How to Be a Marketer with an Investor Mindset with Cannabis eCommerce Expert Mike Bibbey

Tips for Managing Marketing Budgets During a Recession

“Only a crisis – actual or perceived – produces real change” – Milton Friedman

What if your cannabis company viewed marketing budgets as investments rather than expenses?

Does your organization have the data-driven, flexible culture needed to reallocate marketing investments during an economic downturn instead of sending budgets to the chopping block?

Cannabis Recession Marketing Tactics

Embracing an investor-focused mindset means viewing each marketing investment in terms of risk-to-reward scenarios, executing quick pivots as cannabis markets shift, and displaying fearless re-allocation of marketing funds during uncertain times.

When developing annual marketing budgets, an agile CMO must consider these cannabis recession marketing influences: market trends, product demand, and other economic influencers. A mix of short-term investments that generate quick returns and riskier investments with longer investment horizons will help confront the headwinds of an uncertain economic landscape and drive increased value for your business.

Level up your marketing acumen and learn cannabis recession marketing tips from expert Mike Bibbey. Don’t forget to bring your notebooks because we will be digging into how to approach marketing budgets with an investor mindset and pivot your investments during economic fluctuations affecting current cannabis markets.

During our 60-minute webinar, we’ll cover:

Flipping the script on marketing as an expense and legitimizing marketers as valuable drivers of both long and short-term business outcomes
Develop your competitive advantage with a calculated, data-driven marketing plan – the metrics you need to back up your initiatives
The long and short-term investments your cannabis business must include in your marketing strategy.
Develop scenario planning approaches to capitalize on new opportunities and protect marketing investments and revenue during economic uncertainty

Here’s a Preview of the Webinar:

> [7 MIN] Gauging Market Downturns and How To Pivot Marketing Spend
> [8:47 MIN] Performance Marketing Vs Brand Marketing Revenue Impacts and Measurements
> [15 MIN] Marketing Budgets Based on Business Cycles: Growth Mode Vs. Guarding Market Share
> [17 MIN] Percentage of Marketing Budgets That Should Be Used on Testing
> [19:30 MIN] Mix of Short Term and Long Term Marketing Investments
> [10 MIN] How to Advertise Cannabis Online
> [28 MIN] Customer Retention VS. Customer Acquisition Spends
> [33 MIN] Marketing Reports Your CFO Needs
> [36:20 MIN] How to Ask Your CFO For More Money
> [40 MIN] Successful Cannabis Marketing Campaigns
> [5o MIN] How Thinking Like An Investor Helps Every Marketer Grow

Webinar Highlights

Which Marketing KPIs are Most Important to CFOs?

00:08:46 – 00:09:58: Guillermo Bravo and Mike Bibbey, VP of Digital Marketing at Curaleaf, discuss the importance of tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and data in marketing. Guillermo emphasizes the need to view marketing as a revenue driver rather than a cost center. Mike agrees and highlights the importance of comprehensive tracking, including Google Analytics and data warehousing, to understand the impact of marketing spend. He mentions that financial stakeholders are more likely to support marketing initiatives when clear data shows the return on investment. Mike also discusses the challenge of tracking brand awareness for products sold in third-party stores and the importance of aligning with financial teams. It is necessary to track everything to avoid marketing budget cuts by the CFO.

How to Approach Marketing Channels Without Data Tracking Capabilities

00:10:56 – 00:12:12: Guillermo Bravo and Mike Bibbey delve into the challenges of tracking traditional marketing methods and presenting channels that don’t have digital tracking capabilities to a CFO. Mike acknowledges the inherent difficulties in quantifying results for above-the-line branding campaigns, such as billboards, and suggests adopting a holistic perspective on their influence. When presenting budgets to financial teams, marketers should distinguish between fixed budgets for branding and adaptable budgets for performance campaigns. Make sure to emphasize the power of reallocating resources and scaling tactics that drive performance. Effective collaboration between marketing and financial departments enables agile decision-making that delivers marketing results and return on investment.

Up to 50% of your Online Revenue Should be from SEO

00:21:49 – 00:23:42: As Google dominates the online search market, encompassing 93% of all searches in the US, Guillermo Bravo believes that Google is the primary platform for cannabis searches – beating out dedicated cannabis marketplaces like Leafly or Weedmaps. Investing in SEO is an ongoing process of building trust and authority with long-term benefits. Over time, your content ranking grows, allowing you to reach more organic traffic.

SEO could drive a significant portion of your online revenue from organic and Google My Business traffic. Guillermo encourages cannabis businesses to start cultivating a customer database. To capture first-party data through website opt-ins, he suggests initiating a customer journey that includes loyalty programs and CRM engagement. Using data to engage customers through email, SMS, and push notifications is one of the most efficient ways to grow cannabis businesses.