Cannabis producers and processors take note: as we move towards the future of cannabis retail, we’ve got to remember our past and what has worked for other industries before us. Traditional business methods might make or break your ability to stay competitive for the long haul.

Shape offers you even more specific features that are tailored to the unique challenges of the cannabis industry. Using advanced technology, CRMs especially, could be the key to priming your company for continued growth.

Shape Cannabis CRM

Using advanced technology, CRMs especially, could be the key to priming your company for continued growth. The good news is there are some CRMs already available that have a proven track record. The even better news? A few of these same companies, like Shape, have expanded to offer you even more specific features that are tailored to the unique challenges of the cannabis industry.

While most of these suggestions may seem familiar to you, we assure you that they’ll help keep you organized, productive, and ahead of the competition for years to come. Using these will maximize the effectiveness of your CRM and your business as a whole.

1. Plan quarterly branding meetings. Stay on top of how your clients interact with your business using marketing tools and analytics.
2. Hire specialized staff to bridge entrepreneurial gaps. Positions like Account Management will be a vital step towards legitimizing your market presence.
3. Add data reports to your decision making process. Use CRM software to automatically capture, assess, and analyze real information that you can use to better understand your current positions.
4. Formalize your sample process. By creating an easy to follow flow chart of events, tracking the effectiveness of valuable marketing tools will become a breeze for employees and management alike.
5. Establish clear lines of communication with retail locations. One easy way to set yourself apart from the competition is by having extremely organized lines of communication. CRMs can help you and retailers store, view, and reference info without missing a beat.
6. Keep track of deliveries for when retailers ask for updates. Stuff happens. Know when it does so you can keep a smile on the faces of your vendors.
7. Oversee all communications. CRMs have the ability to function as one launchpad for every single project, location, distributor, and all other aspects of your business. By streamlining communication to a single platform you can keep an eye on things like customer service and satisfaction.
8. Automatically gather and collect data for future analytics reports. Making decisions for your business based on best guesses is an express lane to failure. Use a CRM to capture things like form data, merge duplicates, and run real-time reports.
9. Remain compliant with state regulations. Maintaining your license depends on it. Be sure to a business management solution that offers end-to-end visibility on your product.
10. Use established marketing tactics like email newsletters to stay in touch with your network of clients. These can even be personalized, templated, and distributed right from your CRM.
11. Get into the content marketing game. Beyond sales and news, use your marketing outlets to provide additional value to your customers. Storing these client details in your CRM keeps this info right at your fingertips.
12. Manage production workflows. Manage expectations and get everyone on the same page. CRMs offer a few different tools for making sure tasks get done by the right people at the right time.

Creating the perfect marriage of old school solutions tailored to fit your new school business is a difficult task. Luckily there are plenty of options available, like Shape, that do just that.