15 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Cannabis Marketing Agency

Ask Yourself These 6 Questions Before Hiring a Cannabis Marketing Agency

What do you want to achieve?

There are plenty of pain points that dispensaries encounter. From trying to carve out a niche in a crowded market to making inroads in new markets. Having clear goals will help you better identify whether specific agencies are better suited toward helping you reach your milestones.

Do you have time limits?

After you have your goals, consider if they’re time-sensitive. For example, if you’re opening a new location, when do you want everything done by? This can impact who you choose to work with. Not every team will be able to deliver quickly to help you reach your goals.

Do you have a process in place for verifying ad compliance?

If you need to run ads by your compliance team or your state’s regulatory agency, then check what the process is so you can explain it to a potential partner and ensure they’re able to work within your framework.

Who on your team will communicate with your agency?

Make sure you have a point person and that they can handle the back-and-forth that outsourcing work requires. This person should be included in the hiring process so they will be familiar with the cannabis marketing agency and the relationship gets off to a good start.

How do you plan on paying for your ads?

Banking in the cannabis industry leaves a lot to be desired. It makes many things harder than they need to be. Make sure you understand the process your dispensary has in place for invoices so that you can be sure any agency you work with be able to accommodate your payment methods. For example, if you need to wire payment or send a check after an invoice is generated, talk about this with any potential partners!

How much do I want to spend?

Make sure you have a handle on your budget. This will help you better determine what marketing activities you can take on. When you share your budget with a potential partner, they can then give you more insight into what you can expect from that investment.
Now that you’re more familiar with your internal goals and processes, you’re ready to onboard the right partner! Here’s what you should ask a cannabis marketing agency.

Ask These 9 Questions Before Hiring a Cannabis Marketing Agency

How do you propose our dispensary reach our goals?

Different agencies may rely on different tools. Make sure you understand their preferred strategies and how they align with your goals.

What would you need to help us reach those milestones?

Your partner may need access to certain things like your Google Analytics account or other data to help determine whether goals are being met.

What industries do you cater to?

Some marketing agencies are now working within the cannabis industry. It’s an exciting industry, after all! But that doesn’t make them experts. If you want someone that knows the ins-and-outs of the industry, ask about their areas of expertise.

What types of ads can you run for us?

There are plenty of different ways to reach people, and not all are suited for every audience. If you want to run geographically targeted ads or Google Ads to gain more brand exposure, make sure any potential partner has the capability and experience to do so.

What’s included in your services?

Does the agency provide graphic design services? Do they manage your ads? Create additional content for you? Or are there things that they need from your team? Understand the scope of work before signing anything.

How do you ensure your ads are effective?

There’s a big difference between putting up a billboard and beginning a display ads campaign. For one, you can’t measure the effectiveness of the billboard as well as you can display ads. Because the cannabis industry is relatively young, marketers have gotten away with creating ads and not providing information regarding whether they are working. If you want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth, though, ask about ad monitoring and revenue attribution.

Will we own the work that you do for us?

When an agency creates a website, graphics, or copy for your cannabis marketing, the ownership of these materials typically depends on the terms outlined in your contract.

How is billing handled?

Make sure you understand your payment options so that you don’t have to deal with cash. A cannabis marketing agency that understands the industry should be able to offer you multiple different ways to pay so you can find the one that best suits your needs.

Who will we be communicating with?

Just like you have a point person on your team, you’ll want to know who the point person on the agency’s side will be.
At MediaJel, we support dispensaries and cannabis brands and help them grow with Display Ads, Google Ads, search engine optimization, and website design. Want to learn more? Schedule a call and let’s talk about how we can increase your online sales.