Try These 6 Dispensary Deals to Drive Sales

As a dispensary owner, you will need to be creative to win over customers and much like any other retailer, the shop with best deals earns the most business. Consumers are driven by discounts, price cuts, markdowns, and limited time sales.

As medicinal marijuana makes it way to more and more states, dispensaries will be competing for patients. Medical marijuana dispensaries must adhere to these new standards or see their profits decline. 

First-Time Patient

A first-time patient is often the one and only opportunity a dispensary has to hook a customer. There is an expectation of being inundated with freebies when a patient comes in for the first time. Whether it's a free gram, pre-roll, edible, dab, or keef, first timers aren't satisfied unless they walk out with a bag full of goodies.

The best way to convince a first-time patient is to give them options using a wide variety of products. An experienced budtender will ask about a patient's preferences and recommend products that suit them best. This type of customer service does not go unnoticed and contributes largely to a patient's return.

It's also extremely important to keep a record of purchases from first-time patients. This information is automatically added to the patient's profile using IndicaOnline and will help service this patient during future visits.

Setting your brand apart is critical right from the start, so including custom labels on containers featuring your logo makes a big difference. IndicaOnline's custom label maker will give your products the polished look they deserve.

Referral Reefer

One of the best ways to increase patient traffic is enlisting your existing patients to refer their friends, family, and co-workers. Offering free eighths or concentrates is a great motivator to your loyal following and the best part is they're are easy to reach. IndicaOnline offers SMS campaigns that target your current clientele notifying them of your referral specials.

Referrals are so valuable because they utilize the most effective type of marketing, word of mouth. Having a friend or family member recommend a specific dispensary is the goal of referrals and offers unique advantages.

Often times referrals bring in the existing patient and a new patient doubling your potential sales.  The referral patient will benefit from being a first-time patient and the current patient will reap the reward of the referral special.

Allowing patients to make unlimited referrals within a limited time period creates urgency and should motivate them to spread the word even faster.

Daily Deals

Daily deals are definitely a great way to increase traffic into a dispensary. If there are certain days that tend to generate lower sales than others, advertising a special for those specific days will help boost sales. 

Typically days earlier in the week are the ones that need the most help, so starting out the week with a Marijuana Monday is a great idea. Offering buy one eighth, get one free can motivate customers to make their visit or online orders on Monday. Some dispensaries like to advertise Medible Mondays, that cater to those patients who use edibles to help with their ailments.

Toke up Tuesday is a great day to offer markdowns on pre-rolls or top-shelf flower.

When utilizing daily deals it's a good idea to offer a wide variety of products throughout the week.

Waxy Wednesday will give dispensaries the opportunity to discount all waxes, oils, and rosins in-store.  

Customers will really expect to get the most bang for their buck on Thrifty Thursdays. This provides the perfect opportunity for dispensaries to move those jars of flower that have been in stock too long.

Friday's are generally busy days for dispensaries as patients want to stock up for the weekend. However, advertising Faded Friday is still a good idea as you want to ensure patients come to you for their weekend supply. Many dispensaries will raise the weight and lower the price for Faded Friday offering 5 grams for $45 of certain strains for example. 

Shatter Saturday is fairly obvious but it helps sell shatter and concentrates that sometimes get overlooked on the weekend.

Smoke up Sunday could be as simple as offering free dabs in store on Sunday.

IndicaOnline TV makes it easy to see when and what is on special with digital signage in the lobby.

There are ample opportunities to create daily deals that will sell a diverse array of products for the dispensary.

Not to mention, daily deals will also qualify dispensaries for the DEALS section of Weedmaps and raise brand awareness.

Happy Hour

Just as some days are slower than others, there are also specific hours of the day that consistently show a downturn in sales. This is when implementing happy hour is the best thing you can do for increasing business.

Generally speaking, dispensaries will offer happy hour twice a day, the first happy hour is often times late morning to early afternoon. During the work week these hours are significantly slower so a happy hour is key to getting patients in the door.

The second happy hour is intended to attract those customers who get off work anywhere from 4 to 6pm. This time slot will assuredly see an uptick in sales as there are ample patients looking to relax after a long day of work.

With so many daily deals, specials, and discounts, it can be difficult for dispensary employees to keep track of it all.

IndicaOnline's POS software keeps track for you. Simply enter in the daily deals into the pricing presets and they'll appear on the POS inventory and be applied automatically at check-out.

Loyalty Program

Loyalty programs are now ingrained into dispensary culture. First-time customers often times receive a club card that can bring back to the dispensary each visit and accrue point for rewards.

While this is a good idea in theory, most patients either forget to bring the card each visit or even lose the card completely. This system of loyalty rewards is flawed and can sometimes leave customers frustrated or annoyed.

IndicaOnline has solved this issue by including a points program right into the POS Software. Patient loyalty points will be directly integrated into their patient profile so there is no need to remember a loyalty card.

Dispensaries can customize how customers earn and redeem loyalty points including bonus points for referrals. At checkout the patient will be presented with the opportunity to cash in their loyalty point for discounts or rewards.

Ganja Games

A great way to encourage customers to return to your dispensary is to offer unique opportunities to win prizes. Creating fun and entertaining 'ganja games' will make a customer's experience memorable and engaging.

Giving first-time patients or loyal customers a chance to spin-the-wheel for free edibles, grams, waxes, etc. will likely keep them coming back. 

Another enticing game some dispensaries use is guess how many. Customers can guess how many pre-rolls or buds are in a large jar. At the end of the week, the person or persons who guessed correctly will be contacted and notified of their prize.

Draw a Reward is a popular dispensary game where first-time patients reach into a bag or box and draw a reward ranging from free pre-rolls to free vape pens.

A very addictive and fascinating game is Drop, Sink, Clink. This game is very ingenious for dispensaries to use and can also increase tips for your employees. Drop, Sink, Clink is simply a large jar filled with water that has a shot glass at the bottom. Customers drop coins into the jar hoping to land their coin in the shot glass. If they do, they'll win a free gram or a free cartridge and if not, the coins will be considered a tip for the budtenders.

The last game engages all of your customers through social media and can really generate a lot of buzz online for your growing brand. Photo competitions are very popular because it's easy to gain followers on Instagram. Dispensaries ask patients to submit photos by including a specific hashtag, and follow the dispensary on Instagram. 

Typically the dispensary will choose a winner as well as an honorable mention. The winner will receive a big prize package while the honorable mention receives something smaller.

Ganja Games give dispensaries a chance to set themselves apart while gaining more customers. 

Driving Sales

Deals drive sales, plain and simple.

How a dispensary chooses to apply these discounts and specials depends on their specific needs. 

The methods outlined above are a great place to start but can certainly be expanded upon.

However, IndicaOnline can provide the resources to execute these deals with a high success rate and minimal frustration.