In states that have legalized cannabis for either medical or recreational use, the marijuana industry is booming. However, in some towns and cities, there are so many dispensaries that they end up competing for business. If you own a dispensary and are not seeing as many customers as you'd like, how can you change that? Here are a few ideas to help bring in more business.

Advertise at health-related events

One strategy is to focus your marketing efforts on people who are interested in a natural approach to health, but who have not started using cannabis yet. You can find lots of these future customers at health-related events. Look for festivals and fairs in your town that invite local, health-related businesses to set up informational tables. Send in an application, and set up a table to share pamphlets about your dispensary. You could also sponsor some local 5k races. Often, the race will print the name of your business on their t-shirts and ad materials in exchange for your donation. The running community is full of health-conscious people, some of whom may be interested in cannabis.

Offer some unique products

Every dispensary in town probably has flowers, vapes, gummies, and salves. What if you stocked something totally different that nobody else has? You may have to spend some time looking for and connecting with cannabis companies that make unique new products, but all it takes is one slam-dunk product to bring you a whole new array of customers. Cannabis gum, taffy, soda, and cotton candy are all fun options if you're able to find a wholesale distributor or small business that makes them.

Host cannabis-related events

Chances are, there are lots of people in your community who would like to try cannabis but are a bit intimidated by the idea because they don't know where to start. Consider hosting some events to teach these people about cannabis. You could, for example, have an informational session on cannabis 101. Another session about popular strains could be useful, too. Allow community members to attend the sessions for free, and give them coupons for $5 off their first purchase. This will bring a good number of the attendees back to your store.

With the ideas above, you can bring more people into your dispensary and compete against the others in your town. Once you build a loyal customer base, they'll come back again and again.

For more ideas, visit a cannabis dispensary near you.