Budding Success: Re-Engagement Stage - Rekindling the Spark: Re-Engaging Past Customers

Welcome to the final chapter of our journey through the lifecycle marketing stages in cannabis retail. In our 6th and final part we turn our focus to one of the most important and challenging aspect of customer relationship management - re-engaging those who have drifted away. When you understand the reasons behind customer dormancy, it’s easier to implement strategies to reignite their interest and loyalty. Through targeted communication, personalized offers, and engaging events, we aim to rekindle that initial spark, bringing past customers back into the fold.

Targeted Offers and Communications:

By analyzing customer data and understanding past purchasing behaviors, you can create offers that are not only appealing but also highly relevant to individual customers. Work out effective strategies to reconnect with past customers through targeted offers and communications. Personalized outreach, based on data-driven insights, can significantly increase the chances of reigniting interest among those who have previously engaged with your dispensary.

Segmentation Based on Purchase History:

• Seasonal Preferences Analysis: Review previous seasons buying patterns and leverage tools like Springbig Audiences to gauge estimated campaign return. Re-target patrons with messaging around new seasonal releases or special editions, capitalizing on their known interests.
• Brand Loyalty Recognition: Recognize and reward customers who consistently choose certain brands from your dispensary. Partner with top brands to sponsor brand-specific promotions or updates, making patrons feel valued for their loyalty. Sure patrons can buy most brands on your shelf elsewhere, but why would they shop there when they get a little extra through you?
• Product Type Preferences: Analyze which types of products (edibles, tinctures, flowers, etc.) are favorites among different customer segments. Offer them personalized deals or information on these product types, increasing relevance and response rates.

Personalized Email Campaigns:

• Event Invitations: Send tailored invites for special events at your dispensary, adding a unique, personal touch. These invitations can include an exclusive promotion, encouraging recipients to share with friends. To boost participation, complement these invites with social media and SMS/Push notifications, reminding customers to check their emails or sign up to receive one. This strategy not only drives engagement but also helps in expanding your customer contact lists.
• Product Restock Alerts: Notify customers when a product they bought or showed interest in is back in stock. This kind of targeted communication shows that you are attentive to their preferences. (Be mindful of the security risk posting routine product restock alerts can bring. Stagger announcements and work with your Retail Inventory team to hold drops so actual delivery dates stay confidential)
• Feedback-Informed Offers: Utilize feedback from previous interactions to personalize future offers. If a customer had a particular issue or preference, address it in your email to show that you are responsive and value their input. Solicit brands for marketing material on products outside of your standard orders. Consumer interest is a fun and engaging way to re-engage previous shoppers and convert.

SMS Alerts for Special Deals:

• Flash Sale Notifications: Use SMS or Push Notifications to inform past customers about limited-time sales. These alerts create a sense of urgency and exclusivity, prompting immediate action. Advertise consistently that your location offers flash sales in local Facebook and Reddit communities for some added marketing lift. These types of local communities are quite active and will cross post to other communities they are part of.
• Loyalty Milestone Alerts: Use SMS or Push to inform customers when they are close to reaching a new level in your loyalty program or have earned a special reward. This encourages them to visit again and take advantage of their loyalty benefits.
• Anniversary Reminders: Mark the anniversary of a customer’s first purchase with a special celebratory offer. This not only acknowledges the length of their relationship with your brand but also encourages a repeat visit. Not everything has to be about free weed. Small branded ancillary gifts go a long way. Consider stocking branded hand pipes to give out to patrons when they clear big milestones.

Conducting Surveys and Gathering Feedback:

Understanding why customers lapse can be difficult information to learn but still an important aspect of re-engagement. It provides insights into their needs and experiences, guiding how to effectively draw them back to your dispensary. Conducting surveys and gathering feedback allows you to pinpoint specific reasons for their departure, offering a clear direction for improvement. This approach not only helps in refining your services and offerings but also shows patrons and patients alike that their opinions are valued and instrumental in shaping your dispensary's evolution.

Understanding Reasons for Customer Departure:

• Incentivized Feedback Surveys: Offer a small incentive, like a discount on their next purchase or entry into a prize draw, for completing a feedback survey. This encourages more patrons to participate, providing you with more comprehensive insights into why they may have stopped visiting.
• Exit Interviews at Point of Sale: For customers who are in the store but may not have visited in a while, conducting a brief, informal exit interview can provide immediate and candid feedback. Train budtenders to ask one or two key questions in a friendly manner at checkout.
• Focused Social Media Engagement: Use social media platforms to engage with customers who have not visited recently. This can be through direct outreach or public posts asking for feedback, creating a conversation around what customers would like to see improved or changed.

Analyzing Feedback for Insights:

• Timely Review: Review the feedback timely and work to identify common themes or areas for improvement. This could be related to product selection, customer service, pricing, or in-store experience. For feedback outside of your control, consider marketing campaigns to educate your consumer-base or budtender training and support.
• Customer Feedback Sessions: Host regular internal meetings with your team to discuss feedback received. These sessions should focus on understanding the nuances behind customer comments and brainstorming possible improvements or solutions.
• Competitor Benchmarking: Compare feedback against industry benchmarks or competitor standards. This approach can help in understanding if the issues raised are unique to your dispensary or part of a larger industry trend, guiding you in making informed decisions.

Implementing Changes Based on Feedback:

• Product Line Adjustments: Act on feedback related to product selection by diversifying or modifying your inventory. Introduce new products or bring back popular items that customers have requested.
• Enhanced Customer Service Training: Implement targeted training for staff, focusing on areas highlighted in the feedback, such as communication skills, product knowledge, or customer engagement techniques.
• Store Redesign and Layout Optimization: Tweak your store layout to enhance the shopping experience, based on customer suggestions. This could involve clearer signage, more comfortable browsing areas, or education more readily available.

Special Events and Promotions:

Memorable experiences through onsite activities not only provide an opportunity for past customers to reconnect with your dispensary but also add an element of excitement and exclusivity. From themed events that evoke nostalgia to exclusive offers and community-centered activities, these strategies can create a compelling reason for customers to revisit and re-engage with your dispensary.

Themed Events for Re-engagement:

• Customer-Favorite Product Celebrations: Organize events that celebrate the most popular products or strains among your clientele. This can include exclusive access to limited releases, special discounts, or engaging product demonstrations. Leverage brand relationships and invite them to join you onsite to educate and further build customer rapport.
• Cultural or Holiday-Themed Events: Align your events with cultural or holiday themes, such as 420 celebrations, harvest festivals, or wellness weekends. These events can draw in both past and current customers through their universal appeal and festive atmosphere - and - attract the neighboring canna-curious.
• Educational and Interactive Workshops: Host workshops that focus on cannabis education, cooking with cannabis, or DIY cannabis product creation. These informative and interactive sessions can draw in customers interested in learning more about cannabis in a fun and engaging setting. If these events are hard to do onsite, consider creating or sponsoring online content instead. Your local cannabis communities are full of talented individuals that would be happy to partner and collaborate on content.

Exclusive Promotions for Returning Customers:

• “Win Back” Discounts: Offer a significant discount for customers who haven't visited in a certain timeframe. This not only incentivizes their return but also shows appreciation for their patronage. Tier your offerings based on length of lapsed time. For example, offer 15% for patrons that haven’t visited in 45 days, 25% off for those that havent visited in 60 days, and a free product for 90+. Change your milestones up every other quarter so it’s easy to measure what works best to drive traffic back to your store.
• Customized Loyalty Milestones: Develop a customized loyalty program for returning customers. For instance, offer a special reward after a set number of visits or purchases upon their return. This encourages repeat business and demonstrates that you value their continued patronage. Springbig offers Milestone Autoconnects based on Spend, Visit, Purchase Amount, Join Date, and Point Balance giving you plenty of options to re-engage and win shoppers back.
• Seasonal Re-Engagement Kits: Create special seasonal packages or kits, exclusive to returning customers. These could include a curated selection of seasonal products, merchandise, and informational materials. Offering these kits during specific seasons or holidays can re-engage customers by providing them with a unique and timely shopping experience tailored to the season's theme.

Community Involvement Events:

Organize events that involve the local community or support a cause. This approach can re-attract customers who value community engagement and social responsibility, giving them a reason to reconnect with your dispensary. Feel uncomfortable at some of the local community events? GOOD! That means you have plenty of room to normalize cannabis outside of your dispensary. Provide education material and work to destigmatize cannabis in the community.

• Charity Partnership Events: Collaborate with local charities for fundraising events. Host a charity sale where a portion of the proceeds goes to a community cause. This not only shows your commitment to social responsibility but also resonates with community-minded customers. “Round It Up” campaigns are easy to organize and maintain.
• Educational Health and Wellness Fairs: Organize or participate in health and wellness fairs, offering educational insights about cannabis and its benefits. These events can help demystify cannabis and position your dispensary as a knowledgeable and responsible community member.
• Neighborhood Clean-Up Initiatives: Lead or sponsor local clean-up initiatives, inviting customers and community members to join in improving the local environment. This type of event can foster community spirit and show your dispensary’s dedication to the neighborhood’s wellbeing.

Analyzing Re-Engagement Efforts:

Without evaluating the success of your re-engagement strategies, you won’t understand their impact to guide future efforts. By analyzing data from your POS, follow-up surveys, and digital marketing tools, you can gain insights into customer behavior, satisfaction levels, and the overall effectiveness of your strategies. This data-driven approach allows for informed decision-making and fine-tuning of tactics to ensure maximum engagement and return on investment.

Utilizing POS Analytics:

• Customer Purchase Pattern Analysis: Use your POS system to analyze changes in purchase patterns of re-engaged customers. Look for trends in product preferences or changes in average spending, which can indicate the effectiveness of your re-engagement efforts.
• Campaign-Specific Sales Tracking: Implement tracking for specific re-engagement campaigns. Monitor sales during these campaigns to see how effective they are in driving purchases from returning customers.
• Time-Based Analysis: Evaluate the frequency of visits before and after re-engagement initiatives. Analyzing the time between purchases can provide insights into whether your strategies are encouraging more frequent visits.

Survey Follow-Up Analysis:

• Customer Satisfaction Measurement: Design surveys to specifically measure the satisfaction levels of customers who have re-engaged. Ask about their recent experiences and overall satisfaction since returning.
• Feedback on Specific Changes or Offers: Include questions in the survey about any specific changes or offers introduced as part of the re-engagement strategy. This will help determine which aspects were most appealing and effective.
• Open-Ended Questions for Qualitative Insights: Incorporate open-ended questions to allow customers to provide more detailed feedback and suggestions. This qualitative data can often reveal deeper insights than quantitative data alone.

Digital Marketing Tools for Tracking:

• Conversion Rate Analysis: Utilize tools like Google Analytics to track the conversion rates of your digital marketing campaigns. This helps in understanding how effective your email and SMS campaigns are in driving website engagement and through that, sales.
• Engagement Metrics Monitoring: Monitor key engagement metrics such as click-through rates, open rates, and time spent on the website. This data can provide insights into how engaging your content is for re-engaged customers.
• Customer Journey Tracking: Use these tools to track the customer journey and behavior on your website. Analyze the paths taken by re-engaged customers, which pages they visit most, and where they drop off. This can help refine your website experience and marketing strategies. Avoid hosting an iframe menu if you can.

As we wrap up our exploration of the Re-Engagement Stage in cannabis retail marketing, we reflect on the importance of reconnecting with past customers. Through strategies like targeted communications, personalized offers, insightful surveys, special events, and rigorous analysis of efforts, dispensaries can reignite the interest of former patrons. This final stage is not just for short-term gains but for building sustainable, long-term relationships. It underscores the need for a dynamic, responsive approach to customer engagement, adapting to changing needs and preferences. As you implement these strategies, consider the unique aspects of your customer base and your brand's identity, ensuring that every effort is authentic and impactful.