Smart Marketing: Utilizing Consumers in Product Promotions

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Patients and Consumers can make any product claim they’d like – but a company can’t:

As the Cannabis industry drum keeps on beating at a louder level than ever before – there’s one error that is continually seen within the corporate movement to both make money and supply medicine or recreational products – a failure to complement both their marketing and company culture through the use of consumers. A patient can talk away about how the plant, a product, or cannabinoids work for them – and there’s no infringement of any federal or state laws. But, when a company does it we all know that’s a no-no – so why spend the marketing dollars on one-hitter quitter campaigns?

Scrolling through Instagram ‘days’ it’s easy to see who’s using the dollars in a smart way and who’s using the old fashioned ‘let’s advertise’ campaigns. The company that’s thinking will look at cost of goods sold in comparison to advertising costs – and the even more intelligent company owner will think about why they’re in this industry and who can actually talk about what their product can do.

Will placing a few ads that cost several thousand dollars do the trick – will a pop-up or two in an online magazine work – or would it be more prudent to place the product in the hands of those (consumers) who will not only talk about it while using it but also after they’re done and want more? This is easy math that some of the cannabis industry has done well to figure out – yet others continue to not include the consumer in their company culture or marketing – and instead use a host of media groups. In the cannabis industry, all companies have such a unique opportunity to build a culture in this manner – when employees see a consumer touting a product they made – wow, that changes the game when they go to work the next time – especially if it’s a sick person talking of how they fell better due to the product.

So it’s a win-win in dual ways when a product is placed into the hands of a consumer in a goodwill attempt to market – how much does 100 units of your product cost and how much does 10 advertisements that are gone in moments cost? 100 patients will talk for months on multiple platforms and include their health issue – which we all know CBD and Cannabis companies can’t do on the packaging or on their websites without irritating the FDA, FTC, and who knows what other initials that can and will come after a company with fines or? We don’t know how the Feds will react after already holding hearings on the issues surrounding CBD especially. But one thing is for sure – I can type this all day long and there’s no issue with the law – any consumer can state anything they want under the 1st Amendment about anything from Vitamin C to Hairspray and make a claim – but a company can not without FDA approval.

But, there’s no doubt that Keegan’s mom will be talking it up about every product given to her in videos, Facebook and Instagram posts, and more – in-person to friends creates the biggest push for a product. Smart marketing is also compassionate marketing – it’s giving away love and allowing people to actually see what your product does. By no means is this an intention to skirt the system, rather it’s a way to allow consumers to have a product and say what they’d like – after all it’s their constitutional right!

This is how a huge impact is made, it’s also how suddenly a CBD product is being used for Autism and Epilepsy per my statement – not the company – and it goes to Keegan in the cover photo! There’s thousands upon thousands of parents waiting and hoping someone will give. Real compassion made simple by a company willing to help and it also is leaving them free and clear from any FDA/FTC Scrutiny as all they did was sent out a supply for someone to try. If you’d like to help keep that smile on Keegan’s face please contact me – his mom needs help!

In the following video, I’m not holding a product – and I’m also a compassion provider in this that gave away products. I had no idea at the time I was also boosting the sales of all companies in the industry as I speak out about the various health issues that have been tamed by Cannabis and CBD. No specific product claims in this video but easily I could have been holding exactly what I used and talked about it – 100% legally. Why? Because I do not sell any products and never have! Does the consumer want to hear from the company selling something or do they want to hear from another patient? This question doesn’t require much of an I.Q. to know the right answer – people buy from people they like or people they know that have had success – not from billboards or a page in an often unread although clicked on internet article or magazine. Smart marketing means making your dollars count as a business as well as making the consumer count – the end game for everyone in business is income – profitability is decreased when expensive advertising campaigns don’t work and it’s increased when consumers talk it up.

40 minutes video interview from Summer of 2016 – Never released to any media as the compassion program couldn’t be exposed in that manner. As a patient I can talk all day long about what Cannabis does, a strain does, an extract does, what a company has done – it’s my constitutional right to do so.

So, why are companies avoiding consumers when it comes to the promotion of products? They’re not – it all depends on what platform the company has their presence on for sales. What I’ve found is that companies offering information on their products or even selling them on Instagram have been by far more willing to include consumers in their product promotions – a very smart move. I can’t say the same for other networks where the following is 10 times greater – it’s hit and miss. I was asked to speak about the company culture at an upcoming event and normally would never consider a Human Resources panel to send any type of message about cannabis. But this time the message isn’t to consumers – it’s not patient education at all – it’s industry education. What we’ve done is ask companies to give a 90 day supply so we can try out their product and show it off to those that may want it on Instagram or in Facebook groups as I’ve got a plethora of them – and give the balance to compassion patients that can’t afford products. In order to accurately see which social media platform responded the best, I sent an equal number of requests to 4 major networks. An alarming 0% responded on two where the following is over 50,000 people – maybe they think I have everything necessary? On another network, I did get 2 responses with a following of nearly 25,000. Then, I went to Instagram with a following of under 2,000 and had a 50% response rate. This told me quickly that those selling products on that network were not only serious about proper promotions that utilize consumers – they were way ahead of the game in comparison to the ‘professional network’ when it came to smart marketing. Out of over a half-dozen products given to us with 90-day supplies (all within 2 weeks of request, some within days) – all have proven to be worthy of showing off to the world via Instagram and the supply allows us to give away what we don’t use. Neither Anne Mari nor I am promoting products because we ‘want to’ – we’re doing it because the companies gave enough to supply others and not just wanting us to mention their product, but wanted to give knowing where we’d send what we didn’t use – and those companies deserve the promotion. The hope is that some that read this will consider doing the same – and create a wave of love that ripples across the entire industry changing the outlook that so many have over the prices of CBD or Cannabis products.

Keegan is in the cover photo of this story – products given to us have been to sent to him and his mom – just one example of how utilizing consumers has to be the most intelligent way to market a product while also supplying compassion to those that are in need – the difference in his life that’s been made by a few companies willing to give up something is incredible

It’s those like City and Sea Trading – that gave up enough product to allow us to try it and also allow us to give it away that made a difference. But they weren’t alone. Kudos also go out to Be You CBD, 805 Buddha Bliss, Nano Patch CBD Plus, Theracream CBD, Ra Flower Brand which is a mainstay for me, Sunbright CBD Topicals, and a few more have committed to sending a 90 day supply. All of these companies are aware we’ll be giving away excess beyond actually trying the product and letting consumers know how I feel they work as a very experienced patient, researcher, and more. Although most are hesitant about his, many know we are about true compassion.

When we stop and look at how fast the momentum is moving with the cannabis and CBD industries it’s not surprising that we face negative media and more – how do the corporations, companies, etc. counter this? Easily – patients and consumers talking it up about the culture of love they experienced when they needed a product they couldn’t afford or just wanted to try before spending 150.00 on something in a market in which we all know there are oils and products that don’t have labs, don’t have what’s in them that they say – and we’re the people in the know. Imagine if you’re a new consumer and you’re reading the madness that’s going on right now over vape carts and cannabis oils or even the plants testing positive for various chemicals or causing various health issues that we know are hyped up for the media to have a heyday with. As an entire movement, this would be countered if ALL companies found a way to include consumers in their company culture – as it’s just plain smart marketing done with heart. Imagine social media filled with consumers and patients trying out products that I know have a cost of goods at an alarmingly low rate in comparison to retail. Imagine if the marketing for cannabis products including the subculture of love that allows consumers to try something out and talk it up about how it works becomes a standard operating producer within the industry. It would change the way many people are looking at the costs of products and whether or not they want to be part of it at all. Compassion is love and when that’s used in smart marketing it changes the game for everyone.

A message to the industry – your products are interesting but most people can’t afford them or won’t pay to play just like you won’t pay to play for licenses – patients deserve to know that a product is worthy through a friend or someone they trust vs. a salesperson touting health benefits. It’s come to a point that many that haven’t used cannabis or CBD are skeptical about those claims if they come from anyone other than a patient or consumer who’s fought a serious health crisis.