is the first point of contact at a dispensary and it’s vital they make a good impression. IndicaOnline is a saving grace for receptionists as printing paper copies of state ID and doctor recommendations is a burden and time consuming.

A quick scan of the patient’s state ID and photo of their MMJ recommendation is all you need to create a customer profile. Once a profile exists the IndicaOnline software tracks the patient’s visits, purchase history, recommendation expiration, and notification preferences.

One-step verification is all that’s required since IndicaOnline is directly connected to all major online verification providers.

While many patients are accustom to using an old fashioned sign-in sheet and clipboard, you can set a professional precedent with digital sign-in on tablets. Not only does this look more professional but also saves time for first time customers who can digitally sign the membership agreement. The IndicaOnline application makes this possible and goes one step further providing budtenders a queue of incoming patients.

Expediting a first time patient’s visit with IndicaOnline’s effortless sign-in will impress and make for a memorable experience ensuring the customer's return.

Want to really dazzle your new patients? IndicaOnlineTV now offers digital signage for your front of house that displays menus, weekly deals, and custom promotions.

A tech friendly front of house presents professionalism and customer service, not to mention it saves staff time and headache.

Staff Management

As a dispensary owner you want dependable, trustworthy, and persuasive employees.

IndicaOnline boasts their POS software is “stoner proof” with clear labeling of all strains and products that give staff the tools they need to succeed.

IndicaOnline allows owners to see when their staff clock in and out, monitor each sale, as well as the daily performance of each budtender.

The daily reports include the opening amont, cash sales, the number of transactions, total net sales, and expected drawer.

What better way to identify your all-star sellers but also employees who might be falling behind.

Master Marketing

Mastering your brand marketing is the key to growth for any company. This is especially true in the highly competitive Medical Marijuana industry.

Digital marketing has changed the game and maximizes effectiveness with targeted campaigns that generate lucrative returns. Without the right tools, it’s easy to get left behind and lose potential customers.

IndicaOnline to the rescue!

Automated emails and text messages are the bread and butter of a successful digital marketing campaign. You can schedule and send SMS and Email, providing customers with valuable discount codes, limited time promotions, and sales alerts.

IndicaOnline enables dispensaries to refine their target audience by catering to patients who are military, disabled, senior citizens, or cancer patients. Creating patient categories is key as customers are more responsive and take advantage of campaigns that are catered specifically for them.

Offering discounts to existing patients for referrals is a great way to grow your dispensary and incentivize your loyal customers. Benefit from using analytics with every marketing campaign to identify what methods are successful and what methods fail.

IndicaOnline provides a detailed analysis of every automated email and SMS campaign. These statistics will help determine how to reach a larger audience with future campaigns.

While digital marketing is highly effective don’t underestimate the value of traditional marketing methods. Professionally designed labels are very effective especially when every patient is leaving with medicine bottles brandishing your logo.

Growing your brand is paramount to the success of your dispensary and targeted marketing will increase awareness and generate sales.

Inventory Integration

Managing inventory is always tricky with the large variety of products that medical marijuana dispensaries carry. Keeping track of flower, vendors, consignment, and payments can be difficult and messy with countless invoices and cluttered ledgers.

Finally there is a simple solve with IndicaOnline’s inventory integration. Adding a new product is painless.

You can quickly upload a product photo, name the strain, enter the weight, add a description, and categorize the product. With barcode and RFID technology built right into the register, it’s easy to track inventory consumption, expiration, and shelf life avoiding unnecessary waste.

Advanced features allow the addition of lab results for high potency flower, and top-shelf presets such as exotic, premium, or reserve.

No need to worry about updating your website or Weedmaps menu. IndicaOnline will do this automatically when a new product is added or out of stock. Many dispensaries work with outside vendors especially if they’re able to consistently provide a quality product.

Vendor Tracking

With the amount of vendors growing rapidly, it can be difficult to remember who sold what and when.

IndicaOnline provides a vendor database with names, product descriptions, contact information, payment history, and outstanding balances to simplify organization.

This is invaluable for dispensary owners who like to keep track of vendors that supply product that looks good, smells great, and sells quickly. The ability to quickly view a batch, the supplying vendor, the cost per unit, and payment status will alleviate the headache and allow owners to narrow in on their highest producing vendors.

IndicaOnline also provides pricing presets that are categorized by weight and/or piece to save time when updating your inventory.

It’s imperative for a growing dispensary to keep thorough records in regards to inventory.

This is why using IndicaOnline is a real game changer for any dispensary looking to streamline their operations.

Dominating Delivery

Delivery is an essential service for the Medical Marijuana industry as whole. It’s no wonder why patients don't mind paying a little extra to have their favorite flower or edible show up a their front door.

Some dispensaries choose delivery exclusively using online stores to sell their products. Many brick and mortar dispensaries now offer delivery service in addition to their walk-in service to remain competitive.

IndicaOnline has solutions for both.

GPS tracking allows dispatch to see exactly where couriers are located, the amount of cash collected, the weight on board, and arrival times.

Dispatch will find the IndicaOnline software useful as they can route couriers to the nearest hub to collect incoming orders. Once orders are succesfully delivered the dispatch is notified automatically.

Dispatch can also see how many orders each courier has in queue. This helps them avoid overloading one courier with too many drop-offs or deliveries that are miles apart.

The courier will appreciate the ability to be extremely mobile with IndicaOnine’s digital registration and verification. They can quickly create and verify a patient profile by uploading photos of the recommendation and state ID.

Even patients will appreciate IndicaOnline’s user friendly interface as reading and signing the patient agreement is quick and painless.

IndicaOnline includes in-app messaging between dispatch and courier allowing for quick and clear communication if any issues arise.

Another advantage of IndicaOnline is deliveries are tracked and reported to analyze what products are selling well in each area. This information is helpful when creating marketing campaigns as geo-targeting will promote deals to areas that have high sales of a certain product.

Delivery service is mandatory and without it a medical marijuana dispensary will lose potential customers and valuable revenue.

IndicaOnline provides an efficient and effective app to deliver goods and acquire new customers who might be physically unable to walk into the dispensary.

Keeping Compliant

Every election a new Medical Marijuana proposition show up on another state ballot. Shortly thereafter the proposition is voted in with overwhelming response.

However, it’s important to note that each state also has very specific compliance laws and tax tiers. Fortunately, there’s a simple solution to stay profitable while also staying compliant.

IndicaOnline’s revolutionary software and POS app, has automated the compliance and necessary taxes by location.

It’s as simple as entering the zip code of your location and the taxes are applied to each transaction.

Customer Confidentiality

Customer confidentiality is essential when operating a Medical Marijuana dispensary. Patients want peace of mind knowing that their information is private and protected.

Recent cyber attacks prove that extreme measures must be taken to ensure that dispensary POS information is secure.

IndicaOnline understands the importance of building trust between dispensary owners and their customers.

Therefore all information collected in the IndicaOnline POS software is stored in maximum security data centers in multiple locations in the U.S. and Canada.

IndicaOnline’s cloud based software is 100% secure and HIPAA compliant, fulfilling and exceeding security standards for data storage.

All information is protected against unauthorized retrieval with 256-bit SSL file encryption, and guarded by armed security personnel.

This level of protection is required for patients to feel confident about visiting and purchasing from dispensaries.

Dispensary Do's

Whether you’re an ambitious new dispensary owner or a seasoned Medical Marijuana business investor you’re probably asking yourself, what does a service such as IndicaOnline cost? Fortunately it’s incredibly affordable.

In fact, if you still have reservations about IndicaOnline’s platform, you can try the app for 14 days free of charge without submitting any credit card information.

Once you experience the user friendly interface and understand the advantages it offers, upgrade your account to the Basic or Pro version.

Visit the IndicaOnline homepage for a detailed pricing guide and purchase the plan that is right for your medical marijuana dispensary.