You have heard the hype about the CBD industry, and you want to be on the ground floor of this flourishing sector. Whether you dream of running your own physical dispensary store or plan to sell topicals, tinctures, and vapes online, you are certainly on the threshold of a potentially lucrative future. However, there are some tips you should heed before taking the leap to ensure that your budding business has everything it needs to flower.
Get a grasp on your niche.
Big dreams are a great way to start, but you eventually need to narrow down the exact nature of what your business will be. Ask yourself these questions.
- What target market do I want to serve?
- What pain point will my business be helping these people to address?
- Do I have the necessary support and capital to make this happen?
Once you have done some thinking on these important issues, you can come up with a unique angle that will separate your enterprise from all the rest and begin to brainstorm about how to make your brand come alive.
Define your brand and its value.
Before you go any further, you need to answer the following questions to cement who you are — not only in your mind but eventually in the consciousness of your future customers.
- What is my company’s mission statement?
- What are our values?
- What will our corporate culture look like?
All of these will combine to form the essential brand voice with which consumers will identify. It’s not just about buying your CBD products using payment processing for your CBD store; people really do want to connect with you and develop an ongoing rapport and relationship.
Scout out your competitors.
As the new kid on a very lucrative block, you need to quickly figure out who your biggest rivals are and what is making them successful. Examine their websites and social media pages to see what they sell, to whom, how they go about advertising, and what customer pain points they are attempting to relieve. Also take note of any gaps you see and areas where they are falling short that you might enter. This will give you an inside look at what you will need to aspire to as well as some chinks in their armor that you can exploit.
Choose your employees carefully.
Devote time in selecting a diverse, talented team of people who can help you to move your CBD business forward. Bringing people of various backgrounds onboard will help you relate better to customers. Offer positions to people who are creative, passionate about the industry, and interested in learning and growing with your business.
Develop the right payments infrastructure.
As a CBD company, you will need to find a high-risk payment processor. This merchant account provider should have direct experience in the industry, ensuring that you get the best rates and enabling you to benefit from their expertise when it comes to fraud and chargeback protection. CBD sellers are considered to be high-risk businesses, which means that you could undergo greater scrutiny during the merchant account application process and can expect to pay steeper monthly fees. That being said, it is possible to find a reputable processing company with fair rates, so don’t sign with the first one you see.
After accomplishing all of these steps, it’s time to formulate a marketing plan that will create a buzz about your exciting new company. Keep your focus on the customer base you are trying to attract, concentrating on what is important to them, and never forgetting to let your unique offerings shine. Devoting time and care to your new store in its early stages will help to give it the strong foundation of financial stability, happy employees, and engaged customers that will combine to bring about its success.
