The sure-fire way to retain customers in a retail cannabis shop to keep them coming back

In this blog you’ll learn simple tactics to power up your customer retention so you can:

• Identify your dispensary/retail store customer retention rate 
• Compare your marketing efforts vs the customers who are staying loyal 
• Kickstart simple but powerful customer retention strategies

You’ll also learn how STRAIN can help your store:

• Establish a foundation for you customer retention plan
• Keep your customer retention efforts cost-effective

Many retailers we’ve come across have a very distant knowledge of the amount of recurring customers they have in their customer base. They count customers as the people who have bought from them in a lifetime – or the total of customers in the POS – but, in most cases, the real number ranges from 10% – 30% based on who has returned to the store in a 90-day period.

As business operators we can’t just depend on marketing and new customers to run a successful business! Sure, we need to invest in new ones but, most importantly, care and cater to our actual ones. It’s no secret that for every dollar you invest in acquiring  customers, retaining your current ones only costs 10% of that. This is not only a fraction of the cost but also gives you a 60% higher chance of converting an existing customer than a new one.

Customer retention is all about building trustworthy relationships with your customers. By offering personalized experiences and interactions, you’re showing that you value and remember them as individuals. This personal touch can create a positive emotional connection between the customer and your brand, which can lead to increased loyalties over time. 

We all love when we go to a restaurant and they welcome us by our name, right? Learning customers’ names may seem like a small detail but it can have a big impact on how they perceive your brand and your team. People love to be recognized and that’s an experience they’ll share with others. In the end, word of mouth continues to be one of the best brand recognition strategies.

So, now that we know all this, what are the low hanging fruits to increase customer retention?

At STRAIN we’ve compiled the following list. Start with just 3 of these strategies to make your operation thrive and have customers keep coming back:

• Referrals: It’s simple; people talk about good service with their friends and families.

• Get to know your customer: This requires efforts of all your staff members. Learning their names, products needs and preferences will go a long way.

• We miss you campaigns: Most retailers we’ve worked with over the years don’t even know that only around 30% of their customer base are really their recurring customers. Why doesn’t that other 70% come back to the store? Is it because of product availability? Budtender interaction? You want to know the answer, right?

• VIP clubs: Not every customer is a real VIP. Most retailers fall for platforms automation to send messages to this type of customer, which is not very efficient. A true VIP customer deserves more personal attention and offers exclusive to them. Have your top customers on “speed dial” in all communication channels to offer them your latest goods and best offers before anyone else, that’s what VIP is all about. Don’t wait for them to engage with your store, engage with them first and tailor your call to their customer persona.

• In-store events: You already have the real estate, collaborating with brands you carry in your store to create events and giveaways will keep customers’ awareness at the top level and it can bring new traffic from their circle of friends.

• Product reminders: You already know the products your customers like, so stop sending generic messages to everyone. Some people might love tacos but others don’t! Customers have different tastes and products preferences.

• Personalized Email & Push Notifications: Not all your customers are the same. Call them by their names and send them relevant information and products based on their past interactions with your store. This can drive engagement up to 6x, not to mentioned that push notifications are always free.

• Abandoned carts: Many people think this has more to do with E-commerce, but it’s far from that. No one wants to lose revenue or sales, right? Abandon carts are really about customer retention. Sending a notification to “Steve” letting him know that his favorite product is still in his cart or that he needs to checkout his topical so he’s not in pain during the night is all about knowing your customers and caring for them.

Not only are these strategies extremely effective to drive traffic back to your stores but they are very aligned to being proactive rather than reactive. As a plus, the cost of executing them is fairly low and, in some occasions, close to none.

So, what marketing channels should you leverage as a retailer? It depends on what you want to accomplish and the amount of money you can invest. Also, keep in mind that not everyone is engaging on the same channels, that’s why the omnichannel approach is the way to go. But it comes with a cost.

If we as retail owners ever wonder how to lower costs in these rough times in the industry, don’t look further. Start connecting better with your customers and it’ll pay back.