The CBD Retailer Branding Strategy: A Guide for Retailers

CBD is most commonly referred to as the abbreviated form of Cannabidiol. It is a popular compound that is extracted from either industrial hemp or marijuana plants.

Apart from CBD, there are around 113 active cannabinoids on the plant out of which THC is most prevalent while CBD comes right behind it!

Unlike THC, CBD doesn't produce psychoactive effects or a sense of euphoria which increases both its status and market value among consumers.

Do you know, what? A closer look at the ongoing market trends shows that the CBD market in the USA is competing for the legal marijuana market.

Now, what does this mean? It tells us that in the next half-decade or so, CBD is expected to reach up to dollar 23 billion- an impressive jump indeed!

Why is CBD becoming increasingly popular?

A question that concerns many of us begins as to why consumers are increasingly indulging in CBD products.

While there is no concise answer to this, here are some noteworthy key points that explain the popularity!

It's non-psychoactive

The property which gives CBD an edge over other components is that it doesn’t cause any high among the users. When vaped or smoked, it doesn’t cause psychoactive effects like THC does.

Thus, the increasing awareness and perception that CBD is totally safe to use are making it even more exciting for educated consumers.

Alternative treatment

In addition to not thinking of it as dangerous, CBD is known for being effective against a wide range of conditions.

A large amount of research evidence confirms its efficacy against the following conditions:

Cancer Pain

Depression

Anxiety

Sleep problems

Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s etc. 

It’s legal to use

Unlike many other components, another reason for its widespread popularity is due to its legal status.

The Farm bill 2008 added to its popularity, thus it is almost impossible for consumers to perceive other components as equally safe to use. The status of marijuana in the US is a clear example!

CBD branding vs. CBD marketing

While branding and marketing are two different things, they are usually taken as similar! CBD branding is building the story of your company as per the target audience.

Whereas, marketing entails telling that story to the target audience in the most effective manner possible. This is done via logos, webpages, cards, etc.

Though it may sound simple but let me be honest with you, it isn't! A simple tip here is to put a lot of effort into branding than marketing to make your company known among consumers.

Before getting into either branding or marketing, let’s take a look at the number of challenges that may interrupt. Read ahead to know about them!

Common Challenges in branding your CBD brand

When it comes to CBD, there’s a lot to come over if you wish to see your brand flourishing! While the industry is rewarding, it comes with its fair set of challenges as well.

Thus, let’s get into understanding the challenges and ways to overcome them!

The negative reputation of Cannabis

This may sound common to familiar users, but this appears true to many as well! Thus, it's time to dust off the confusion.

Many people who are wishing to adopt the use of CBD in life, find it more daunting than satisfactory in its usage.

Thus, you must negate such misconceptions and be more clear and straightforward in promoting your brand and content to the target audience.

Restrictive laws

There is no surprise to the fact that laws pertaining to CBD sales at the local, federal and international levels are both restrictive and confusing. Having that said, lenders and banks give tough times to entrepreneurs.

Thus, branding and advertising your CBD brand become a challenging task to do. Therefore, I suggest always consulting with legal experts for branding your business at a global and local level.

Inability to direct your brand

CBD has now become a miraculous product that acts as a cure for all. Thus, brands entering the market fail to comprehend where exactly to position themselves.

Before you do so, ask yourself if you are claiming to provide pain relief, depression management, or pet care. Finding an answer can help you properly position and direct your CBD brand.

Listen, Having a unique brand mission and perception is the key point here to take away!

Oversaturated market

The unprecedented growth of the industry has something alarming for brands as well! This signal the fact that only the most strategic CBD brands can make their way to future success.

This has resulted in many brands failing to provide quality products and instead have all eyes on profit!

That is where several factors need to be taken care of; such as CBD branding, brand objective, marketing plan, product placements, etc., all play a significant role in combating the challenge of an oversaturated market.

How does CBD branding the right way?

As you are on the branding endeavor, there are a few things that you need to know well, before your start with it. Without any further description, let's get right into knowing 8 tips for branding.

Identify Target market

How can you even market your business, if you are not sure to who you are selling it? Thus, a major part of CBD branding is dependent on knowing your target market. These may entail the following details:

Age

Location

Income

Interests and preferences

What CBD products they are interested in?

What issues they are looking to resolve via CBD?

To have a clear image, if your brand strategy is convincing, is to consider yourself as a consumer. By gaining a perspective through this image, you can better ensure that your products and brand are connecting with the needs of your target audience. 

Build unique identity

Always remember that there must be something that you want people to remember about your brand.

Once you have developed clarity about the target audience, it becomes relatively easier to devise a public persona for your CBD brand.

Now that you know your audience, the identity must be something that would be pleasing to the audience. You can develop and communicate the identity via the following sources:

Logo

Tagline and brand message

Colors and product design

Tone and ways of marketing

While you do so, make sure to never go overboard with the advertisement tone, because you are not mean to please but to sound professional as well.

Analyze your Competition

While it may not sound creative to at your competition for branding, let me tell you something!

When the market becomes oversaturated, knowing your competitors give you an insight into the overall market trend thus, makes the process of branding much more manageable and clear.

Investigating how the target audience is reacting to certain types of branding can help you devise a unique branding strategy for your brand as well.

Craft a visually attractive Packaging

Once you have analyzed your competitor, you would also be familiar with the type of packaging for your niche.

You know what? Most brands prefer minimalist packaging as it corroborates with the efficacy of CBD in providing peace and calm effect. However, many brands still opt for colors that grab attention in a blink

The point here is to be clear about what the brand is meant to provide. For the most part, the packaging is the representation of your brand and its goals.

Thus, effective CBD branding must entail packaging that not only pleases but also persuade a consumer to buy it.

Also Visit: Package CBD Products

Bring a value proposition

The value proposition here is used to define what your CBD brand is bringing to the industry. Therefore, it may be considered the core part which gives you the competitive edge over others.

For Instance; “Our CBD products aim to provide relief against depression and anxiety. Our premium products are here to help you manage your symptoms better than ever!”

The message is simple, clear, and reflects a value instead of a generic CBD brand which generates confusion. Here’s a trick!

Make sure to ask yourself what makes your brand any different. This may help you find singularity and core values you can use to maximize the branding strategy.

Build social standing

In recent times, social standing significantly contributes to social standing. Thus, take advantage of the affiliate and influencer market!

Give your CBD the recognition it deserves. By collaborating with people with large social media followings, extend the recognition to make it easily recognizable.

The online spread of information and brand name can not only help in recognition but help in increasing sales in the long run as well. You may enhance your social media standing in the following ways:

Influencer marketing

Email marketing

Surveys

Live chats

Newsletters

Deals and Discounts etc.

Create unique branded content

Do you have your website running? Start educating the audience about CBD products, your brand, and their value before they spend hard-earned money on the product.

Start filling your website with content, which may include product images, descriptions, and blog posts so the audience is familiar with what they are getting in exchange for the money.

In order to make CBD branding a huge success, blog posts on the website must contain authentic information.

It is so, that users feel valued in the sense that they are being educated rather than compelled to shop. The ideas for blog posts may be such that:

Types of CBD products

How to use them

Potential benefits of CBD

What does Research say about CBD?

Ways to incorporate CBD in your daily life etc.

Understand prevailing laws

As much as you don't like receiving a threatening letter from FDA, as such it's important to understand the laws of the area in which you are operating.

Knowing and understating the laws for retail, packaging, branding, and advertising gives you a safe space, to begin with, for your operations.

CBD marketing laws and regulations in the US are the two domains that should never be taken lightly!

How can CBD boxes help you?

While it's a lot to invest yourself in the CBD business, the CBD marketing and packaging laws make it even harder to begin with. CBD- boxes can help you in the branding process by designing the most effervescent yet eye catchy packaging for your CBD brand.

Packaging is a must to resonate with the brand image and message it has to deliver.

Do you know what else? No one knows it better than CBD boxes as we are specialized in the domain to serve the best.

Final word

For every challenge that comes your way as a CBD enthusiast, a creative instructor can always help you find a way out.

While the CBD industry is seemingly expanding, it's still in the beginning stages, and there's a lot that needs to be changed and new attitudes to emerge!