Don’t Do It Alone! Why You Need a Dispensary Digital Marketing Agency

We don’t need to tell you that running a dispensary is hard work: There are always a lot of fires to put out, and never enough water. Even for well-established businesses, the question of which expense you can afford to put off another day—or two, or three—can feel like a question that never gets answered.

Marketing is one of those expenses you can’t afford to let slide. And because there are so many advantages to outsourcing, the vast number of them do just that: They hire a digital marketing agency.

Of course, it’s natural we’d say that: We’re digital marketers! But don’t take it from us (though we believe our long list of delighted clients and proven success stories says it all).

Now, a new study and infographic (courtesy of the good folks at MarketingProfs) make this simple truth self-evident: Building a marketing team from scratch is hard, and it rarely makes economic sense. That’s why there are digital marketing agencies; here’s why most small businesses hire them.

Why Hire a Dispensary Digital Marketing Agency? Expertise

In the MarketingProfs study, lack of in-house expertise came up as the #1 reason to hire a marketing agency. And it’s not limited to small start-ups or shoestring operations: As the infographic shows, the vast majority of businesses surveyed—from enterprise operations to small businesses to B2B organizations—depend on outside marketing teams for their expertise.

Especially for small businesses with few employees, it’s easy to see why. If you’re a fan of either bees or science fiction, you may be familiar with the term “hive mind.” Loosely defined, it’s the phenomenon of many minds arriving at the same decision together. Put another way, many minds tackling the same problem can bring infinitely greater perspective, knowledge, and insight than any single one of us.

That’s why hiring a marketing agency is a little like getting a massive boost of brainpower at a proportionally tiny cost. The better agencies come equipped with a vast institutional knowledge base built from hard experience. Because marketing is all they do, they’re uniquely positioned to help you bring your dreams to fruition quickly, efficiently, and with the maximum concentration of problem-solving brainpower.

Cost-Effectiveness

Money isn’t everything, of course, except when it is. And when you’re steering your dispensary chain through the dangers of cash flow shortfalls, unanticipated expenses (COVID-19, anyone?) and any of the other pitfalls you’ll encounter, you can’t afford to waste a penny. And while hiring a marketing agency is an expense, in the long run—and even the short run—it tends to be a money-saver.

Again, the infographic lends weight to this finding: Of those surveyed, the #3 reason businesses outsource their marketing is because it makes economic sense. It has to: “Budget Management” and “Pricing” both ranked at or just behind 4 out of 5 in terms of importance.

Why? Hiring a new employee is expensive. In addition to your own time—reviewing resumés, conducting interviews, and training new hires—there are other associated costs: Benefits and statutory costs like Social Security for full-timers, plus other “soft costs” down the road. And even if you’re hiring part-timers, hard experience shows: You ignore the importance of onboarding at your own peril.

If your operation merits it, you may well decide to grow your own in-house marketing team. But when it comes to dollars and sense, there are very few reasons to cross that bridge until you absolutely have to.

Scalability

Time is money. And hiring an agency lets you get up to speed very quickly when compared with building your own in-house team. Marketing agencies are by their nature flexible and adaptable.

When cash flow is critical, you can’t afford to wait to build foot (and web) traffic.

Every dispensary is different. Because we all have different visions for our businesses—not to mention the confusing web of state statutes governing cannabis marketing—you can’t implement a one-size-fits-all solution. A dispensary digital marketing agency needs to be able to adapt on the fly and hit the ground running. Once again, the MarketingProfs study lends credence to this fact: “Quick Project Deployment” and “Expertise in Niche” both ranked near 4 out of 5 in terms of client concerns. Because the digital world travels at the speed of light, you can’t get stuck waiting around for results.

Here’s one more reason to work with a marketing agency, and it’s an important one. If you’d like to learn more about how we could help you solve your seemingly intractable marketing problems, reach out anytime. We’d love to help.

Red Flags

The MarketingProfs study contains some hidden nuggets as well. One of the most crucial is a section on potential warning signs when you’re reviewing candidates for a dispensary digital marketing agency. They include areas such as:

• Lack of case studies: That’s why we invite you to examine ours.

For the overwhelming majority of small businesses, outsourcing your marketing needs is the way to go. If you’re a dispensary looking to take your game to the next level, reach out. We’re here to help.

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