Brand Identity isn't just for brands
When people speak about brand identity, often the packaging, the website, and the marketing comes to mind. But what about in the case of the dispensary, how do you define the brand identity for that? Obviously the brand logo will help to identify the feel and vibe of the shop, but what else is there?
Visual merchandising.
Visual merchandising is to a store what packaging is to a product. It sets the feel of the store before clients even walk in. And when shopping in a dispensary, brand identity becomes even more important as a way to engage customers and turn them into loyal clients. Often dispensaries will hire an interior designer to help setup the perfect store that embodies how they want the interior to feel, but will overlook the role of the visual merchandiser. Not hiring a VM after using an interior designer is like hitting a homerun, and never making it past third base. Your store may be immaculate before the product goes in, but don’t you want the the stuff that's actually going to make you money to look its best? I see this all the time.
And while cannabis brands are typically very eager to help drive sales within the store. They all tend to provide their own sales materials like leave behinds and signage units to help promote their products. Initially this doesn’t seem like a big problem, but often as dispensaries are working hard to define their own brand, bringing in a variety of components for other brands, can work against their own identity. Having too many different types of materials, textures, and styles, can take away from the initial goal of setting an identity standard in store. The brands don’t work together, so often the product branding clashes from one brand to the next. Additionally, brands leave endless amounts of marketing materials for budtenders to give out, which when left out, often cheapens the whole store environment. To ensure your dispensary branding is on point, please see below for these top 5 tips
Limit the amount of “extras” that brands want to give you. Whether its display units, swag, or props, make sure those ”extras” will sit well within your store. No need for a wood fixture if your store is made-up of marble and glass.
Limit the amount of marketing materials you put out. While brands may think that their clients will read all of the marketing materials they leave, most clients will just pass right by them. So putting them out only cheapens the space in store. If you do choose to put out a few pieces of marketing, make sure they reflect the environment. Frame them, put them on a clipboard, or whatever other way complements your store interior. You can also keep them behind the register to hand out, when customers seem interested.
Hire an interior designer to define the feeling you want customers to have when walking in your store. You can’t underestimate the work an interior designer can do to a space, and using one will help to cement the feeling and emotions customers get when they walk through your doors.
Hire a visual merchandiser to ensure your product looks flawless from top to bottom and to help with any display needs in store. They can help with a cohesive display package that represents the aesthetic of the store while focusing on product sell through and the proven science behind color theory, layouts and product accessibility.
Hire budtenders who understand the feel of the store and help to complement it. You certainly don’t want to have uneducated budtenders, or those who may not be the friendliest. So make sure their uniforms, attitudes, and product education is in line with the store vibe.
In conclusion, there are a lot of moving parts when opening, running and having a long term strategy as a Dispensary owner. You can’t be the only one to know and understand the long term strategy. Make it a part of your culture with your team. Make sure your staff understands the principles of what a branded experience is and how important this is for the long term growth of the business.
I talk about this a lot with business owners. These strategies are why companies like Starbucks who started with one location has been able to build a global brand and sell coffee that is 10X more expensive than the local dinner next door. Why are they willing to spend more? Why does Starbucks never need to do sales, promotions or discounts? It’s because their customers are accustomed to the feeling they get when visiting a store and they’re willing to pay extra for that experience. If you are able to combine customer service with presentation, and do it in a way where the staff understands the importance of the details, you will have a recipe for success.