B2b Technologies Transforming The Cannabis Industry Today

B2B platforms are a lucrative tier in e-commerce technology that differs from the typical business-to-consumer model most people think of when they are thinking of shopping online. Instead of selling directly to a customer, B2B specializes in the wholesale selling of products to individual businesses or retailers.

When it comes to cannabis, B2B platforms can connect retailers with an extensive network of brands and wholesalers. Many cannabis businesses have to be up and running within days following new legalization laws. This means having product on shelves, which can be difficult if said products were considered illegal only weeks before. B2B platforms bridge that gap and can help cannabis businesses streamline their business model fairly quickly in a new market.

Which pot stocks are streamlining cannabis with B2B?

Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSXV:RIV) announced a collaboration with Leaflink, Inc. The two companies will be working together to leverage Leaflink’s existing B2B platforms for the international cannabis market in a new venture aptly called Leaflink Services International.

“The number of brands and products within our new cannabis economy has been explosive, making it difficult for retailers to deal with multiple parties in an increasingly fragmented market,” “As regulated cannabis consumption and distribution proliferates around the world, LeafLink International will introduce the industry’s leading SaaS-enabled marketplace to the global stage to create a new standard for expediting the cannabis supply chain in regulated markets.”

Leaflink currently operates the largest online marketplace for wholesale cannabis. They connect more than 950 cannabis brands with thousands of cannabis retailers in the U.S., and they offer customer relationship and inventory management services on top of its product and brand menus. More than $900 million worth of product flows through Leaflink’s marketplace every year.

Through this new joint venture, Canopy Rivers has an exclusive license for Leaflink’s platform in all non-U.S. marketplaces and will integrate their own network of cannabis companies into Leaflink’s existing Rolodex. The goal is to extend their wholesale reach into the global cannabis community, and the platform has already launched in certain Canadian markets. October, Eaze co-founder Keith McCarty raised $5 million in seed financing for his new company WAYV. WAYV is a B2B platform that connects California-based retailers with California-based brands, promising next day delivery and real-time inventory updates.

B2B takes the confusion out of cannabis

Although more locally-based than Leaflink International, WAYV is touching on what is most important to the regulated cannabis market: trust and transparency. As cannabis laws and regulations change, retailers need to know that they are buying a licensed, regulated product from a licensed, regulated brand. At the same time, customers need to know that they can trust their favorite dispensaries. That is where B2B technology comes in.

“Technology is highly scalable, it’s highly replicable, you can ensure certain behavior, and also provide the transparency along the way,” McCarty said on a podcast interview back in January. “So trust and transparency kind of go handin-hand just to how we look at it. One, we need to do and deliver on what we say . . . and then we need to provide them

transparency and update them along the way. That’s both on the retailer and the brand side.”

Both WAYV and Leaflink work to protect retailers and consumers by ensuring that the brands in their marketplaces are adhering to any state and international cannabis laws. The automated technology will automatically update with regulatory, as well as inventory, changes to keep retailers as up-to-date as possible.

If you’re in the B2B cannabis space, email marketing is still one

of the best options to promote your business. While getting businesses to make a buying decision may not be a walk in the park, when done right, you can generate massive sales with the power of email.

So the big question is: as a B2B brand in the marijuana industry, how can you use email marketing effectively? In this article, we’ll offer four tips to help you craft email campaigns that drive results. Let’s dive in.

1. Do not treat it like B2C marketing

At surface level, B2B and B2C email marketing look similar. They both aim at promoting products, communicating with customers and guiding prospects through the sales cycle.

Scratch below the surface though, and you will find that B2B and B2C email marketing are quite different. For instance, the buying cycle in B2B is longer than in B2C. There are many people involved in the B2B decision-making process, so it takes longer to turn prospects into leads and then into customers.

In a B2C scenario, only the customer is involved. Marketers therefore use emotion to create a sense of urgency and quickly convert prospects into buyers. But when it comes to B2B marketing, this tactic will not work.

You have to provide your prospects with hard facts. This is not to say that your emails should be robotic. Instead, you should find a balance between creating an emotional connection and providing the vital information needed to convert.

Your B2B emails should be professional, results-oriented and factual, but still entertaining. Emphasize the financial benefits of your cannabis products and let your clients know what they will get for the price they are paying.

Also, since you are talking to other industry experts, you shouldn’t shy away from using industry jargon.

Business buyers, like consumers, need to be educated, but you should take care not to sound patronizing or worse, insulting. To avoid this, don’t go overboard with explanations. Your audience is already in the industry, so speak to them at their level by using industry-related terms.

2. Segment your email list

Your clients aren’t all the same. Sure, they all sell cannabis or cannabis-related products or services, but they hold different job titles. What’s more, they are involved in various areas of the buying decision-making process.

Take a minute to consider the different people who will participate in the buying decision. How do their needs differ? Do you see why it is important to send a different message to each group? Another reason why you should segment your email list is that different contacts in your database are at different stages of interaction with your business.

Your contacts are at different points in the sales cycle and as such you should provide them with different information depending on which point they’re at.

For instance, a new subscriber would respond better to a welcome email that explains what your business is about and the kind of emails they should expect from you. On the other hand, if you sent such a subscriber an email asking them to sign up for an expensive seminar you are organizing, they might be put off and even unsubscribe.

An older subscriber who has previously shown interest in learning how they can offer better services to their cannabis customers might be drawn to the latter email.

Segmenting your email list allows you to send targeted messages to each group of your subscribers. Targeted emails are more likely to drive engagement.

3. Don’t sell in every email

Promotional emails are effective for conveying a single, clear and direct message to your customers.

A punchy headline, sharp intro, eye-catching visual and a compelling call to action is the sure way to focus attention around a product or service you are selling. Such an email gives you a chance to highlight a crucial part of your business and encourage customers to contact you for more information or make a purchase.

If you need to boost your sales or create hype ahead of a product launch, then a promotional email will come in handy. But sales emails are not always the answer. Overusing them can drive your prospects and customers away.

This is why you need to strike a balance between promotional emails and newsletters. Email newsletters allow you to position yourself as an expert in the cannabis sector. Here you can share a variety of useful information such as industry news, product updates, opinion pieces, insights and company developments.

Recipients tend to respond well to newsletters as they feel they are gaining expertise from thought leaders as well as insight into behind the scenes information and the personality of your company. For this reason, email newsletters can go a long way in building your brand loyalty, since they make your audience feel like they are receiving useful content that they can trust and share with others.

Continued on page 21