The COVID-19 (or Coronavirus) Pandemic is a strange and uncertain time: people are dying; the numbers aren’t getting better worldwide; yet, in many places such as the US, the virus seems to be taking a bit of a back seat. People are tired of staying at home, frustrated about not being able to work, and anxious about losing money. However, COVID-19 hasn’t gone anywhere: in fact, a second wave is projected to hit soon. Therefore, you should think about how you will plan your cannabis business for the long term, rather than waiting for this to all blow over. There should be a responsibility as leaders of the community to ensure the safety of your customers. By setting a strong foundation now, you can build your reputation as a trustworthy, reliable, and resourceful company that the community can rely on.
Your brand’s message should still mention Coronavirus.
Showcase your understanding of the evolving challenges up ahead. Your responsible behavior shows you can still provide your products and services during the pandemic. Your statement about COVID-19 should still be one of the first things customers see or read about your business. We understand Coronavirus is now a bit stale, and most businesses are moving on to what’s trending. However, there is room for both bits of information. This can be anywhere from your business listing, e-mail, or a displayed message on your website. It does not have to have to be a huge alert, but subtle information that shows you still care about the safety of your customers.
Your brand values should reflect what is currently going on at this moment, not a few months ago. These should include:
-
Measures you are taking to protect customers and to protect your staff
-
Be really specific about what you’re doing for safety.
-
Showcase empathy towards the tough times. Many people are out of work, people may have lost someone. Let them know we are in this together.
-
Social Media Bios are a great way to share a quick tidbit of info.
-
This is a great time to reach out to your e-mail list. Don’t ask for anything: just let them know what you are up to, how you will adapt to the current situation, and how you will continue to serve your customers with the utmost care.
Transparency through photos and videos are still extremely impactful
Every business is talking about how they are adapting and how customer safety is their number one priority. But instead of talking about it, why not actually show it? Within a few seconds, you can show real proof of your team or location and all its safety measures customers want to know about.
Some video or imagery to include would be:
-
Staff wearing safety masks or shields
-
Behind the scenes footage of your Team cleaning and preparing
-
Wearing gloves while sending out packages
-
Photos of your physical location show social distancing markers.
-
One of those cheesy videos showing customer and staff interactions.
-
The team taking action to help the community. i.e donating masks and sanitizers.
-
COVID-19 friendly products can be found in many safety stores, including cannabis companies like this one I found recently, Omega
Update all Business Listings Frequently and Utilize COVID-19 Features.
Your business is likely to be listed in many places and directories. With the situation changing so often, make sure to be updated on all platforms! It can be really irritating for customers to look for your store hours and find out later that you in fact close early because of COVID-19. It shows your lack of responsibility, care for customers’ time, and lack of technological awareness. It can hurt your customer loyalty, increase negative reviews, and harm long-term growth. If you haven’t done this already, please have a talk with Marketing or your IT guy. Some other tips to bear in mind are:
-
Don’t look to fix just your Google listing, check your Weedmaps, Leafly, Apple Maps, Bing, and of course THE CBD… get on all of them!
-
As mentioned before, take advantage of new features. Google Maps added Delivery and Takeaway icons right on the front of the search: which does work for dispensaries in legal states/countries, of course. Directories like Weedmaps have a Curbside Pickup icon. Make sure these are all added to your listings.
-
Yelp has safety tools for business owners. However, they’ve recently announced they will be removing “Business Highlights” and “Advertising Options” for Cannabis Businesses. So it’s important you are aware of each directories guidelines.
-
Some listings like Google My Business let you create Social Posts. Along with adding the Photos and Videos mentioned above, provide some updates to show how your team is adjusting to the pandemic.
-
Google My Business just recently added “Online Appointments” to its features.
-
Remember that most on business listings (like Google) it is still illegal to market cannabis or mention anything cannabis-related. Choose your content carefully for each platform. If you are marketing on Google, only talk about COVID-19 and not cannabis.
Click to Collect, Curbside Pickup and Delivery is here to stay.
Whilst Curbside pickup might be gone in the future, Click-to-Collect is a new feature that has benefited from this pandemic. It provides simple ordering and pickup within minutes. Customers will always opt for convenience. High Times Corp is jumping on this train and they are launching their own Delivery Service. If they do pay at the store, offering a contactless pickup option is also a nice touch.
One Suggestion from a Reddit user is that many online stores don’t provide enough info about the flower. Now with the pandemic, it makes it hard to go into your store, open the jars of cannabis, give it a good smell. The last thing your customers want is to order online, pick up at the curb, and get cannabis they weren’t expecting.
So instead update your products with a more detailed explanation, which include:
-
THC/CBD Levels
-
TERP Profiles
-
Strain Lineage
-
Cultivator source
-
Lab Tests
-
Longer product description
-
Include better photography (especially closes-ups)
-
Add Video for each bud. Proving detailed explanations and walking them through just like the customer is actually in your store. Having your staff smell and explain the senses can at least make up for them not being there.
Currently, some of the Top Delivery and Pickup companies are:
Social Strategy should be monitored daily and constantly be evolving.
It may seem repetitive, but constantly reassessing your campaigns weekly is a must. The current situation moves so fast and what happened a couple of weeks ago might not apply today. Focus on the people rather than the product. Again, I’m not so sure audiences are really interested in upfront and direct COVID-19 related content. You should still keep them informed, without oversaturating them.
-
Daily updates from Twitter or Instagram stories play more of a pivotal role.
-
Campaigns should focus less on deals and promotions, and more on what you’re doing to ensure safety and care for your customers.
-
However, sneaking a few deals here and there can’t hurt. I had crazy munchies the other day and the local ramen shop was offering 30% off if you do their curbside pickup, so I ordered two for myself.
-
With more time at home, experiment with new platforms you haven’t tried before. Podcasts, Tik Tok, Facebook Video (make sure that your content plays within the guidelines) Now This Weed figured out Cannabis on Facebook by being a news outlet.
-
Dig deeper and proceed with caution when working with Influencers. Make sure their values align with your brand’s values. If you’re preaching social distancing, and your influencer is out and about partying in large groups, it could cause some issues. Also, guide them the right way so that you’re not enticing them to go out or take massive bong rips of your product. Ensure that they don’t make any false claims or jokes about these sensitive topics.
Contributing because you care, not just for marketing purposes:
Your commitment to helping should go way beyond Marketing. This situation is bigger than simply making money. Marketing your values rather than your products or services goes much further with today’s audience. The cannabis business is doing quite well during the pandemic, so try not to focus on maximizing your dollar, but instead focus on helping the community get through this. Such contributions can include:
-
Paid Leave for employees who are experiencing symptoms.
-
Providing discounts to medical patients, elderly or front-line workers.
-
Offering educational services online and offline, especially in low-income areas.
-
Give safety supplies to the neighborhood, or to those who visit your location.
-
Free delivery options.
-
Donating to mental health awareness or COVID-19 survivors with a hefty medical bill.
Host Virtual Events that Educate (or Entertain)
This should not need to be said, but I understand times are hard. Because Cannabis has been listed as an essential service in many cities, claims about Cannabis or CBD and the health benefits combatting COVID-19 have been circulating the Internet. As of now, there is no significant evidence that this is true. This is a very troubling time and many lives are at stake, so please do not engage with making or promoting any false claims. There is some information that can be given out, such as:
-
Inhaling Cannabis has negative effects on the respiratory system. “A compromised respiratory system might, in turn, increase susceptibility to COVID-19 and worsen the respiratory symptoms of the disease among those infected” ~Canadian Centre of Substance Use and Addiction
-
“Coughing can disperse COVID-19 pathogens into the air, and this is what we all want to avoid” ~Leafly
-
Safety: Advise users to stop sharing joints and bongs. Keep a social distance when smoking personal joints.
-
Procedures: Washing hands before any smoking or rolling J’s. Apparently, Soap annihilates COVID-19
-
Mental health: This is a big issue during the quarantine. Educate your customers on safe use, NOT overuse.
-
Provide quick updates on any changes to rules or regulations about COVID-19 and Cannabis. Be a source of trusted information.
-
With so many isolated and mental health issues are on the rise. There has been a huge demand for uplifting content. Host a music festival, a 420 virtual session, or 420 comedy hour. Be creative and combine entertainment with education!
-
If you don’t have time to host an event, you can also attend or sponsor upcoming Cannabis Virtual Events