Lauren Sutton

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Green Growth CPAs

Whether you own a small dispensary servicing a few hundred customers or multi-store chain servicing a few thousand, you’ve probably realized that [cannabis retail](https://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/cannabis-retail) is a constantly evolving industry with unique financial and tax implications. Understanding the benefits of structuring your business as a C-Corp can be a game-changer. 

In this webinar, Wally Wong from [Meadow](https://getmeadow.com/about) and Daniel Sabet of [Green Growth CPAs](https://greengrowthcpas.com/) dove into the advantages of C-Corp formation for standalone retail cannabis operations.

In the webinar, Daniel covers what sets C-Corporations apart, and why are they gaining traction in the cannabis sector to not only take advantage of tax breaks but also to raise capital and attract investors. He also touches on 1202 small business stock exclusions which can have significant implications for those considering an exit strategy.

__For a full understanding of why C-Corp formation can offer significant advantages, especially for those with an eye towards an eventual exit, here’s the full recording:__

<figure>
  <video-player url="https://youtu.be/atakGP-iLTs" width="560" height="315"></video-player>
  <figcaption>Discover how C-Corps not only optimize tax benefits but also pave the way for capital infusion and investor appeal. Elevate your cannabis venture to new heights—watch the full webinar for a roadmap to financial prosperity and strategic growth.</figcaption>
</figure>

<callout>[Meet with Green Growth CPAs](https://greengrowthcpas.com/get-started/?hsCtaTracking=c0d2a298-bd9d-4a4e-adf1-17b783d300ae%7C9c942b38-967e-47a1-8b46-7a593ed803c9)</callout>

Green Growth CPAs (1)

Curious about C-Corp strategies in cannabis? Read more to about the game-changing tactics that could redefine your business.

Unleashing Success: The Top Benefits of C-Corp Formation in the Retail Cannabis Industry

Dispensary inventory management software system Meadow can help you run your retail business more efficiently.

Cannabis Retail Inventory Management 

There are two types of dispensary shoppers: those who want to try something new, and those who want the same products every visit. As a dispensary manager, you want to balance your product menu to appease both types of consumers. That might mean you will need to take risks by purchasing products that are rather expensive, new, or on sale to make a better margin. How you manage that inventory will have a direct affect on your business. 

__Sell More with The Most Powerful Cannabis POS System:__ Meadow’s all-in-one platform allows you to automate discounts, offer promo codes, and create sale prices advertised within your online menu. All menus (in-store, online, delivery, pick-up, Weedmaps, and Leafly) automatically update in real-time when a product is sold, re-stocked, or re-priced, so your inventory is always up to date, everywhere customers are searching. 
Read More: [Dispensary Inventory Management](https://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/dispensary-inventory-management) 

Dispensary inventory is the most important asset to your company. Without proper inventory management, retail businesses would not be able to function. These products can be expensive and sometimes companies find themselves with too much inventory on hand. When this happens, they may need to discount products in order to get rid of it and free up cash flow. But how do you know when to discount your inventory, and how do you do it in a way that won't hurt your bottom line?

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There are a few different circumstances in which you may need to discount your inventory. The first is if you have outdated, expiring products that you need to get rid of in order to make room for new SKUs. Second, you may need to discount your inventory if you're trying to clear it out before the end of the season. And third, you may need to discount your inventory if sales are slow and you're trying to boost them by offering discounts.

Knowing when to offer discounts on your inventory is only half the battle; you also need to know how to offer those discounts in a way that won't eat into your profits too much. The key is to offer strategic discounts that target specific items or groups of items, rather than offering across-the-board discounts that apply to everything in your inventory. For example, if you're trying to get rid of outdated items, offer a discount specifically on those items rather than offering a general percentage off all items in your store. And if sales are slow, target the items that aren't selling as well with deeper discounts in order to move them off the shelves quickly. By taking a targeted approach to discounts, you can minimize the impact on your bottom line while still getting rid of excess inventory.

## When to discount your inventory: 
1. __You have excess inventory:__ A common industry mistake is purchasing too much inventory to achieve a bulk order discount. Vendors will approach you with pricing structures that entice you to purchase more to get a percentage off the entire order. Before signing off on a deal like this, make sure you can move the product. To do this, purchase a small batch and track velocity.
2. __The quality of the product is deteriorating:__ Cannabis shoppers will not want to buy products that are expiring or old unless they are on sale. How can you identify this? If it’s flower you’re sitting on, how long is the shelf life? Most flower shoppers will not purchase flower that exceed a few months after the package date. If it’s an edible or tincture, when is the expiration date? You will find this on the product’s packaging. Consider the product’s shelf price. Is the value of the product lower than what you’re selling it for? These factors should help you decide how urgently you should sell through this inventory.

__Meadow’s point of sale system makes it easy to track product expiration dates.__ Expiration dates can be entered when the product is received or anytime thereafter. Run a report or filter the packages tab within Meadow Admin to track product expiration dates. Read more: [FIFO: The Importance of This Dispensary Inventory Management Best Practice](https://getmeadow.com/blog/fifo-the-importance-of-this-dispensary-inventory-management-best-practice)

3. __The season is ending:__ Summer hits like cannabis infused beverages and holiday packaging will go out of style as the seasons change. If you still have this inventory on your shelves, it’s time to put it on sale.
4. __Sales are down:__ To promote sales, marketing lower prices will entice shoppers to stop by and purchase from your store. You can do this by advertising a deal day. How you advertise this is important, too. Read more about [Cannabis Marketing](https://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/cannabis-marketing)

## What to keep in mind while discounting your inventory:

- __Consider your margins:__ How much profit are you looking to make on each sale? For cannabis dispensaries, your COGS would include the cost of labor and any materials used in the service. Once you know your COGS, you can calculate your margin by subtracting it from the selling price of the product or service. Let's say your product has a COGS of $5 and you're selling it for $10. Your margin would be 50%. So, if you're thinking about discounting your product by 10%, then you know that you'll still be making a 40% margin on each sale. However, if you're thinking about discounting your product by 20%, then you know that you'll only be making a 30% margin on each sale. Therefore, it's important to consider how much discounting will impact your bottom line before making any decisions.
- __Know when you can afford it:__ Discounts can be a great way to drive sales and boost cash flow but they can also eat into your profits if not done correctly. That's why it's important to know when YOU can afford it. If done strategically, discounts can help increase revenues without sacrificing too much profit margin but if done haphazardly, discounts can quickly eat into profits.
- __Know when your customers expect it:__ In addition to knowing when YOU can afford it, it's also important to know when YOUR CUSTOMERS expect it. If customers only purchase from you when they receive a discount, then eventually they will come to expect discounted pricing all the time which will erode margins and/or put a strain on cash flow. In addition, if customers only purchase from you when they receive a discount, then eventually they will stop buying from you altogether once they realize that there are other businesses out there that are willing to offer them what they want at a price point that makes sense for them (i.e., not discounted). Therefore, it's important not to offer discounts too often as this could ultimately hurt your business in the long run.

## How Meadow can help:
- __Record and review product expiration dates with Meadow:__ You can enter an expiration date on the package level during the purchase order process in Meadow. You can also go back at any time to add an expiration date to a package after it’s been received into your inventory. Once you’ve added expiration dates to your Metrc inventory, you have two options to manage that data. You can seamlessly view upcoming expiration dates within Meadow Admin, or download an Excel spreadsheet to review this data. 
- __Analytics and reporting:__ Meadow's powerful Insights tools crunch the numbers to show you data you can use on sales, products and customers over time. If you’d like to review sales data for your business, you can do so in Meadow Admin using the populated graphs, or download Excel spreadsheets to review that data in depth. These charts, graphs and tables make it easy to find popular products, number of active daily customers, order totals, and at-a-glance sales numbers for the day, week, month and year. Dive into your sales data to ensure you are making the best decisions for your business without impacting your bottom line. Read more: [How Dispensaries Can Turn Data into More Revenue ](https://getmeadow.com/blog/how-dispensaries-can-turn-data-into-more-revenue)
- __Easily see what you’re selling, in which sales channels, how quickly, and to who.__ With real-time accuracy and pre-built dashboards, Meadow's detailed, exportable reports give you the data you need to plan your inventory, manage staffing needs, simplify tax collection and remittance, and see what's happening in all facets of your cannabis retail operation. Check-out the [Key Features of Meadow's Robust Reporting and Analytics System. ](https://getmeadow.com/features/analytics-and-reporting)
- __Automate and cap discounts:__ Meadow’s cannabis point of sale software allows you to create and automate discounts by day of the week, time of day, brand, category, and product/option. Once created in Admin, these discounts will automatically apply to your online menu and at point-of-sale. Set it and forget it with Meadow’s automated discount functionality. 

Read More: [5 Tips for Cannabis Retail Forecasting & Smart Inventory Buying](https://getmeadow.com/blog/5-tips-for-cannabis-retail-forecasting-and-smart-inventory-buying)


Understand when to discount your inventory with guidance from your cannabis POS system.

Manage your inventory with Meadow POS 

Learn about the best times to mark down inventory, things to consider when making discounts, and how Meadow can assist you with this process.

When to Discount Your Inventory

Send targeted cannabis text marketing campaigns using Meadow's all-in-one platform.

Cannabis Text Marketing 

Customer retention should be a pillar of your business model in the cannabis retail space. It is more cost effective to grow and maintain a relationship with an existing customer than to acquire new ones. Investing in smarter cannabis marketing strategies today will generate sales tomorrow. As soon as a customer enters your store, new or returning, Meadow will provide all the tools you’ll need to help you understand why they came in, what they purchased, and how to win them back. All of that data, which is private to your store, can be used to drive repeat purchases, larger basket sizes, and increase lifetime customer value. How can your store manager keep that marketing cost down? It’s easy with Meadow’s all-in-one system.

> Dispensaries need tools to select which customers they want to talk to in order to send relevant messages and promotions

“Marketing is not one-size-fits-all, especially in cannabis" David Hua, CEO and co-founder of Meadow, said in a released statement. “Let brand-loyal customers know when their favorite brands release new strains, products, blends or flavors. Tell customers about new hours or delivery and pick-up options. Send reengagement offers to customers who have dropped off. Let members of your loyalty program know when they have points to cash in and include their point balance. Tip-off VIPs when a limited-edition strain becomes available and give them first dibs. This is the level of delight and sophistication that has been missing from cannabis marketing, and we’re very excited to debut it to dispensaries across California.”
[Read the Article in TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/20/meadow-launches-a-powerful-mobile-marketing-tool-for-cannabis-dispensaries/)

---

<sidebar padding="no"> ![Cannabis Marketing](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/4cSXrboFQXvcKrSTuxGzDG/e219d53c68d32c11e14ea3be2df297e8/Untitled_design.png) </sidebar> When you use Meadow’s Marketing platform, you have access to a wide range of tools that can be used to contact your existing customers. Meadow offers the ability to segment your customer base through hundreds of combinations of conditions, or easily send a text message to every customer who has opted in. There are benefits of both, but sending a message to all customers will cost you the most. If you need to be conscious of your marketing budget, let’s discuss the most successful ways to spend the least at campaign level for the greatest return. Put your customer data to work and take the guessing out of your marketing strategies with the following tips:

## 5 smart ways you can segment your customer base using Meadow’s cannabis marketing tool:
1. __Send a message to customers who have ordered more than once or twice: __ Avoid the tourists who stopped by once to reduce the cost of your campaign. Remove the customers who came by but didn’t purchase to really focus on those who have committed to purchasing at your retail store. 
2. __Celebrate your VIP customers with a special deal:__  How do you define VIP? Do you already have a customer group at your store? Do VIPs spend an average of $200? Have they visited more than 10 times? It’s entirely up to you, but Meadow can help you target those customers by setting those conditions to “Matching Any” or “Matching All.” Every example there can be easily coordinated using Meadow’s text marketing tool.  [Read more about Meadow's Dispensary Loyalty Program.](https://getmeadow.com/blog/how-to-take-better-care-of-your-vip-dispensary-customers)
3. __Announce a new product drop:__ The last thing you want to do is waste money by promoting a cartridge deal to those who only shop for flower! Target customers who have purchased from a category, a brand, or even a specific product from your inventory with a promotion that they’re actually interested in.
4. __Send a message to only Veterans on Veterans day for special deals:__ If you have a promotion tied to a typical customer group, like Veterans, contact them directly instead of all customers to keep costs down and thank only veterans for their service.
5. __If you don’t see a condition that works for you, create your own!__ Meadow’s reports are robust with information — and all that you need is the customer ID. For example, download the Customer Export or Orders report from Meadow Admin, filter down to exactly who you want to target. Copy and paste a unique list of customer IDs into a campaign. Send away! This only takes a few clicks and we know our partners can be very creative with their promotions. 

<figure>
<video-player url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch7jbMibzS0"></video-player>
<figcaption>Here's a quick video to show you how easy it is to create these segments. This video is a snippet of a recent Holiday Marketing webinar hosted by Meadow's Partner Success Team. </figcaption>
</figure>

## The best canabis marketing is personalized

The options for targeting are endless, and your marketing team can contact many customers in a matter of minutes. Consider using additional features in the Meadow Marketing tool belt to personalize your campaign:

- __Loyalty Point Balance:__ Send a personalized, exact loyalty point balance update to the customer who receives the text. By inserting this variable, all customers in the campaign will be updated with how many loyalty points they have. You can even segment the campaign based on loyalty point balances to only reach customers who have enough to redeem, or almost enough to remind them to come in and shop to accrue more. If you've spent the time developing a dispensary loyalty program, be sure to advertise it! [Read more about Meadow's Dispensary Loyalty Program.](https://getmeadow.com/blog/how-to-take-better-care-of-your-vip-dispensary-customers)
- __ROI & Promo Codes:__ Insert a unique promo code only associated with your marketing campaign. By inserting this variable, not only will you see 1-7 day revenue, but you can also track promo revenue. The sales this unique promo code is included on will be contributed to a trackable ROI from sending this campaign.
- __Digital Flyers:__ It’s no secret that carriers are not a fan of cannabis text marketing. With the Digital Flyer feature included in Meadow’s text marketing platform, you have the ability to include a private link in your campaign that a customer can open. Once opened, a PIN will auto-fill, and a message will be revealed that can include as much cannabis terminology you’d like. This work around allows cannabis businesses to say what they need to say to drive sales, without being filtered by carriers.

<sidebar padding="no" side="right"> ![Review text marketing campaign results and ROI with Meadow's Analytics](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/3Tn0933fn90JkO8VtSVyPM/53de9165e3d6cc2ae228f02bdf01b534/Meadow_Text_Marketing_Guide__April_2022__1_.png) </sidebar>

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__Then, review performance with analytics:__ Every campaign can be tracked in the Marketing tab of Meadow Admin. See how many people received the text then shopped at your store. Monitor opt-outs and adjust your marketing strategy accordingly. Compare successful campaigns to those that need more work to grow your marketing strategies.

It’s so important to maintain that returning customer and continue to build your relationship. They should be rewarded for being loyal to your store. __There’s a reason they’re coming back.__ If it’s your product, remind them it’s back in stock. If it’s your customer service, provide informational updates so they can know when changes are coming. Customers appreciate being in the know so their routines aren’t affected. __Now that you have the opportunity to talk directly to your customers, you can bring in more revenue, and give them more information on what’s happening.__ Meadow will support you with promo codes, automated discounts, loyalty rewards; just a few clicks away. 

Learn more about [cannnabis marketing](https://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/cannabis-marketing) with Meadow. 


Spend your marketing budget wisely by sending targeted text message campaigns using Meadow's all-in-one POS system

Cannabis Text marketing 

Read strategies to reduce your marketing spend while maximizing the reward.

The Power of Marketing Segments

Best dispensary point of sale system Meadow offers reporting capabilities that can be used to track sales data.

Use Meadow Reports to conduct sales competitions at your retail store

Want to empower your budtenders to sell more? 

With Meadow reports, it’s easy to see the data on which of your employees deserves recognition, and which need more training. 

The most successful cannabis retail dispensaries have multiple strategies in place to get products moving, from cannabis marketing to SEO improvements to collaborations and campaigns with brands. 

Sales competitions are a great technique to motivate and empower budtenders  to move products more quickly, whether you want to move units nearing their expiration date or are trying to push products with the largest gross profit margin. Consider working with vendors who will reward your team for selling their products.

These competitions are easy to track using[ Meadow’s reporting and analytics capabilities](https://getmeadow.com/features/analytics-and-reporting).  In this video, we will focus on the Orders report Product’s tab pivot table. Still learning how to master Excel? Check out this video to learn everything you need to know about the Orders report Products tab downloaded from Meadow Admin.

<figure>
  <video-player url="https://youtu.be/goBs6tJMgQc" width="560" height="315"></video-player>
  <figcaption>Boost product sales at your cannabis retail store by curating a sales competition. Learn how to use Meadow's reporting capabilities to track the results.</figcaption>
</figure>

### Not sure how to use a Pivot Table?
Pivot tables are an interactive way to summarize large amounts of information. With only a few clicks, you can see what budtender sold the most brand products. Meadow reports can be expanded to include a lot of information or consolidated to see only what you need. You can analyze all of the data but you can consolidate it to view only what is important to you. Pivot tables can be intimidating at first glance, but after learning how to navigate through them and understanding what rows, values, columns and filters are, you can create a custom view tailored to your needs. 

### Additional Sales Competition Tips:
- Make it fun with a prize
- Involve your employees in planning; give them a few options for challenges then let them pick
- Create a leaderboard
- Involve brands
- Provide daily or weekly updates.

Budtenders are the core of your business. The way your staff conducts transactions at the point of sale station has a direct influence on your business. Having a comprehensive understanding of what products they are selling is imperative. If budtenders find certain products difficult to sell, a little competition and education can go a long way to create an interesting, fun work environment. Brands can offer cash or product rewards. Rewards can be nominal; they do not have to be expensive. Consider what motivates your employees and adjust accordingly. Happy staff will perform better at your dispensary, creating longevity in their employment. 

Read More: [How to Boost Basket Sizes at Your Dispensary](https://getmeadow.com/blog/sell-more-cannabis-how-to-boost-basket-sizes-at-your-dispensary "Sell More Cannabis: How to Boost Basket Sizes at Your Dispensary Blog Post")


Dispensary in Los Angeles powered by Meadow

Interesting work environments increase staff performance and employment longevity 

Fire up your sales with a budtender challenge and track the results using Meadow Reports

Posts by Lauren Sutton

Unleashing Success: The Top Benefits of C-Corp Formation in the Retail Cannabis Industry

When to Discount Your Inventory

The Power of Marketing Segments

Create Sales Contests and Track Results using Meadow Reports