Video video games and hashish go collectively like Cheech and Chong. So it’s no shock that hashish retailers and types throughout the nation are rolling out full-scale advertising and marketing campaigns round Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI), one of the anticipated online game releases of all time, which launches Nov. 19.
Mango Hashish, a multistate dispensary operator, is certainly one of them. So is NatureMed, a multistate retailer, together with its sister model FENO Hashish, which makes flower, pre-rolls and kief in Arizona. Hashish Now lately spoke with Chase Dawson, director of digital advertising and marketing at Mango Hashish, and Myles Mayfield, advertising and marketing director of NatureMed and FENO Hashish, about their campaigns and what they reveal a couple of rising development: hashish corporations borrowing from gaming tradition to construct engagement and lasting buyer loyalty.
Right here’s what they needed to say.
This interview has been edited for size and readability.
CANNABIS NOW: Past factors and reductions, how is gaming tradition altering how hashish retailers take into consideration buyer loyalty?
CHASE DAWSON: Engagement could be simply as helpful as a transaction, if no more, as a result of it may possibly encourage extra transactions. There’s satisfaction in finishing a quest or a problem; the reward feels nicely earned. Once you apply that to retail, it makes the buying expertise enjoyable and cooperative.
MYLES MAYFIELD: Gaming tradition has all the time had a robust connection to loyalty. Players can construct lasting relationships with their favourite video games and franchises whereas nonetheless being wanting to discover one thing new.
I see an identical dynamic in hashish retail. With so many manufacturers and merchandise coming into the market, prospects need the liberty to discover whereas sustaining relationships with manufacturers they know and belief. The chance for retailers is to create loyalty packages that encourage discovery with out shedding that sense of familiarity and connection.
CN: What about gaming mechanics like unlocking rewards, leveling up, finishing challenges and incomes unique perks makes them so efficient at participating customers?
CD: From what we see in our personal shops, it’s seen progress. A factors steadiness is only a quantity in an app. A flyer with circles marked off sits in your automotive or your bag and reminds you that you simply’re partway via a problem. Players are already conversant in these mechanics, like in-game achievements.
MM: Exploration is likely one of the greatest drivers of gaming. Whether or not it’s discovering a brand new world, studying a mechanic or discovering a greater technique to full a problem, there’s all the time one thing new to expertise. Hashish customers share that curiosity. They’re studying about their very own preferences, exploring totally different strains and consumption strategies, and discovering what works greatest for them.
Gamification faucets into that pure curiosity by making the expertise extra participating and giving prospects a way of progress. It’s not nearly incomes a reward; it’s about making the journey itself pleasing.
PHOTO Mango Hashish
CN: Are dispensaries shifting away from transactional loyalty packages towards creating experiences and communities that prospects need to take part in?
CD: I don’t assume transactional loyalty is one thing to maneuver away from, however slightly one thing to amplify via engagement. Creating experiences and connecting with the communities we’re in is how we differentiate ourselves from each different dispensary on the block. We’re nonetheless a enterprise, and other people nonetheless come for specials and promotions. However we like being a part of group occasions, and a whole lot of our employees share the identical pleasure for a online game launch as our prospects do. It’s the human side of having fun with one thing collectively that makes us totally different. What we’re including is a cause to interact that isn’t purely about worth.
MM: I believe we’re seeing dispensaries put extra emphasis on what loyalty packages can provide past financial savings. Reductions and factors are nonetheless necessary, and I don’t see these going away. However prospects additionally need to really feel valued and know {that a} enterprise is invested of their expertise.
Group and shared experiences are a giant a part of constructing that connection. Because the business matures and extra established manufacturers compete for consideration, retailers have to consider what makes prospects need to come again past the merchandise and costs on the shelf. The chance is to make loyalty really feel like a relationship slightly than simply one other transaction.
CN: How do you measure whether or not gamification is definitely constructing model loyalty slightly than merely encouraging one other buy?
CD: Our objective is retention. For this promotion particularly, we’ll be attempting to reply a couple of questions. Did prospects who engaged with the achievements come again within the weeks after Nov. 19, when there was nothing left to unlock? Did new prospects who got here in for the first-visit reward return a second and third time? Did the individuals who adopted us for the social giveaway maintain participating with our content material?
MM: We measure gamification utilizing lots of the similar metrics we already monitor throughout our buyer base, together with common order worth, buy frequency and objects per transaction.
The necessary distinction is knowing whether or not these enhancements final past a selected promotion. A profitable marketing campaign would possibly generate an instantaneous improve in transactions, however real loyalty reveals up when prospects proceed returning and interesting after the inducement ends.
That’s the place buyer retention, repeat buy conduct and longer-term traits grow to be particularly helpful. We need to perceive whether or not we’re constructing a stronger buyer relationship, not merely encouraging one other discounted buy.
CN: Do you assume hashish retail is coming into an period the place the client expertise shall be simply as necessary because the merchandise on the cabinets?
CD: It ought to already be simply as necessary. It’s been certainly one of our core values since Mango’s inception. Dispensaries can carry the identical merchandise on their cabinets, however when individuals come to us and know our employees by title, that’s what makes Mango particular.
MM: Completely. I believe we’re already in that period. We’re seeing extra established manufacturers develop inside particular person states, together with a rising presence of nationwide manufacturers. As product choices grow to be extra acquainted, the client expertise turns into an more and more necessary method for retailers to distinguish themselves.
Prospects need to really feel acknowledged and understood. Meaning making a constant expertise from the second they uncover your model to the time they stroll right into a dispensary and past. Having nice merchandise will all the time matter, however the relationships and experiences surrounding these merchandise are what assist construct lasting loyalty.
CN: What can the hashish business be taught from gaming manufacturers about constructing loyalty that goes past worth?
CD: Listening. One of the best gaming corporations hearken to their viewers. Whether or not it’s a bug that wants fixing, character stats that want adjusting or new mechanics that may make for a greater taking part in expertise, the very best corporations pay attention and be taught from suggestions.
MM: One factor the gaming business does exceptionally nicely is create memorable experiences. Nice gaming manufacturers put money into their communities and provides individuals one thing to attach with past the sport itself. Gamers keep in mind how a recreation made them really feel, the experiences they shared and the communities they turned a part of. These connections can final for years.
I believe that’s one of many greatest classes for hashish retailers. Loyalty isn’t all the time about providing the bottom worth or the most important reward. It’s about creating experiences that prospects keep in mind and giving them a cause to really feel related to your model.
CN: Have you ever seen a measurable influence on buyer retention, buy frequency or common transaction worth since introducing gamified loyalty options?
CD: It’s a sluggish introduction. We’re excited to measure the influence of gamifying rewards with this promotion, however we did see curiosity and retention after we launched stamp playing cards throughout Breast Most cancers Consciousness Month. The stamp card promotion led to October, however we prolonged reward redemption via November as a result of our prospects requested and we listened. I believe as a result of progress towards a reward is extra seen if you gamify it, that’s what attracts engagement.
MM: We’ve seen encouraging outcomes from introducing gamification into our loyalty expertise, notably round buy frequency and objects per transaction.
Prospects get pleasure from seeing their loyalty factors develop and unlocking extra advantages as they proceed participating with us. It offers them a way of progress and makes the expertise really feel extra rewarding.
What we’re persevering with to guage is how these enhancements translate into longer-term retention. In the end, we would like these options to strengthen the connection prospects have with NatureMed, not simply affect their subsequent buy.
Enter the GTA VI Giveaways
For those who stay in Arizona, Michigan, New Mexico, New York or Oklahoma, right here’s how to participate in Mango Hashish and FENO Hashish’s GTA VI promotions.
Mango Hashish: By way of Nov. 19, each buyer at Mango’s New Mexico, New York, Michigan and Oklahoma shops will get an exit-bag flyer styled as a recreation achievement tracker, and each buy enters prospects to win a replica of GTA VI Final Version. In New Mexico and New York, Mango and its companions are additionally gifting away a PlayStation 5 Digital Version and an Xbox Sequence S. The achievements embody:
- New Save File: First-time guests and new loyalty sign-ups earn double rewards factors.
- Largest Heist: The shopper with the highest-value basket in every state on launch day wins $50 in retailer credit score.
- Two Participant Mode: A primary-time customer and the buddy who introduced them each get a promo pre-roll.
- Speedrun: The primary 20 guests on launch day get 20% off the Mango Endlessly on-line store.
- Cheat Code Entered: Commenting “GG MANGO” on Mango’s social channels enters prospects in a nationwide GTA VI giveaway.
FENO Hashish: FENO is gifting away a customized FENO-branded PlayStation 5 Digital Version console, an identical customized DualSense controller and a digital copy of GTA VI (roughly $700 worth). To enter, purchase any FENO product at a collaborating Arizona dispensary via Nov. 18, snap a photograph of the receipt and submit it at fenocannabis.com/ps5-giveaway. The winner shall be drawn at random and introduced Nov. 20.
