As more states continue to legalize marijuana, cannabis businesses competition is growing fierce. Because of this, traditional sales tactics are losing their edge.
Today’s customers are more skeptical than ever, tuning out aggressive pitches and seeking brands they can trust. In the cannabis industry, where marketing is highly restricted and stigma still lingers, this challenge is even greater.
So how can cannabis brands compete and win over customers?
Cannabis Regulator sat down with Will Read, founder and CEO of cannabis marketing agency CannaPlanners. Before launching his company, Read worked at Apple, where he learned firsthand how the iconic brand built unwavering customer loyalty without relying on hard sales. Apple’s philosophy wasn’t about pushing the most expensive product; it was about understanding customer needs, creating an experience, and fostering long-term trust. This lesson shaped Read’s approach to branding in cannabis, an industry where traditional sales strategies often fail.
Here are Read’s tips for winning over cannabis customers:
1. Get Straight to the Point
Right now, the reality is that cannabis consumers aren’t making decisions based on storytelling or brand experience, according to Read. They’re making decisions based on two things: how much THC is in the product and how cheap they can get it.
“It’s kind of like walking into a liquor store and saying, ‘Hey, what’s the cheapest thing you’ve got that’ll get me the most drunk?’ We don’t shop like that for anything else, but in this industry, that’s just where things are,” Read says.
Part of the reason for this is due to a lack of regulation. States are more worried about controlling cannabis instead of helping businesses thrive, leaving traditional marketing methods like social media and radio/TV with little to no creative wiggle room.
“I want to see a future where cannabis consumers are drawn to a brand’s story, where the experience of the product, the packaging, the vibe of the store, all of that matters,” Read says. “Because as the market gets more saturated, and it will, the brands that stand out won’t be the ones with the highest THC percentage or the cheapest price tag. It will be the ones with the most memorable experience.”
2. Sell a Solution
One of the biggest sales lessons Read learned while working at Apple was the importance of selling a solution, not just chasing a sale. “It’s easy to get overzealous when there’s an opportunity in front of you, but it’s not always the right move,” he advises.
“If a little old lady walks into the Apple Store asking for the most powerful laptop we have, and then you ask her what she’s using it for and it turns out it’s just to FaceTime her grandkids—well, she doesn’t need all that power,” he continues. “In that case, the right thing to do is to offer her a solution that actually fits her needs.”
That same tactic should be applied to cannabis consumers. Offer a solution that’s appropriate to the problem, not something that’s just going to bolster your sales numbers.
“At the end of the day, focusing on offering a solution is not just about company ethics, it’s about relationships,” Read says. “That person now trusts you forever because you helped them figure out what they actually needed, against what they thought they wanted. That builds trust. I want these customers to be with us for as long as we’re in business. And if I’m selling them something they don’t need, they’re not going to be customers for very long.”
3. Properly Train Your Budtenders
Budtenders are employees on the front lines, and they’re responsible for having at least a basic understanding of what can sometimes be hundreds, even thousands of different products. Properly trained budtenders can build relationships and provide solid educational materials for consumers, helping to create loyal customers.
“That’s really how alignment between brands and customers gets built,” explains Read. “When you’ve got an advocate in the store, someone who’s like, ‘Hey, you should check out this brand, they’re great and they’re great people,’ —that matters. That’s enough.”
As Read mentioned earlier, most cannabis consumers are still only buying based on price or THC percentage. But if a customer walks into a store, it shows that they’ve already made a bunch of decisions that show trust in the retailer.
“They’ve looked them up, maybe checked out the website, chosen to go there and now they’re standing in front of a budtender ready to buy. If that budtender has a real connection to a brand, that moment becomes an opportunity to deepen the customer’s experience and tighten the relationship,” Read says.
4. Do Everything You Can
Doing everything you can to market yourself while adhering to your state’s regulations is necessary for boosting your cannabis business. Since retailers in this industry don’t have the same tools at their disposal as other industries, you have to do everything in your power to spread the word.
“Literally, everything,” says Read. “If you can host demo days, do them. Whatever you’re allowed to do within regulation, that’s what you should be doing. Because that’s exactly what brands in the alcohol and food industries are doing. They’re finding every opportunity to connect with their customers at every single turn. So if they’re doing it, you should be too.”
So lean on innuendo, get wildly creative and find roundabout ways to hint at what your product experiences are like for customers.
