Getting connected with cannabis marketing specialists to build awareness of your brand is going to help your business go far.

There are numerous tactics they use to grow your business, however. Some are more expensive than others. And some are more effective than others.

Piggyback marketing checks both the affordable and efficient boxes.

So What Is Piggyback Marketing?

By now, you’ve heard of influencer marketing. Piggyback marketing is similar.

Yet rather than paying some superstar with oodles of connections to promote you, piggyback marketing relies on your shared work and vision with a partner brand or organization. It’s taking advantage of the commonality of your audiences and interests, but swapping out popularity for solidarity.

Coming together to collaborate on a project such as a promotion, event, or new product, for example, leverages the power of your shared audiences. And in the long run, it results in a more creative, authentic, and community-driven experience.

This is especially important in an industry that relies heavily on trust, while being simultaneously prohibited from traditional marketing avenues.

Given these two factors, cannabis marketing and public relations experts know well the power of piggyback marketing.

How Piggyback Marketing Works for Cannabis

It all starts with an interesting idea.

You need to come up with either an event, promotion, or some sort of other finished product that will appeal to your customers, as well as those of your partner’s brand. Whatever the case, it should have value to all of them.

One of the biggest mistakes rookies make is buying into the notion that the collaborative project must be complex. Forget that noise.

You want people to understand your project so they can talk it up. Otherwise, they won’t be on board. And they certainly won’t talk about it with others.

Know What Makes a Good Partner

You want to ensure first and foremost that the company with which you choose to collaborate should not be in direct competition with you. Duh.

Nor should they be your polar opposite. Your customer demographics should be compatible with those of their business.

For instance, if your company is on the cool and edgy side, you may not fare well at a clinical corporate type event. In fact, the two different demographics could become horrifyingly antagonistic factions. Then again, probably not.

But you get the point.

Finding a complementary business doesn’t necessarily mean success though. You have to consider the people involved as well.

If your partner is not as passionate or invested in the idea as you are, that can lead to failure. Or if you pair up with someone who has similar strengths and weaknesses, there won’t be much room for growth. So take the time to suss all of these out.

Bottom line?

If you have a sound idea and you’re respected in the industry (i.e. have played by the rules and haven’t burnt a bunch of bridges) then you’ll likely find someone in the cannabis space who’s ready to partner with you on that idea.

The Pitch

Once you’ve found the ideal partner, it’s time to execute the product. Rule number one – don’t skimp on development. Also, have some idea of how you wish to measure the success of your launch by setting up some objectives. Then be prepared to track that success.

For example, perhaps you’re hoping for more followers on your social channels to show that you’re a respected company. Or maybe you’re looking for more signups for your mailing list. You may have a goal to get media coverage.

Whatever the case, you want your proposed project/final deliverable to be polished and professional. That’s the only way people are going to get excited about it.

Copy and photos must be relevant and the organization of the process should flow seamlessly.

In other words, you want your final deliverable to be something of which both you and your partner can be proud. Because even if the launch doesn’t end up being as huge as you hope, the process of creating a polished final product will help out both brands in the long run.

Hopefully your project will be a huge success. But even if it falls flat, you can analyze where things went south so you can tweak your approach for the next time.

In the end, you can view it as an important learning experience.

Could Piggyback Marketing Work for You?

If you’re trying to grow your cannabis business, it’s a good idea to take advantage of piggyback marketing.

Not sure you want to tackle it yourself? Then contact us today.

We have the expertise to put your brand in front of audiences who are already proven to be interested in products or services similar to yours, while helping you partner with brands that your audience already respects.

All of this will boost authenticity for your cannabis business. And that’s priceless.

The post Using Piggyback Marketing to Grow Your Cannabis Business appeared first on GROW Cannabis Marketing.

But now you’ve officially got a business to run. Maybe your business is at the beginning of lift off. If you’re lucky, it’s already starting to soar.

Whatever your situation, you need to stay on top of things if you want to continue to scale your cannabis business.

Because if it stalls out and you don’t have the fuel to keep it, at the very least, sky high, you could end up grounded. And not in that good sort of meditative way.

What Is the Fuel That Will Scale Your Cannabis Business?

It’s not all that complicated. In fact, a lot of it is Business Management 101. But just in case you bypassed the business degree, we’ll lay it out for you.

1. Mo’ Money

If you went about things with some business savvy, you didn’t blow the whole wad on starting up your business. Because the truth is, your expansion and growth are dependent on how much money you have access to right now.

Of course, there are always unexpected obstacles when starting a business. So it could be that you don’t have quite the capital you were planning on having at this point. It happens.

If that’s the case, you need to raise some money to grow and ramp up capacity. Just be certain about your source. Ditch the “get rich quick” shysters and hook up with well-connected investors instead.

Or if well-connected investors aren’t exactly falling from the sky, consider raising capital from a smart partner who can contribute in other ways. Yeah, you might not have the most favorable terms in this situation, but there’s something to be said for having someone constantly pressuring the company to demonstrate and meet short-term goals.

2. Mo’ Help

Are you resistant to help? Get over it.

Because as your company scales, your daily operations are going to become far more complex. That’s just the math. So don’t be a super hero control freak. You need to bring on some fresh meat.

Start laying out departments, hire qualified folks for those departments and learn how to delegate responsibility.

If things are going well, it might be time to bring on a chief operating officer, or COO. Along with the calming and gentle sound of the job title, a COO can help out big time with managing the internal planning.

This is important because a COO is going ensure that all the gaps are filled. And just one unfilled gap could take down your business. No matter how small.

Once things start going really well – i.e. the capital is flowing, you’re offering employee benefits, dealing with a variety of taxes and a more complex payroll – you’ll need to hire a chief financial officer. Not a poetic sounding title, no. But a CFO could save you A LOT of headaches.

3. Mo’ Originality

You’ve probably already established some regular cannabis consumers. But what about getting hold of those mainstream customers who can really fuel your growth?

Obviously, destigmatization and education are crucial to getting the mainstream to understand that cannabis isn’t about getting high, dude. But beyond that, how do you differentiate? How do YOU stand out?

You can’t be a shrinking violet if you want to scale your cannabis business. So be sure to communicate what makes your product or service unique. Is it better prices? More expertise? The ability to stay crunchy in milk?

But seriously, there are a gaggle of ways to differentiate your business. For example, you could consider offering:

• Super cool packaging
• Online tracking
• Certified organic products
• 24/7 customer service
• Cryptocurrency integration
• Subscription to blockchain control services

And that’s the shortlist.

Also, enlist the services of experienced marketing professionals who focus on the cannabis industry specifically. They’ll help get you noticed.

Just remember that whatever you’re doing to differentiate now, it’s important to have a plan in terms of how you’ll maintain that difference over time. Things change fast in the cannabis industry, and you don’t want to get swallowed up by a larger, shinier competitor.

4. Maybe Mo’ Locations?

As your scaling takes on Olympic proportions, you can continue to grow your business by physically expanding to other locations.

Of course, the success of adding locations will depend, to some extent, on the state where you live. There are many different restrictions unique to cannabis companies. In states where the vote to legalize marijuana has been successful, there will be fewer hurdles.

Fortunately, that list is growing.

Get Your Cannabis Business Noticed

No matter where you are in the scaling process, it is crucial to have good public relations and solid media coverage. This one isn’t debatable.

So if you’re looking for PR and marketing to help you scale your cannabis business, contact us today. We’ll discuss the specifics to help your company get the exposure it needs to grow.

The post How Can You Scale Your Cannabis Business? appeared first on GROW Cannabis Marketing.