How to be a little closer to customers?
Interest
The cornerstone of a successful business is the ability to be helpful to your customers. If shoppers see that you're just a salesperson who might offer sheep wool socks or raw biscuits and screwdrivers, it's hard to gain their trust.
A passion for cannabis is essential to make people feel like they are in the right place to understand.
Advice
Closely related to the previous point is counselling. It doesn't matter if the customer is a newcomer and finds it difficult to navigate among cannabis products, or a seasoned user who is looking for something new, wants to debate, share and share experiences. Anyone who enters the shop deserves your attention and will appreciate you being on hand to advise them on their selection or introduce them to the world of cannabis. No enquiry should surprise you. You should be able to provide customers with information on possible effects, present product certifications and laboratory tests, know your way around brands and individual products, and know enough about use, storage and subsequent recycling. You should keep abreast of market news and current cases, you can share your own experience and can propose individual solutions for each customer, but you are also well aware of the ethical and legal boundaries of what you should or should not say to your customers. Whether it concerns drops, crystals, pet accessories, topical products or even vaporizers.
On the other hand, remember that the use of cannabis products is each person's responsibility (ideally in consultation with a doctor). Your help should only be suggestive.
In plain sight
Stone shop is hidden in the flood of e-shops. If you've made it into the online world, that's fine, but even there you have to put in a lot of effort to stay ahead of the curve and not just be outnumbered online. You need to use all the tools you can.
How to operate on the Internet:
- Blog (articles, news and updates, reviews)
- Newsletters
- Loyalty program and contests
- Social networks (but each of them, such as Twitter, Facebook or Instagram has its own rules for cannabis content)
Contact
There are a number of opportunities and events to see your customers and those interested in cannabis products in person. Among the biggest ones are cannabis fairs and festivals in the Czech Republic and abroad. These events take place throughout the year and bring together producers and sellers who see the potential in cannabis. At these events you can show your own products or show which products you support, interact with customers and do detailed research for yourself on what people are looking for most. And at the same time, see your competitors and evaluate where you have gaps and what you need to improve.
Events focused on cannabis (in the Czech Republic and worldwide):
- Cannafest (https://www.cannafest.com/cz/, Prague)
- Konopex (https://konopex.cz/, Ostrava)
- Cann-Expo (https://www.athenscannabisexpo.com/, Athens)
- Kanaba (https://kanabafest.com/, Katowice)
- Mary Jane (https://maryjane-berlin.com/, Berlin)
- Cultiva Hanfmesse (https://www.cultiva.at, Vienna (for 2023 also in Zagreb, Croatia)
Summary
Sometimes it can be difficult to navigate the clutter of cannabis products, so retailers have a unique opportunity to get closer to their customers and be helpful. There are several tools to do this. It is up to each vendor to decide whether to go down the route of advice, a sophisticated website, a booth at a cannabis festival or a combination of all of these.
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