Did you know that your Managed Services Provider (MSP) relationship is just as important as your relationship with your attorney and accountant? It’s true because the cannabis field is reliant on technology solutions as health care and other highly regulated sectors. In this session, discover the importance of the following hiring criteria: • Domain expertise and being a Subject Matter Expert • Placing weight on the relationship between you and the MSP • The MSP’s reputation • What level of service do you need, and can your budget afford it: Not getting duped with the Gold, Silver, Bronze Packages? • Finer Points: Does the MSP carry cybersecurity insurance? Response times and ticket support. • Bring order to chaos with an MSP! • And much mor
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It’s not IF you will deploy a cannabis technology solution, but HOW you will do it. Keep in mind every solution will affect the guest experience to some degree. The aim is to enhance the guest experience, as a great guest experience is a key differentiator in this competitive market. First, we will review the cannabis dispensary workload chart (that you will have a copy of as an attendee) To decide if a piece of technology is right for your operation, follow these four steps. 1. Define the business need and goal 2. Determine if the goal could be achieved without technology 3. Conduct a simple return on investment (ROI) analysis 4. Compare at least three vendors Then we’ll share tales from the trenches, real-world case studies, and best practices. In this session we will work with an outside expert in this discovery stage including retaining an MSP and consider turning this group work into a framework to receive multiple bids.
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Data is the new oil. Whether you are a grower, brand, or dispensary, your business needs to provide a superior customer experience to remain viable in today’s challenging environment. Leveraging first-party data (following all privacy rules) with marketing and AI can go a long way in providing your business with a competitive advantage. The legal cannabis industry generates a tremendous amount of data due to the highly regulated nature of the market. Over the past couple of years, the industry has been much more conscientious of leveraging data to make better management decisions. Still, it has yet to delve into some of the more profound data analysis applications appropriate for vertical enterprises. This talk explores those more profound applications and shows how predictive and prescriptive analytics supercharges different supply chain points to create a more innovative, more efficient, vertically integrated cannabis/hemp enterprise. Finally, discover what customer potential profitability scoring is.
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A famous Wall Street trader said you win in the long run simply by not making mistakes. Attending the lecture allows you to minimize the regrets you would have both missing this lecture and learning the hard way with cannabis software and hardware. The panelist will respond to these topics and answer your questions too! • Not having consistent IT standards. Multiple IT vendors, hardware products, varied responsibility for purchasing • No ability for a local manager to make a decision or how to get help from an IT vendor. • No strategic plan – A lot of purchasing is not planned or is done in emergencies • Not looking for technical solutions throughout the operation. One key area is cash management • Documenting processes and procedures • Coaching employees to account for turnover • Dysfunctional employees • Negative Customer Experience
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The need for better parenting. The presenter has successfully embedded himself inside two dispensaries and is a turnaround artist. He will share his experiences in great detail. By-the-numbers, you will observe how he significantly (and rapidly) increased revenue. The secrets that will be shared include the need for better inventorying. “My job got easier with AUTOMATION.” Other points include: • The Covid shutdown and losing managers and employees • The purchasing manager didn’t buy enough to meet customer demand. The store would run out of brands that people were asking for. • Placing huge orders and broke company record sales • How to analyze sales data and purchase from top suppliers Finally, you will discover how the two dispensaries lost revenue after the speaker exited.
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In this fast-paced multi-pillar presentation four areas will be covered with a close eye on how technology impacts everything. The end game is to get new customers every day from cannabis marketing leveraging technology. Marketing. Getting your polished marketing to the right places is extremely difficult. First there is the countless opportunities including social optimization, directory listings, cannabis guides, getting positive online store reviews, etc. The other side compliance matters and restrictions on advertising including prohibited content and SMS electronic messaging, age restriction verifications and geofencing to stay compliant. Loyalty Programs. One of the panelists actually installed the first loyalty program in the State of Washington and speak from experience! We’ll discuss how to overcome customer resistance to loyalty programs using proven tactics such as points and discounts (really core), and best practice of using loyalty to tie that brand to that customer. Margins. Using your CannaTech platform to manage margins efficiently and effectively. The regulations add a lot of overhead. Discover how 280E affects your margins and how the cost has to be built into to your price. Payments. View this popular conservation first from a compliance point of view. It’s a gray area to accept electronic payments. Take notes here because prosecutions are now starting. According to MarketWatch: Visa cracks down on cashless ATMs at cannabis dispensaries. What about gift cards? If you can/could accept electronic payments, your average market basket would increase 25 to 50 percent.
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It all starts with putting yourself in the customer’s shoes. When your customer first walks into your dispensary, it’s typically overwhelming with product availability. Next time the customer gravitates toward something they like and trust. If you have those favored products on the shelf, you are going to build another level of loyalty with the customer. Discover how the top three keys to brand management interact and stay in balance: 1. Price point 2. Brand recognition 3. Quality Now the CannaTech technology kicks in with inventory control. The technology solution can help you optimize your reorder point so that you don’t stock out of a brand and send your customer to your competitor. Well-positioned technology-based inventory management is all about risk management. Finally – the presenter will discuss linking your inventory control to your online presence to maximize your profitably and protect your reputation.
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This expert panel will allow you, the vendor, to discover the unique challenges and opportunities with the cannabis vertical. We’ll start with seeking and gaining internal buy-in by sharing real world experiences. Then we’ll talk about branding and messaging. Follow that with maturity matching – that is you need to “match” the maturity and the culture of the cannabis vertical to be successful. And much more.
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We’ll go through a simple case study to help you understand the potential for your CannaTech solution. The demonstration will be both quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative side is easier than your think as this is a regulated industry where you can find out the names of the cannabis entities and then work backwards to guesstimate the entity size and revenue. This will lead to you creating the Annual Contract Value (ACV). The qualitative side concerns market behaviors, a territory plan, targeting prospects, etc. Think of this as one tent pole in your CannaTech targeted solutions business plan.
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It’s astounding how many CannaTech ISV and OEMs insist on having a direct sales force instead of using a channel of resellers and partners (compared to traditional technology vendors). Topics covered include: • What Are Channel Sales? • What Are Direct Sales? • Channel Sales vs Direct Sales: • What’s the Difference? • Channel Sales: Pros and Cons Direct Sales: Pros and Cons • What is a Sales Channel Strategy? • How to Increase Channel Sales • Channel Sales: Questions to Consider • Direct Sales: Questions to Consider • Role of the Distributor • Final Takeaways Business development and sales to technology companies for print magazine ad space (SMB PC) digital marketing and event sponsorships at conferences and workshops.
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This session details both qualitative and quantitative conversations about what events to target in the cannabis vertical. There is the science provider by event management companies that show you where influencers go to shows and what shows over and under perform. On the qualitative side, it’s about show density, geography and event mission. There are a lot of cannabis events to choose from. Attend this session to minimize your event sponsorship regrets.
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