Cannabis retail buyers try to make sure that they have the right selection of products available for their customers, at the right price. If a retailer has a hole in their menu, it means that there is a type of product, at a certain price point, that customers might buy, but it isn’t available. That means that the retailer is missing an opportunity to make a sale. Showing retail buyers that they have a hole in their menu and that your brand can fill it, is a great way to get in a new door.
Every dispensary menu is like a fingerprint. A quick look at a retail menu tells you about the demographics of the store’s customers. The menu tells you if the store has a heavy focus on a particular category, like flower or concentrates. It can even tell you if the retail buyer has preferences or relationships with particular brands.
There’s a lot of intelligence that sales reps can gather by studying a dispensary’s menu. Finding a hole in a menu is another way of finding a selling proposition for your brand or product. Fundamentally, it helps sales reps build a solid business case that will convince a retail buyer that their products complement their current assortment and will drive incremental sales at their store.
Here are some retail menu “holes” that Pistil can help you find:
- A hole in a category or sub-category. Maybe you are selling a certain kind of product, like a solventless vape, that is popular but the retailer doesn’t stock that kind of product at all. In this case, you can position your product as filling this category gap. It also may be helpful to show how other retailers in the area stock that kind of product. All this information is available in Pistil.
- A pricing hole. Many retailers like to have a range of products at different price points. For example, they may want to have a value, mid, and premium-priced range of flower products. If your product fits a pricing gap, then you might have a good selling proposition. For example, you may be able to offer the retailer a product that would be the lowest-priced product in your category. Vice versa, you may offer them the ability to sell a higher-margin, premium product.
- A hole in product type. Retailers like to offer a range of products that are desirable to different kinds of customers. If you can show that your product’s strain, flavor, weight is missing from their shelf, they may be likely to add your product to their assortment.
There are many other types of menu holes. Finding them is part of the art of selling. The knowledge revealed by a dispensary’s menu and its holes can help you prepare for better sales conversations. Armed with this level of menu detail, you can go into a meeting with a solid understanding of that store’s clientele and a proactive battle plan for how your products and brand fit and can complete their offerings.
Many cannabis sales professionals rely on Pistil to find their way into new doors via holes in a dispensary’s menu. Rather than manually studying a menu manually to find the gaps in price point, strain, or SKU, they rely on Pistil to sort that information for them.
If you want to hear more about how Pistil can help you get in new doors, expand shelf space, and get faster reorders, request a demo below or contact your customer success representative.
