Your Cannabis Branding Guide Book Is Right Here: How to Impress Customers

Cannabis branding is a crucial foundation to build your business upon. Don’t just be “another brand” out there, be impressive and unique instead! But how could you be different from others? What value could you bring? And are there any ways to impress customers at first glance? It’s all here …

Cannabis branding is a critical part that every business owner must think of before they’re out in the public. However, did you know that the United States’ cannabis industry is now worth 61$ billion and has over 5000 brands? And the number is growing from there. It’s rapidly increasing and becoming saturated already which means that you need to think about your unique selling proposition, what do you have that sets you apart? Customers have been overwhelmed with a massive number of brands craving their purchases. So how would you differentiate yourself from others?

Cannabis branding is a sophisticated journey. And without understanding some core values, it’s extremely hard to walk the journey alone. As an agency specializing in the cannabis industry, Studio Linear proudly offers assistance in brand identity, messaging, and brand development.

First, let's review the basics of cannabis branding!

What makes your cannabis branding different from others?

Incorporating these items below will help get your branding on track:

1.     Purpose - Vision – Mision

These are the core of any business, not only with marijuana. These sound pretty similar but there are subtle differences between each:

Purpose: What is the purpose of your brand? What problem does it solve?

Vision: This is when you paint the picture of how and where you want your cannabis brand to be in the future.

Mission: What you hope to accomplish is your mission. What are the values your company holds true?

2.     Emotional benefits

To strengthen the connection between the brand and customers, you should look at a holistic approach. People will not only buy your product for its use, but also for the feeling and value it brings. Your customers want to connect and be treated as people, not mass-marketed demographic numbers. So by adding more creative and sophisticated marketing practices that include emotional tactics, you will make them feel appreciated.

3.     Brand positioning

Every brand should have a unique position in the market to attract customers both in-store and online. Every single aspect of your brand—from the core product or service offering to the experience it delivers to customers—must be aligned perfectly with its positioning. Don’t just answer the “What” questions from your customers, you have to give them “Why” and “How” as well to keep them interested.

Creating a brand position might be an overwhelming task for start-ups, and Studio Linear definitely can help with that. You can click here to read more about cannabis branding. We work on developing your target audience, your messaging, and more.

4.     Brand personality

Like we’ve said, your customers want real interactions. And brands, just like any person, with a cool personality, are absolutely more attractive. Define your brand characteristics first, will you be the cool, witty, trending brand or a trusty buddy to your customers? What resonates with you? After you choose what you want to express, your core personality, then all your cannabis branding must be consistent with that. By this, we mean your designs, tone & mood of content, how you communicate with customers, must follow brand personality. If you try to convey one set of values and then switch to a new tone abruptly, it can be alarming to your customer base. It is okay for your brand to evolve but there is a strategy to a successful pivot.

5.     Key message and big idea for every campaign

No campaign and promotion should be published without solid planning. Everything you put out to communicate & interact with your customers must have its key message & big idea clearly defined. That’s the backbone of your campaign from which you’ll define channels of communication and your tasks to do. Running a campaign without any message would be a total waste of resources, and won’t attract any customers.

Difference must create value

"Different" is your goal when it comes to cannabis branding. However, if you’re differences don’t have value, why do customers want to choose you?

Being unique always requires creativity, recklessness, boldness, and perseverance, but is it enough for customers? People can purchase a similar, undifferentiated product from a company without buying from you.

That scenario leads us to one conclusion, if you’re not making differences in value, you will have a hard time breaking into the market as a unique brand.

Brands can also stand out by offering more value than their competitors; and their plenty of ways to do it. For example, you could simply make and sell better products at a lower price point.

Unfortunately, most brands don’t have the flexibility to create this kind of value. Instead, you might offer value in terms of more useful content or the ability to personalized customer service.

Originality and consistency play a vital role in your cannabis branding, too. So think carefully about what to offer to your customers to stand out. Open your own path by creating the highest total perceived value for customers.

7 ways to help your brand make an impact with your target audience

The market is full of new cannabis business ideas every day. So if you want to stand out and make a good impression, then these 7 ways should be on your checklist.

1.     Understand your customers

Instead of focusing on reaching everyone, you should hone in on the audience and customer base that is most loyal to your products. This includes understanding their needs, behavior, and even their shopping preferences. Once you fully understand what they want at a core, you can create a campaign to tackle these items you discover. Knowledge and information of your customer's needs can be collected through market research, questionnaires, and customers services.

2.     Consistent message and image

Consistency is extremely important when it comes to cannabis branding. Staying consistent means choosing a message to press and keep everything you publish aligned with this messaging. Everything from marketing and advertising to product development, events,… they should speak the same message.

Sounds complicated, right? However, it’s much simpler doing than saying. Simply choose a tone of voice, a core images guide to follow, and stay true to yourself. If you find you do not know where to begin, reach out to us, we work on brand messaging and tone all the time in the cannabis industry!

3.     Be transparent and accurate

If you haven’t noticed yet, your customers are more sensitive to affectations and pretense than you think. If they felt that you’re taking advantage of them, they’ll go and purchases elsewhere. That’s why with cannabis branding, being real and true to your core features and offer real values are important. Only communicate the right information and be transparent in building trust with your customers.

Simply sugarcoating things or only posting positive information isn't always the best tactic. Allow people to know what you care about, your ups and downs as a business, being candid. This shows you are human. We all make mistakes and there is humility involved in sharing this. Being transparent shows you are honest and respectful. I don't know about you but when I read marketing that feels fake or full of empty promises, it is an instant turn-off.

4.     Brand values ​​are also the core of the organization

The brand to purchase is a brand that adds value to a person, not just taking money from their wallet. So to be loved and trusted, you should always add value to your customers’ life. Think about both physical benefits and emotions, then you’ll know how to design your products to fit their needs & expectation. Maybe a % of purchases go to giving back to a charity you favor. This effort provides value.

5.     Strong text and vivid images

As a human, we’re always attracted by beautiful images and strong words. Work on your design & content, or hire an agency that is capable to create impressive visuals for your business. Invest more in product photography, website design, and content. These are a great start to building your brand.

The ongoing picture

Cannabis branding is a long-term project that every brand must work on constantly and consistently. We hope that this article could be the right kickstart for you and your brand to start this journey. There are plenty more things you should read about cannabis branding and design. So if you’re interested, click here for more