The CBD and cannabis industry is booming and the demand for the products are on the rise. It’s critical as a CBD and cannabis business you carefully and accurately promote the many health benefits that your product(s) can achieve, such as relief from anxiety, pain, depression, menopause symptoms, stress, etc… Below we’ve outlined strategies in the first of our two-part blog on tips to help grow your CBD and/or cannabis business. 

Marketing Planning Strategies

1. Create a marketing strategy plan (see our other blog for more information on this topic). All businesses need a roadmap to follow in order to succeed and grow.  
2. Define your unique selling proposition (e.g. what makes your CBD products and/or cannabis better than your competition’s). Once carefully researched and crafted, use this across all branding and messaging you put out there. 
3. Refine and hone in on your target audience by determining exactly who is (or will be) buying your CBD and/or cannabis products. Answer key questions such as: Who is most likely to need or want your CBD and/or cannabis products? How old are they? Where do they live? What are their hobbies? Are they parents, grandparents, young people, etc…? Do they have a lot of disposable income? etc…
4. Be active in trade associations by identifying annual opportunities to network and/or market your business. 
5. Analyze the results of your marketing strategies monthly to determine which ones were successful, which need to be revised and enhanced and which ones should be discontinued.

Email & Direct Mail Strategies

1. Create and email (see our other blog for more information on this topic) a monthly newsletter that includes blogs, tips for using CBD and/or cannabis, their health benefits, new offers and/or products, industry news, etc…
2. Create an eye-catching direct mail piece that includes a coupon or special promotion. These can be quarterly or seasonal. Just plan carefully in advance.
3. Create and email information about a frequent buyer program to increase brand loyalty and sales. This will help retain your customers and keep them happy.

Website Strategies

1. Make sure your CBD and/or cannabis website is modern and optimized. Update it every few months to keep it looking fresh, new, and engaging. Review your Google Analytics to make sure you’re getting the results you want from your website – i.e. website visitors are converting to leads and/or sales.
2. Enhance/Increase call to actions to keep a high level of engagement and interest.
3. Make sure all content states your CBD and/or cannabis products’ unique selling proposition and keywords/phrases for SEO (see our other blog for more information on this topic).
4. Research your competition’s websites to make sure your website is better than theirs. This should be an on-going activity – review three competitor websites once/year. 
5. Create a valuable downloadable piece of content via a gated form and add a lead capturing CRM app to increase your lead database. Offer a free valuable/helpful ”tool” or promotion and ask for contact info in return & add to lead database.
6. Include accurate page titles, meta descriptions, and H1 headers for SEO. Make sure these are present, accurate & have the correct number of characters. 
7. Always review content and check that forms, buttons & links are working correctly.

The CBD and cannabis industry is expected to become a multi-billion dollar industry. However, as the competition increases, businesses need to make sure they’re marketing their CBD and/or cannabis business to rise above their competition. Stay tuned for part two where we’ll address more marketing tips to help your business grow. 

If you need any help growing your CBD or cannabis business via social media, email/direct mail, website optimization, etc… Please feel free to reach out! We’re always happy to help!

Danielle Foley, Owner
Foley Marketing Advisors
dfoley@foleymarketingadvisors.com