The coronavirus pandemic has impacted workers and companies in every industry, including cannabis-related businesses, and there are many things you should be doing to prepare and operate during a crisis like this. However, COVID-19 doesn’t have to stop your business from generating short-term sales that will increase revenue now as well as setting things in motion to increase revenue when the crisis ends.

Following are five key areas of focus that cannabis-related businesses should prioritize to increase revenue during a crisis like COVID-19.

1. Modify Your Marketing Investments

Don’t stop investing in marketing! While many businesses react to a crisis by cutting spending as quickly as possible, don’t panic and stop everything. Your marketing investments should be reviewed and adjusted accordingly, but they should not come to a grinding halt.

The brands that are actively building client trust, staying visible, and working to build relationships that turn into sales and revenue in the future are the ones that will survive the coronavirus crisis.

In addition to promoting special offers that drive short-term sales, you should consider shifting some of your marketing budget to long-term marketing investments like search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, and content marketing.

Continue to invest some of your marketing budget into lead acquisition, so you’re ready to go out strong and convert those leads into sales when the dust settles and businesses can spend again.

You can follow the link to find more marketing strategies that cannabis and cannabis-related businesses should use during a crisis like coronavirus

2. Extend Your Brand

There are a number of types of brand extensions that a cannabis-related business can use to generate additional income. Whether you extend your brand into a new category, market, geography, or something else, the key is to add new revenue opportunities based on your business strengths and existing brand equity.

Don’t limit yourself to brand extensions based on your products and services. Think about how you can extend your brand’s customer experiences too.

For example, can you create digitized experiences? We’re seeing this happen in the cannabis events industry already with many events shifting to virtual venues. Creating digitized experiences is a great way to future-proof your business for the next pandemic or another type of crisis.

3. Create Short-Term Promotions

Short-term promotions are one of the simplest ways to increase revenue during a crisis like COVID-19. For ancillary businesses working in and with the cannabis industry, you can offer exclusive sales, special bundles, and more.

Depending on the types of products and services your cannabis-related business offers, the coronavirus crisis could be a great time to presell your products or services by promoting gift cards.

Some businesses may have money to invest today knowing that it will help them bring in even more customers when the crisis ends. When you pre-sell your products or services using gift cards, you can increase revenue now when you really need it.

4. Offer Special Pricing

Discounts and special pricing programs could be crucial to helping you close new sales and retain existing customers during a crisis that affects the economy. It’s important to be flexible and creative with your pricing and related promotions during times of crisis.

For example, a cannabis-related business that provides a Software as a Service (SaaS) product to cannabis businesses could offer a certain number of months free to generate leads and motivate prospective clients to commit to opening an account as soon as possible.

5. Talk to Your Clients

One of the most important things ancillary cannabis businesses should be doing during the coronavirus crisis is talking to their clients. Communication is essential, not just to build trust and confidence in your brand but also to learn what your clients need from you during times of uncertainty.

Getting feedback from your clients is always important to ensure they’re happy and to resolve any problems, but it’s also useful to gather research data. Send a survey, get on the phone and talk to them, and learn how your business could help them. You just might get some great ideas to increase revenue now and in the future.

Key Takeaways to Increase Revenue for Your Cannabis-Related Business

COVID-19 has done a lot of damage to the economy, and the cannabis industry has not been immune to the effects. However, your cannabis-related business can insulate itself from some of the effects with creative thinking and strategic planning.

Focus on the five key areas discussed in this article to get started, and develop strategies that align with your brand, are relevant to your clients, and bring both short- and long-term revenue for your business.

Every business wants to survive today, but don’t be shortsighted in your thinking and planning. Instead, build a plan that sets your cannabis-related business up for success during the coronavirus crisis and after.