How we are going to revolutionize the Cannabis Industry’s Multi-Channel Marketing with Omni-Channel Commerce solutions and Search Science.
Written By Tommy Wrenn, Lead Strategist + Creative Director for ArmoredGate.com + TommyWrenn.com
A slice of pizza was the catalyst to pave the way for an already thriving cannabis marketing business.
From Humble Beginnings to Blazing a New Trail
It all started in late 2019, pre-pandemic. A friend, desperate to break free from the shackles of third-party plugins plaguing their pizza delivery business, reached out for help. I responded with a strategic “mashup” of WordPress plugins, a delicious concoction that boosted their sales from a measly $20,000 to a mouthwatering $80,000 per week during peak pandemic times. Local SEO became their secret sauce, helping them outrank competitors in their delivery zone and leaving irrelevant traffic for the birds. It was a unique time to be able to test my strategy during unprecedented times.
This initial success fueled my hunger for optimization. We rebuilt the solution, meticulously removing unnecessary code and functionalities. Control became my mantra, and achieving flawless website performance scores (100 on Google PageSpeed Insights) became the ultimate goal. Little did I know the impact it would have on my future web builds.
The Quest for Omnichannel Nirvana
While crafting the perfect pizza platform, another project landed on my plate – Cape Cod Skateboards with Skateboarding Hall of Fame recipient, Wentzle Ruml of the infamous Dogtown & The ZBoys. Here, the challenge was to unify a physical store, e-commerce component, and a dropship account provided to us by the legendary Reggie Barnes, owner of Eastern Skateboard Supply – a complex inventory management dance. This experience ignited the spark for our omni-channel solution: a cloud-based platform seamlessly integrating Point-of-Sale (POS), e-commerce, wholesale dropshipping, and inventory synchronization, a rarity in any industry at the time, let alone the skateboard industry. Our first version landed us at number one in the search and positioned CCSB as a contender in the culture.
This project caught the eye of Nick K., owner of Dennisport House Of Pizza and Alecsies House of Pizza. He approached me and asked if I could do what I did for CCSB for his Pizza Shops; rank him number one in the search. I instantly dove deep dish style into what I had done for my friend in Boston, and together, we set out to emulate the results. We achieved number one status within 6 months of starting the custom build, doubled order volume, broke every record Nick had for sales in the history of the shops, and shut down two of his competitors. After a year’s worth of research, we canceled out every app, saved him 26k in order fees, and increased his online search volume by 160%. Unheard of to say the least. That’s when I made the connection. If I could integrate point-of-sale capabilities, with my cloud e-commerce and search results, all with top site scores, I could dominate in digital commerce.
Enter Armored Gate.
After an arduous search, I delivered all of my research and data to Karl. He looked it over and concurred that my approach was indeed a unique and worthy investment to build a totally customizable commerce platform.
We now have three separate platforms, in any combination available. Food and beverage, Service and Retail.
The Secret Ingredients of Our Cannabis E-commerce Recipe
These diverse projects were the training ground for our foray into the cannabis industry. We’ve meticulously crafted a potent blend of technologies for our custom e-commerce platform:
- Omnichannel Powerhouse: Our platform seamlessly integrates POS software, wholesaler databases, and e-commerce functionality using WordPress and even WordPress Multisite for multi-location operations.
- Custom Plugin Arsenal: We’ve developed powerful, industry-specific plugins, including:
- Themed Delights: Tailored ecommerce themes for retail, food & beverage, and service sectors within the cannabis industry.
- Local Geo-Targeting Domination: A plugin that ensures dispensaries reign supreme in their delivery zones.
- The Display Network Revolution: A custom display plugin that creates a targeted advertising and marketing network for the cannabis industry.
- Third-Party Expertise: We leverage established add-ons like WooCommerce, Astra, Yoast, and Site Kit to further enhance SEO performance.
- Technical Virtuosity: Our team is adept at full-stack development and optimizing WordPress core functionalities, utilizing PageSpeed tools, and implementing SEO best practices for superior search engine visibility.
The Google Algorithm, Our Ever-Evolving Dance Partner
We stay ahead of the curve by constantly adapting to Google’s ever-changing algorithms. This deep understanding allows us to:
- Outmuscle the Competition: We leverage data and search terms to ensure dispensaries dominate local searches, leaving competitors in the dust.
- Exclusivity Agreements: When working with clients in the same geographical location, we create exclusivity contracts and delivery area lock-ins to maximize their online dominance.
The Canna-clusion
Our omni-channel platform is a testament to the power of experience, innovation, and a deep understanding of the commerce industry. I have taken the lessons learned from pizza and skateboards to bake the perfect recipe for cannabis omni-channel commerce success. By linking up with me and ArmoredGate.com , dispensaries can achieve unprecedented online visibility, search and savings, leaving the competition high and dry.
