Simple trick to boost loyalty participation: Train your budtenders to introduce it at the beginning

Ever wonder how to turn first-time customers into regulars? That's where cannabis loyalty programs come in. They're a fantastic way to build relationships with your best customers and keep them coming back for more. But just having a program isn't enough to ensure its success.

Here's a secret tip the Vetrina team swears by:

Train your budtenders to mention the program right when someone walks in. It's dead simple yet highly effective. The pressure is off in this decompression zone area we call the ID area, but you wouldn’t believe what a difference it makes.

We'll explain why loyalty programs are awesome in a second, but first, let’s understand why they are so important.

Understanding the Importance of Loyalty Programs

Cannabis retail loyalty programs are strategic initiatives designed to incentivize and reward your customers for their continued shopping. A strong program aims to build long-term relationships with your most valuable customers by offering additional value such as: exclusive rewards, customized offers, and personalized experiences. 

Remember that 70% of your revenue comes from 30% of your loyal customer base. By enhancing customer loyalty you will increase customer retention rates, and encourage repeat purchases.

Each visit from a customer creates a stronger emotional connection, ultimately encouraging them to choose your dispensary over the competition. More important than ever for new and established markets when the competition sets up down the street and market saturation heats up.

Loyalty programs incentivize customers to make frequent purchases and help you collect valuable customer data and insights to create more insightful rewards and promotions. 

Not only a powerful remarketing tool, loyalty programs are the number one way to reach like audiences. We all know a satisfied customer will tell three friends. Great! This organic word-of-mouth marketing can open up a new audience of like-minded shoppers who find the same value in your cannabis dispensary that they do.

So, what are other tips and tricks you can use to ensure you have a high functioning loyalty program?

The Role of Budtenders in Promoting Loyalty Programs

As the face of your dispensary, Budtenders wield considerable influence over customers' purchase decisions. Their product knowledge, professionalism, and customer service skills are vital to the health of your business and ensure the success of your loyalty program. 

Quick simply, by training budtenders to introduce the program at the beginning of the visit, you create an opportunity for customers to learn about the benefits and sign up without feeling pressured.

This initial engagement creates a positive impression and generates the customer's curiosity about the benefits they can enjoy by participating in the program. This is the loyalty program introduction. 

Upon entering the dispensary, your customer should have the opportunity to see 5-7 additional touchpoints that inspire curiosity or highlight program benefits. 

“The more you spend, the more you earn”

“Exclusive rewards are waiting for XYZ Loyalty Members”

“Loyalty Members receive XYZ upon sign-up”

Quick hits. Reminding customers, piquing interest enough for the customer to ask questions about the program. This conversation feels authentic because it’s derived from the customer. Not sold to them. 

In-shelf loyalty cards, loyalty product groupings, video snippets and visuals. Then, prompts from the team along with a professional 8.5 x 11 with a loyalty sign-up QR code at cash. *Dust hands off* You’re sure to have ample sign-ups, a clear understanding of program benefits, and a call-to-action to sign up. 

Seven to ten touchpoints is our rule of thumb for in-store promotions. Peppering these loyalty touchpoints through the customer journey keeps the program top of mind along with it’s value proposition, ultimately leading to increased customer retention and satisfaction.

That sounds good, but what are some pitfalls we’ve seen happen? 

Training Budtenders for Effective Loyalty Program Introduction

If you don’t have the right training in place for your loyalty program, we can almost promise you it will fall flat. Sure yes, your original training for the loyalty program when it kicked off was incredible. The whole 9-yards. All the bells and whistles. 

Now it’s six months down the road and you’ve had some budtender and supervisor turnover. Your team can’t find the box of loyalty brochures anymore. The POS loyalty program 8.5 x 11 is now talking about your holiday sale, and Johnny, one of your weekly and most valuable customers, hasn’t been told to opt-in for your loyalty program emails and is eyeing the competition that just opened up five minutes away from you.

This spells trouble. You can’t seem to understand why you aren’t getting repeat visits, and the teams can’t understand why their discount percentage is increasing.

If cannabis dispensary owners don’t have a plan in place for loyalty training when the program kicks off, or the right maintenance training for when staff turns over, you’re leaving yourself open for disaster. 

A comprehensive training program serves as the foundation for budtenders to confidently engage with customers and promote the loyalty program's benefits. Being able to clearly understand the program benefits, ways customers can redeem and where to go for more information. Role play should definitely be a part of this training in and around objections such as: 

1. I don’t want any more emails in my inbox
2. I never remember to use loyalty points
3. Members who don’t want there to be change

By fostering a welcoming and informative environment, budtenders can create a positive experience for all of your customers. Active listening to better understand customer needs and preferences.

Even if you can't 'win over' this customer immediately, a positive interaction increases their chances of giving the program another shot in the future.

Loyalty programs can turn one-time buyers into repeat customers, boosting revenue by increasing purchase frequency and total customer lifetime value. While allowing you to collect valuable customer data, for targeted promotions and product assortment decisions based on buying habits. This brand loyalty, creating advocates who recommend your dispensary and driving organic growth.

Measuring the Success of Your Loyalty Program

Measuring the success of your loyalty program is essential to ensure its continuous improvement and effectiveness. Understanding the key factors contributing to the program's success can help you make informed decisions and drive customer engagement.

What are some key performance indicators for loyalty programs?

Key Performance Indicators for Loyalty Programs

Identify key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your dispensary's goals and measure the program's impact. KPIs such as customer retention rate, average purchase frequency, and total sales from loyalty program members can provide valuable insights into the program's success. 

Tracking these metrics over time can help you identify trends and areas for improvement.

Core KPIs to track for a cannabis retail loyalty program:

1. Average basket
2. Days between Visits
3. Percentage of Revenue
4. Annual Spend
5. Loyalty Tier Split

Check out the free Vetrina loyalty program guide here for additional pro tips on creating a compelling program that offers value and benefits and a checklist for dispensaries looking to revamp their loyalty programs.

Remember, your loyalty program must be engineered to economically support margin goals and customer acquisition costs while creating incentives good enough to change customer behaviour. 

When refreshed programs launch, customers will lean in and take advantage of the new program. This may mean dispensaries will have affected cash flow for the first few weeks following launch. When planned for, these initial weeks of tighter cash flow, result in some of the most loyal and happy repeat customers for the long term.

Continuous Improvement of Your Loyalty Program Strategy

Analyze the data collected from your loyalty program regularly and make necessary adjustments to enhance its effectiveness. Your loyalty program is no different from unregulated retail marketing. Customers want to feel special, they want your program to feel exclusive, to genuinely see value in your rewards and incentives coupled with an incredible customer experience will earn you a customer for life. By continuously improving your loyalty program strategy, you can ensure long-term customer engagement and satisfaction.

Seek feedback directly from your customers and in-store teams, who can provide insights into preferences and expectations. Conduct surveys or implement feedback forms to help you gather actionable qualitative data. By incorporating customer input into your strategy, you can foster a sense of ownership among participants and increase their loyalty to your brand.

Actionable data is power (and profit).  By staying on top of what works and what doesn't, you keep your customers engaged and your dispensary thriving.

Train your budtenders to be loyalty champions.  A simple "Welcome, have you considered joining our loyalty program?" at the start of each visit can make a world of difference.  

Craving more loyalty program reading?  Check out Vetrina’s resources on the website to take your dispensary’s loyalty program to the next level.  Remember, a well-designed loyalty program isn't just a perk – it's a potent weapon in your dispensary's arsenal.