If you’ve been around the Canadian cannabis industry, you may know that not everyone is super happy with how things have been unfolding throughout the past 6 years of legalization.
And while there are certain problems that are up to the Canadian government to fix, like the excise taxes and THC limits on edibles, there are other problems that have been created by the industry itself that can be fixed by changing our overall approach to the magical plant.
In this article, we will explore the three primary problems that this industry has created:
- THC & Flower Sales
- Product Knowledge
- Sampling
And illustrate what actions we can take to lead the Canadian Cannabis Industry in the right direction again.
THC & Flower Sales
One of the first things you’ll notice when walking into a cannabis store or looking at an LP’s marketing materials these days is the THC numbers.
Oh, the glorious THC numbers, the second most valued number after the product price, can be found instantly on your store’s product tags, product packaging, the strain cards of the producers and the product knowledge of your budtenders.
Why do we worship at the altar of THC?
Because customers love a good number, and since they don't always know what else to look for, high THC seems like a good bet.
I mean, the higher the THC, the better the product, right?
Well, not really, but I guess if all you know about a product is THC numbers and price (!), then you only have the THC numbers as your guiding compass to make a product recommendation, especially if the customer wants to get really ripped.
I mean, most of your loyal customers want to get shot into the stratosphere by the weed they purchase these days, right?
Well, again, not really, but since THC has become such a staple of a number, the industry and especially the regulators - who love to read consumer reports rather than having first-hand experiences or consulting independently run cannabis stores - got really hyper fixated on THC numbers, leading them to demand higher and higher THC numbers to give the stonernauts the high THC buzz they’re looking for.
And what’s the result of that number chasing?
- For customers: Everyone's getting high AF whether they like it or not, which is great...until your buddy from out of town smokes a 21% THC joint and spends the next hour wandering Toronto, convinced Canadians are running some kind of weed-fueled Hunger Games.
- For budtenders: Recommending products? Easy. It’s just a THC arms race out there — offer the strongest stuff and pray Newbie Nancy doesn’t pass out after one puff.
- For stores: Less variety and more people buying high THC stuff that could have them tweaking out in no time.
- For producers: Less unique genetics and offerings since the growers are now forced to focus only on growing cultivars that hit the right numbers so that the provincial distributors like the BCLDB will buy the products from them.
So, at the end of the day, the rapid THC increase we have seen in this market didn’t really benefit anyone, neither the producers, nor the retailers, nor the consumers and also not you, my beloved provincial distributors and regulators!
All this did was shrink the product variety, complicate making product recommendations and spike the chance of experiencing adverse effects from consuming flower and pre-roll products!
But it also changed the entire customer service narrative, from the need for proper product knowledge to just remembering the THC numbers of your products.
Product Knowledge
When it comes to customer service and product knowledge in this industry, there are three positions that should excel at both.
These are:
- The sales reps
- The marketing managers
- And the budtenders
Sales reps, marketing managers, and budtenders are the holy trinity of cannabis customer service. Or at least they should be. These folks are the shapers, the movers, the educators of the cannabis world. But what happens when they’re selling products they’ve never even tried? It's like a car salesman who's never driven a car — ridiculous, right?
Yet that’s the reality for most budtenders today. Sampling is rare, so they're left parroting what they've heard from someone who may or may not know the difference between a bud and a strawberry.
This seems quite odd, given the fact that the primary tasks of these frontline workers should be to:
- Sell
- Provide product information
- And sample products
Yet, as the sampling falls off the list, proper product knowledge becomes more difficult, further making the entire sales process more daunting.
As a result, when you walk into a retail store and ask for specific product features like a particular smell, bud size, freshness, flavour or smoothness, you’ll likely be rerouted to “Indica, Sativa or Hybrid,” “Packaging date,” or even worse, “High or Low THC?”
But, while you stand there thinking, “That’s not what I’ve asked you, mister budtender! Please just tell me what’s actually fresh and smells like berries right now, and stop asking me about THC and meaningless taxonomy terms.” Still, I recommend you to be understanding with our frontline workers because, as I said, they are not given the opportunity and the necessary tools to experience the products they sell. And yet, it’s not only the budtender interactions that can become daunting as you will also encounter misleading marketing materials and sales reps reading off said misleading marketing materials instead of sharing their actual experience with the products their company produces.
But all of a sudden, the solution arrived! Regulated, legal SAMPLING!
Sampling
So sampling is the solution, eh?
Well, not quite.
You see, sampling - aka giving people free products to check out and consume - is a first step in the right direction of increasing product knowledge and awareness, but the current sampling process isn’t efficient enough to create an actual ROI for the producers handing out the samples and the stores receiving the samples.
Especially the ROI for the producers seems to be terrible as they have to produce and process the product, excise stamp and package it up, distribute it to a store and then hope that the budtenders actually get back to them with some proper feedback.
Just imagine this from the producer’s perspective. You put in all this effort, and then, if you actually do hear back from the stores you gave your samples to, you get a response like, “It was good. I got pretty stoned.” or “I didn’t like it.”
If I were a producer, all I could think of in this situation is, “Thanks for nothing, Timmy. I’ve just burned a bunch of money, and I surely won’t bring you any more samples again.”
And for retailers? It’s a logistical nightmare. You’ve got to track who’s tried what, gather feedback (without it ending up in a WhatsApp group graveyard), and hope your budtenders aren’t just winging it with vague descriptions.
There’s got to be a better way, right?
The solution
Did someone say Grading Platform?
Well, I just did, and if you know us, you probably know where the reading route would take you. From the industry’s problems right to the core of our business:
The TDC Grading Platform — the solution to all your THC-fueled woes.
Here’s how the TDC Grading Platform solves the three problems: THC numbers and sales, Product Knowledge and Sampling.
First of all, the TDC Grading Platform can be used by anyone: consumers, retailers, budtenders, you name it. Thus, the platform encompasses the entire industry and sets a uniform standard for product evaluations, information, and education.
When a user evaluates a product through the grading system, whether it’s a bud, pre-roll, concentrate, or their experience with any product, they will not only follow an objective, standardized, and fun grading process, but most importantly, the platform will transform their submitted gradings into individual Grading Records.
Now, these Grading Records not only save all of the submitted product feedback but also show the key selling features of a product through different emojis below the product picture. They also include the grading scores, aromas, and predicted effects of the evaluated product.
And guess what’s missing on the product record?
The THC numbers and useless Indica, Sativa, and Hybrid labels.
So, what happens when a retailer or sales rep uses the grading platform with various products is they build up an entire digital product menu that primarily concerns itself with the actual product quality. As a result, the customers are now being directly exposed to all this information and, therefore, learn all the various facets that makeup product quality.
Next, with all this data in the platform, budtenders can now filter through it by predicted effects and highest bud score and search for certain products and even aromas.
Further, with the Retail Plan or Pro-Plan, Retailers and LPs can now compile their product evaluations in the same database, allowing you to use your co-workers' assessments for your customer service and marketing.
So, now that we know how the TDC Grading Platform solves the problems of THC numbers, Flower Sales and Product Knowledge, let’s see how it solves the Sampling.
To make the most out of the sampling program, we had to develop a sampling process that is easy to follow, generates relevant product feedback and provides this product feedback to the retailers and the stores. We accomplished all this with the Customs Links function that producers can use through the Pro-Plan on the Grading Platform.
The Custom Links function allows producers to create Custom Links or QR codes that they can send to stores, budtenders, and consumers. The links/QR codes then guide the user through the entire grading process, store their data in their grading platform, and send the feedback back to the producer’s custom links records, where they can view all of the live feedback they’re gathering.
However, since we know that gathering product feedback from your consumers as a retailer would be helpful, we have also added a Customer Link to the Retail Plan of the Platform that links a customer's Grading Account to your Retail Account so you can see all the product evaluations your customers submit as well.
Lastly, we recently added another unique feature, Record Sharing.
This feature allows Retail or Pro Plan users to create a unique URL for their grading records, which they can send to their clients or add as QR codes on strain cards and marketing materials to provide their clients with the most detailed product information.
So, there you have it. The TDC Grading Platform is the key to solving the industry's problems. Want to stop chasing THC, educate your staff, and actually make sampling work? Start grading — your customers (and your sanity) will thank you.
Sign up for a Free, Retail, or Pro Account at www.urbanistic.ca or book a demo to get the full scoop.
