Dispensary Loyalty Programs

Curious about Dispensary Loyalty Programs? Take a deep dive with us as we explore the many benefits to both your dispensary and your customers.

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In order to thrive in the rapidly growing cannabis industry, it is essential that your business creates and retains loyal customers. A study conducted by Headset analyzed customer spending habits and discovered that a loyal customers average transaction is just over $10.00 more than a non-loyal customers average transaction.

One of the most effective ways of showing loyal customers your appreciation is by creating a dispensary loyalty program. Offering customers special deals and free merchandise serves as a strong incentive for them to return and spread the word about your business.

We’ll cover everything you need to know about marijuana loyalty programs and how to effectively implement a rewards program of your own. 

4 Reasons Why Dispensary Loyalty Programs Are Important

Customer Retention / Rewarding Loyal Customers

Rewarding your customer's loyalty is beneficial to both parties. Consulting firm Bain & Co. found that a 5-percent increase in customer retention can increase profitability by 75 percent. Giving out deals and free merchandise may seem like it’s hurting your bottom line, but it pays for itself and then some in the long run. Combine with SMS for maximum effectiveness.

Lead Generation / Brand Recognition

If customers want to take advantage of the deals you’re offering through your dispensary loyalty program, they’ll need to sign-up using their phone number or email address. This means that you’ll be able to directly market to someone who you already know is interested in your product.

Furthermore, your brand will become a common name to your customer. Sometimes, all it takes is a familiar face to drive a sale. Consumers are more likely to do business with a brand they recognize and trust, and this relationship can be nurtured through text and email marketing.

Making Your Business Stand Out From the Competition

Countless dispensaries are vying for your customer’s business. You need a way to market your brand on a different frequency so you can be heard clearly through the competition’s noise. Offering a rewards program could be the slight advantage that ensures your customer doesn’t check out the dispensary down the street.

Opportunity to Analyze Customer Data

The software companies that help you set up your cannabis loyalty program do so by analyzing customer data. This data can also be used to determine what product to stock, which vendors to work with, and to help set revenue targets. Metrics like this are what helped Amazon become the international retail giant that it is today.

5 Different Types of Dispensary Loyalty Programs

Choosing the right type of dispensary loyalty program will depend on your business structure and customer needs. The last part is especially important. Giving customers rewards they value is what will instill loyalty. Simply giving away unwanted or overstocked merchandise could have the opposite effect.

Check-In Bonus

With the growing presence of tablets at checkouts, this program has become a simple way to gather data on the customer. Customers enter their email, or phone number and a system keeps track of their visits. Each visit will earn them bonuses which can be redeemed for in-store purchases.

Referral Program / Referral Rewards

This program works by rewarding customers for sending new business your way. Referral programs are beneficial because they not only attract new customers, they also strengthen the bond with existing customers.

Cash Back Points

This program is commonly used at retailers and will likely be familiar to your customer. For every dollar spent, a specified amount of points is earned. These points can be redeemed for in-store purchases.

Tiered Program

The tiered program is similar to the points program except it puts more of an emphasis on long-term loyalty. Customers are put into tiers based on the amount they spend at your store over a period of time. The more money spent, the higher the tier they’re placed in. As customers climb the tier ladder, more savings and exclusive deals are rewarded.

Loyalty Cards

Loyalty cards reward customers for returned visits. They can be something as simple as a punch card. For example: Each time a customer visits, a hole is punched in the loyalty card. On the seventh punch, the card can be redeemed for 15 percent off! The downfall of this program is it’s impossible to track customer data unless you distribute cards that can be scanned electronically.

Examples of Dispensary Loyalty Programs

Haven

Haven is a Maryland dispensary that capitalizes on wordplay and word-of-mouth by offering customers a “reefer-a-friend” program. Customers are given a card which they then give to a friend. If the friend presents the card at checkout, then the person who referred them earns points which can be redeemed in-store.

Clear Choice Cannabis

Clear Choice Cannabis is a dispensary out of the beautiful state of Washington. Their customers can sign up for a dispensary loyalty program in which they earn one point for each dollar spent. Once a certain amount of points have been earned, they can be redeemed for up to 20% off an entire purchase.

Greenside Recreational

Hailing out of Washington, Greenside Recreational has decided on the visit-based bonus program. When customers initially sign up for the dispensary loyalty program, they receive 10 percent off a retail priced item. Every fifth visit they receive the same reward.

How to Communicate Your Dispensary Loyalty Program

Getting customers to sign up for your loyalty program through text via a text loyalty program, or email campaign is the best way to keep your customer informed and make sure your message is heard. Texts are especially effective as they are more likely to be read than an email, which can easily be lost among hundreds of other emails.

If you decide to go the text message route, it’s important that you’re aware of a couple of things. First, by law, customers must physically opt-in to receive text messages. Second, don’t overdo the texting. If you’re sending too many customers will ignore your message and potentially become annoyed with your business and opt out of the text loyalty program. 

Conclusion

An effective dispensary loyalty program keeps your clientele happy without sacrificing profit. But where do you start? Deciding on a profitable rewards program consists of collecting and analyzing heaps of data.

Luckily, there are software companies that exist specifically for this purpose. Consulting with a cannabis software company about a dispensary loyalty program could save you time and earn you a greater profit by keeping the customers you value most coming back to your business.

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Ready to get started with your dispensary loyalty program? Fill out the form below and one of our recommended partners will reach out to you with more information. 

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Given the unique position of the cannabis industry, we’re only covering the digital marketing channels that are permitted to use by ancillary businesses, brands, dispensary owners, mobile applications, producers, processors, and websites. There is a legal gray area when marketing cannabis companies, and you should regularly reference the laws within your state before starting any campaign.

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