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The Keys to Branding for the Casual Cannabis Consumer

The expansion into recreational status has gifted the Cannabis Industry with a new B2C (Business-to-Consumer) marketing target: the casual and occasional consumer.

This target market is overlooked because they aren’t perceived as worth catching, but these potential customers are curious about trying cannabis, but they just don’t know where to begin. The draw to the occasional user is that they make up most of the population, and what they lack in large quantity purchases they make up for in an enormously untapped customer base that extends to every single person in the country.

A very necessary aspect to recognize about the casual consumer market is its diversity; every income level, gender and age bracket consumer has at least some sparked interest in casual, occasional recreational use. This can make a marketing plan to these consumers more difficult if you cannot find the connection to base the strategy.

Although this target customer runs through all aspects of the normal B2C statistics, they all have one thing in common: they are completely novice. In fact, their lack of knowledge is probably what keeps them away from cannabis to begin with.

Make them feel comfortable, and not overwhelmed

It isn’t a lack of curiosity but a timidity that stems from ignorance about where to start. For this reason, the best way to draw in this white whale is to brand your company and future marketing plans with focused, layman’s terms. There are industry terms like THC, cannabinoids, trichomes and other “in the know” terminology that will make this client base feel intimidated and lock up.

If you can keep a client feeling comfortable and not overwhelmed, it’s more likely they will spend more for the higher end product or walk out with more than one thing. For this reason, capturing the recreational market by way of the casual consumer will take a straightforward, educated approach with both sales and marketing.

Building a brand targeted towards this huge base of potential clients can be accomplished by applying a few key marketing strategies.

For example, when hiring a team, choose friendly and happy budtenders that know enough about the product to explain it simply to a brand new cannabis user. The face of the company lives behind the counter, so it is imperative that all of the employees you hire are approachable and put people at ease.

Forget the jargon, and keep it basic

When approaching the recreational side of the business, always keep the jargon to a minimum, and at a very basic level. Do not spout off about the percentage of CBD or THC that it tested for because this will mean nothing to this future customer. Instead focus on the way that smoking, vaping, or eating that product will make them feel.

Tell them the best way for them to take the product for a great high without overdosing. Numbers and acronyms are not the way to the heart of the occasional clientele; they just want to know how they’re going to feel and how to get themselves to feel that way.

If you have built a company with a product that can accomplish this goal, have hired a team that knows how to educate a new type of cannabis user, and have solidified a brand that portrays a lifestyle, you will surely turn a casual walk in into a regular recreational user.

With valuable, application education along with a room of smiling faces, it is almost impossible not to become a returning customer.

Celeste Miranda

Celeste Miranda

Dedicated to what she does and successful in her savvy business-minded ventures, Celeste Miranda is an entrepreneur, author, founder and CEO of Miranda Marketing Labs and The Cannabis Marketing Lab. Undertaking the critical challenges of marketing an emerging industry, Miranda opened a specialized division focused on providing businesses with innovative and affordable marketing strategies. Since then, The Cannabis Marketing Lab has become a highly regarded organization in Cannabis related ventures. Comprised of a 16 person team, Celeste’s staff has years of experience and expertise in a myriad of areas such as Social Media, Search Engine Optimization, Graphic & Web Design, Creative Content Production, Advertising, PR and much more. Celeste can be reached at [email protected].

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