Using Values to Trigger Cannabis Shoppers
Triggering Cannabis Shoppers:
What Buttons to Push
By David Allison
This story first appeared in Forbes Magazine. Read it online here.
In various parts of North America, cannabis is becoming legal. As it does, entrants in those regions (as well as interested parties worldwide) are preparing to build products, services and brands for a whole new audience. It'll be the first time in most of our lives that an entirely new product category is available.
It’s a modern-day gold rush. Everybody is running for the finish line even though we don’t really know where the finish line is, and according to experts, cannabis users currently have minimal (if any) brand loyalty. According to 2018 Deloitte research, only 15% of current cannabis users surveyed cited "familiar brand" as a consideration in their purchasing decisions. If you’re in the cannabis industry and you want to sprint ahead of the competition, here’s the group you should focus on: those who will become regular cannabis users after it’s legalized in their area.
According to the U.S. Cannabis Report 2019 Industry Outlook (via Forbes), "Sales of cannabis in current legal states are projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% over the next six years." I believe the new customers leading to this growth are likely to come from a much broader audience than existing cannabis users. How do you make your cannabis products appealing to the mom with three kids? If you want to understand your customers, you have to look at their values.
According to my company's data, which we curated from over 500,000 surveys conducted around the globe, 38% of those who said they would use cannabis after legalization said they would be “extremely likely” to do so.
We identified three dominant segments, each with a unique set of wants, needs, and expectations. Most importantly, for each segment, we were able to detect the cluster of values that these motivated consumers use to make decisions.
In this article, I’ll look at each of these segments in greater detail and identify the shared values for each group that you should speak to if you want to attract them as customers for your cannabis brand.
The Upgraders
At 15% of the "extremely likely" group, this segment is looking for a healthier and more socially acceptable alternative to their current menu of alcohol or other recreational drugs. They will likely be less brand loyal and more motivated by variety and price. When it comes to user experience (UX), they will generally be the traditionalists who are looking for familiar ways and means.
The Scared-Straights
Thirty-six percent of those who are extremely likely to use cannabis are lapsed users who abandoned cannabis use earlier for fear of it damaging their career. But after legalization and gaining social acceptability, these young, career-minded professionals are eager to partake. In fact, Deloitte found that "74 percent of [likely cannabis users] have had prior experience with recreational cannabis, and 41 percent have used it in the past five years." A few nostalgic references to the glory days gone by could go a long way with this group.
The Healthy Health Nuts
Representing 17% of the most motivated potential cannabis users, we found that these prospects tend to be affluent professionals with families. They may anticipate using cannabis as a regular supplement to their ongoing health regimen. They will likely only purchase cannabis through official, licensed sources and use it primarily for health reasons. The more you can position your product as scientific and clinical, the better.
The Values Of Each User Segment
Here are the top four values we identified for each segment, starting with the most important:
• Upgraders: relationships, experiences, creativity, loyalty.
• Scared-Straights: family, personal growth, financial security, creativity.
• Healthy Health Nuts: family, relationships, health, environmentalism.
Whether you choose to target one audience or cross-pollinate all three, triggering their values will allow you to influence behaviors. What are some ways you can trigger these values? Let’s look at a couple examples.
Ways To Trigger Values For Each Group
Let’s start with the Upgraders, who are generally self-medicators with a loyalty streak and heavy reliance on existing relationships with people and methods to get what they want. They may be used to calling their dealers and arranging for a meetup. Could you offer the same service? Instead of Uber Eats, could you be Uber Weed? Could you offer the local dealers a way to legitimize their operations and become a collective by sharing some of the costs and back-room operations?
For the Scared-Straights, a phrase you might hear is, “I remember the old days, but I’m a successful professional now.” Products designed for this group should reflect that level of professionalism, not look like something they would’ve used in college.
You could design pinch-hitters made with exotic woods and gold-plated bats that come packaged with a daydream journal to keep track of thoughts and ideas that cannabis use may trigger. Or make designer pipes that are made to leave out on the table, not hide away in a coffee tin in the cupboard. These pipes can represent a mark of the user's aesthetic intelligence, and you could make various styles available to suit their interiors.
For the Healthy Health Nuts, a post-workout hemp protein smoothie could be a hit. Hemp seeds are a popular choice for some vegetarians and vegans due to their high nutrient and protein content. Additionally, hemp seeds contain fatty acids in the form of omega-3s and omega-6s.
Don’t Miss Your Opportunity
The values cluster for each group can not only inform what you should do, but what you shouldn’t do. The Upgraders don’t necessarily care about environmentalism, just as the Healthy Health Nuts don’t value loyalty highly, as a rule. You shouldn’t sit around considering how your cannabis brand could tap into the value of charity — unless you’re targeting Healthy Health Nuts and the charity is tied into environmentalism.
So, to come out ahead in this new gold rush, simply pick your segment, and build everything around what they value. When you do, you’ll only be limited by what your imagination can dream up.
David Allison is a bestselling author, international speaker, and the Founder of the Valuegraphics Database. Read David Allison's full executive profile here.…
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