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Are your customers coming back?

If I were to tell you that I shopped at your dispensary 30 days ago and I was satisfied with my purchase experience, would you have any way of getting me to come back?

Our research shows that dispensary owners and managers spend the majority of their resources (time and money) on getting new customers to walk through their doors; social media posts, billboards, newspaper and other media buys and event promotion.  Metrics even show that you spend up to 25X on getting a new customer than keeping an existing one.  But once that shiny new customer leaves, there are almost no resources spent on getting that happy customers to keep buying.

Why is customer retention vital to your success?

Your current customers are your best customers! Not only do they buy more products from you, but they buy more often.  They’re 50% more likely to try new products your store carries and then they’re 55% more likely to tell their friends about it.

IN FACT, a study done by Harvard Business School found that a 5% increase in repeat buyers led to a 25% – 95% increase in profits!

So what is customer retention exactly? A brief definition:

Customer Retention is the act of measuring and evaluating customer loyalty, and then planning and implementing processes to reduce losing customers. Your customer retention program should monitor the percentage of clients that come back within 90 days.

So what can you do? Here’s our crash course of 4 quick fixes that will get your speak directly to your existing customer base:

  1. Start a loyalty program: And don’t just start it, really put that loyalty program out there.  Customers want to feel like your dispensary gives them a strong value proposition – so make it easy for them.  Give them something to keep them coming back.  Consulting behemoth Accenture found that loyal customers were 43% more likely to spend with their current brands and companies.  It makes sense, right?  Your customers know you, they like you and most importantly, they trust you.  You just need to stay top of mind and relevant when they decide it’s time to make another purchase.  And don’t just give people credit for checking in – you want to reward them for the behavior you want to see – so reward them for purchasing.  Give your customers more bang for their buck by implementing Stemless’ customer loyalty program.  Our propriety software tells customers when they’re close to leveling up – encouraging them to increase spend while giving them something they want – rewards.
  2. Offer your all stars special perks, coupons and rewards: Shouldn’t your best customers be treated that way?  Of course! But how can you roll out the red carpet when you aren’t 100% sure who they are?  That’s where the loyalty program comes into play.  Keep track of who loves you the most and what products your tier 1 customer demand.  Then, start thinking about ways to make your squad feel special.   If you need an added incentive, 79% of customers can be swayed to your competitors with new member coupons and discounts – beat them to the punch by offering your own incentives through the promotions area of our platform and keeping your all-stars on your team.
  3. Keep in contact – but not too much contact: 81% of customers mainly want you to be there when you need them – but rarely ever else.  And they want the content you send them to mean something.  So what does that mean?  Don’t send them daily blasts telling them you’re still there.  Use our SMS platform to reach your customers when you have something meaningful they want to hear.  Consistently sold out edibles in stock? They should know. Limited time offers to get deals off their favorite products at a discount – don’t hold back.  Wishing them happy Friday?  Hold off on that one.
  4. Understand their problems: Bad user experience?  Unhappy buyer?  Wouldn’t it be great to know that up front?  The Stemless courier app (available here and here) for our dispensary partners collects ordering information after delivery and sends it straight to your inbox.  Nip those problem orders in the bud so that customers can talk about how you went above and beyond to save their day.