If you’ve been following news about the CBD industry, you’ll agree with us that it has been growing at an amazing speed. The best thing is that this growth isn’t slowing down any time soon. Whether you have just started to grow CBD business or are planning to do so, you’re headed in the right direction.
Cannabidiol, popularly known as CBD, has many health benefits. It is known to reduce pain, anxiety, among other CBD benefits. Unlike THC, CBD does not have a high effect on its users.
CBD is also known to help with sexual dysfunction, reduce acne, soothe inflammation, and moisturize the skin. The most common CBD forms include CBD capsules, CBD oil tinctures, vaping, CBD gummies, CBD beverages, and tropical CBD like creams and balms.
The Growing CBD Industry
Following the legalization of medical marijuana in many states, many CBD business opportunities have come up. Users can find various CBD products in health food stores, yoga studios, farmers’ markets, among other CBD companies. CBD industry has also caught the attention of the media and news outlets, who are spreading the news about CBD benefits and side effects.
Other CBD oil benefits include its ability to treat mental disorders, epilepsy, and its anti-inflammatory properties. CBD has also gained increased popularity among cancer patients and its use during drug withdrawal.
Increasing investments in RD activities, rapid technological advancements, increased consumer investments in CBD products, and the rise of CBD usage in the medical application are some additional factors that have led to the growth of the CBD industry.
A new study shows that the US CBD market is expected to surpass $20 billion by 2024. If you’re wondering how you can get your share of this vast and profitable market, don’t worry. Here we look at tips to help grow your CBD business.
1. Define Your Purpose
You can’t create a successful business without a purpose, and CBD industry is not exceptional. Knowing why you decided to start a CBD business is key to making vital decisions on how to run a business.
- Are you starting a business as a hobby?
- Do you plan to make your CBD business your full-time career?
- Do you intend to make your business profitable so you can sell it later?
You will require different resources and employ different strategies depending on why you established your CBD business. Knowing why you invested in CBD Industry will also help boost your motivation.
Desire is the genesis of all achievements. It’s what drives us to make bold steps even when the going gets tough. Passion is what helps us to take the small steps that lead to immeasurable success overtime.
Also Read:- Top 4 Of The Most Expensive Marijuanas In CBD Business
2. Research Thoroughly
Knowing why you need to start a CBD company is just the beginning. You’ll also need to do in-depth research before you sell any CBD products.
Starters need to understand that the laws and regulations surrounding CBD are complicated and always changing. What’s more, they vary from state to state. Therefore, you need to take your time to understand them to avoid facing legal issues.
The law banning the production of hemp ceased to exist in 2018. This removes hemp from the list of controlled substances, allowing the creation of many CBD products. However, these products are only legal if they contain no more than 0.3 percent THC.
Even so, many states are yet to change their laws to reflect the 2018 Farm bill, which can complicate things for many CBD companies. For instance, it is illegal to add CBD to food in New York City, Georgia, and California.
As such, it could be against federal law to promote CBD’s therapeutic health benefits in these states as it could be viewed as a prescription drug.
To avoid this, ensure to research the state and federal laws. Also, since these laws keep changing, ensure you’re up to date on your research. Besides, ensure that you have all the licenses required by your state.
3. Define Your Brand
With the many CBD companies selling CBD products, you need to make efforts to stand out from the rest. To achieve this, you need to work on branding.
You can’t create a good CBD brand without defining your target market. Contrary to popular opinion, reaching every demographic will harm your CBD business. Before you design your brand, it’s imperative to know who you’re selling to.
After you’ve established your target market, you can design your packaging or even create marketing content. To determine your target market, consider asking yourself the following questions:
- What do they do?
- What are their needs?
- How can you connect with them?
- What are their shopping habits?
- How does selling to them feel like?
You can’t reach your target market without creating a connection. Understanding your customer’s way of life and their needs will help create a brand that provides unique solutions.
4. Grow Your CBD Knowledge
You need to understand CBD if you’re serious about growing your CBD business. Google searches can be an excellent place to learn about CBD benefits, CBD side effects, history, and anything you would like to know about this amazing product.
It shouldn’t end there, though. Connect with industry experts and other players in the cannabis industry. It will take some time before you learn about the product, so be patient. Use the information you get to make better decisions regarding your business.
5. Select Your Team Wisely
You’ll not achieve your commercial ambitions if you don’t have a great team on your side. Contrary to popular opinion, as the founder, you are not the only person who will determine how CBD industry grows. Having a team of qualified professionals will help you navigate through the CBD market challenges with ease.
Even so, finding the right people to help run your CBD industry can be daunting, especially if you don’t have hiring experience.
While you would want to hire only professionals with a vast knowledge of CBD, you should also consider professionals experienced in other industries. Well-qualified people can form a vital part of your team besides not working with a CBD industry before.
For instance, hiring a financial expert who understands the market environment can take your CBD company to levels that others have failed. This is regardless of whether they managed a cannabis business before or not.
Choose workers who can understand the market trends and help make better decisions even during uncertain times.
You’ll also need to include a trusted lawyer in your business support network. As earlier stated, CBD laws and regulations are complex, and as such, having a person interpret these laws will come in handy. Besides, your lawyer will help know what you can include and not include in your marketing to avoid legal issues.
6. Connect with Quality Suppliers
Even if you do all the above things, your business will not succeed if you don’t offer your customers quality products. To that end, you’ll need to source your products from a quality and trusted CBD distributor.
Conduct some research on the different CBD production processes, pricing, and how to identify quality products.
Avoid CBD manufacturers who can’t provide both the Certificate of Analysis (COA) and a Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) on their products. The COA gives information about the product and includes THC and CBD levels and other products available. The CBD product you purchase should not exceed 0.3 percent THC.
On the other hand, the cGMP helps you determine whether you’re dealing with a legitimate business. The business should also follow all state laws and FDA regulations.
The catch is to ensure that you provide your customers with quality products. CBD customers might be willing to pay a top price for the best CBD oil on the market. Besides, they are likely to recommend your product to other people, which might lead to other businesses.
On the other hand, low-quality CBD will not only destroy your brand but can harm your customers as well. You can avoid this by always choosing CBD oil distributors that follow acceptable CBD manufacturing practices.
7. Develop a Marketing Plan
Growing a successful cbd company requires a perfect cannabis business plan. Remember we stated earlier in the post that you need to identify your target market? Well, you also need to determine how you will reach them and market your products.
Depending on your target customers, you can decide to market online, offline, or even both. If you’re targeting millennials, marketing your business online is the way to go. You’ll need to develop a quality website and have a robust online presence.
However, online marketing goes beyond creating posts and posting them on social media platforms and your website. Digital marketing is always evolving, so you need to stay on top of current marketing and advertising trends.
If possible, create an email list where you can offer promotions and coupons to your customers. You can also promote your CBD Industry by offering frequent discounts and engaging in community activities in your locality.
Sometimes you may be targeting older people who need joint support. In that case, you can rely on traditional methods of advertisement such as flyers and circular advertisements. You can also set up a CBD booth at local fairs if you’re targeting eco-friendly people.
Whether you run an e-commerce store or a brick-and-mortar setup, you need to be creative in your marketing efforts. While some would prefer to market their products with paid advertising, others opt for an organic search strategy. Whichever the case, you must conduct market research to understand your local and state laws.
8. Take Advantage of Influencer Marketing
You can’t rely on one marketing avenue to make your business succeed. While digital marketing and social media marketing has many benefits, they have their shortcomings as well.
For instance, it’s illegal to promote and market CBD products on social media. Placing paid advertisements for cannabis businesses is not allowed.
However, you can avoid this challenge if you work with several influencers on Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, etc. Influencer marketing allows you to promote and market legal CBD oil and other products in Canada and some US states. This will enable you to market your products to a large audience drawn from a wide demographic area.
The next time you plan to use social media for marketing your business, you can take it a note higher by collaborating with a reputable influencer. This way, you can reach a significant number of people across the world.
For better results, ensure that you’re exhibiting a quality product backed with compelling and engaging content.
9. Don’t Ignore Content Marketing and SEO
While you may want to focus on marketing strategies that can produce instant results, you shouldn’t ignore content marketing. Although mostly underrated, content marketing can help get the word out there about your business.
Create informative blogs that answer most questions about CBD benefits and processing. You can also use infographics and designs to make virtual guides regarding the idea behind your business.
Focus on building customer trust instead of being too salesy. This way, people will turn to your blog as the go-to option for industry-related information.
However, no one will see your content if you ignore the best SEO practices. Consider hiring an SEO expert to ensure you get the most out of your content marketing efforts. This will also help you avoid breaking any CBD marketing rules.
Once you become a respected authority in the industry, people are more likely to come to you when they need regular CBD information. You can take advantage of this to turn them into regular clients.
10. Focus on Investors Instead of Banks
Getting enough funding for a CBD Industry can be daunting. Banks and other major money lending institutions are reluctant to fund CBD companies due to potential liabilities. They fear that they could lose their money if CBD companies are affected by the ever-changing CBD laws.
Therefore, you may want to find other sources of funding for your business. Instead of looking for banks’ support when you want to scale up your business, consider looking for investors.
Thanks to technological advancements, finding CBD investors today is much easier. However, you need to be careful in your search, as all investors are not equally qualified. Check the investor’s track record, specialties, resources, and commitment before bringing them on board.
As long as you have an excellent idea alongside quality products, many investors will be interested in your business. Potential investors might want to see your business plan, balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, capitalizations table, term sheet, and other essential documents.
Final Thoughts
It’s no doubt that the CBD industry is among the fastest-growing in the country. Starting and growing your CBD business can be easy if you follow the above tips. Also, ensure to be creative and follow all CBD laws and regulations. This, coupled with offering quality products, will make your brand a market leader in the CBD industry.
