Here at Wikileaf we’re closely keeping an eye on the growing crisis and how it’s affecting cannabis businesses and consumers. One thing we’ve witnessed firsthand is that all over the country the cannabis industry has been deemed as an “essential” service. We’ve all been affected by the coronavirus crisis. People are hurting, people are in need and there’s no way to see exactly how long it will last, or what the outcome will be. Complete industries are being decimated by layoffs, closures and their future is dim and uncertain. Here are some of the top tips we’ve seen dispensaries take to ensure the doors stay open and your customers are continuing to make vital purchases.

Tip #1 – Make purchasing easy

Foot traffic is a primary source of income for the majority of our dispensaries, but during this time you may need to be even more proactive than ever by making sure your customers have an easy, no-hassle way to get their supplies. If you don’t deliver and are able to,  now would be the perfect time to consider it. We’ve even heard of a dispensary actually putting in a drive-thru!

Tip #2 – Communicate 

Here’s the thing. People are sick, stuck and scared. You’ve likely got a very loyal customer base. I bet you know many of them by name.  Reach out to your customers by e-mail, text or whatever means you have. Consider setting up a special offer for your best customers to make sure they keep coming in. Reach out to other local businesses who might be suffering worse than you and see if you can strike up a “double deal." It’s vital to maintain contact and provide as much value as you can.

Tip #3 – Outsource and Innovate

The reality is that even though retailers are deemed essential in many parts of the U.S. and Canada, dispensaries are getting hit with a different set of problems. You might be experiencing them too – workers not able to come in, trying to run a skeleton crew while keeping the lights on. For graphic design or marketing needs, consider using Fiverr. It's a low-cost platform that will allow you to quickly churn out everything from email and website designs to public relations, SEO, and advertising help. You might also want to consider Taskrabbit and even Quickbooks to manage your workflow and day-to-day needs.

How Wikileaf can help you

There’s a whole lot more that you can do, but those are 3 super important tips that can keep business coming in during this madness. Look, let me be blunt here. This industry, like alcohol during and right after prohibition, has always faced adversity, stigma and struggle… but right now we have the chance to bring it all MUCH further into the mainstream and even help people in the process. Here at Wikileaf we’re dedicated to helping you not just survive but thrive. We just rolled out our Bronze Level package with new tools for you to communicate, track and increase your sales with new analytics and more – and our team is working (yeah, from home… us too!) to develop even more resources for you. Click here and login to your account and see for yourself. Here's a little bit of humor that we overheard yesterday in a random conversation about the cannabis industry, and really, we couldn’t have said it better: “Man, I don’t want people to be sick, on the other hand as a dispensary owner I look around and think – you gotta be kidding… the entire world just got told to stay at home, sit on the couch, order in… Netflix and Chill. It’s like every smoker’s dream come true.” It’s a valid point. Remember to check out our upgraded options inside your dashboard here. Stay safe and feel free to reach out to us here at Wikileaf if you need help. We’ve got an entire team dedicated to helping you with whatever you might need!