Ads are often the first step on the path to profits, but how your brand shows up in a Marketplace matters. In a perfect world, someone clicks your ad, lands on your online storefront, and gets everything they need to decide to buy now. That’s rarely the case in B2B life, where retailers purchase on a bi-weekly and monthly cadence. To get the most from your ads, make sure your Marketplace is ready for prime time:
1. Check Your Branding
2. Polish Your Product Listings
3. Confirm Inventory Status is Set to Available
1. Check Your Branding
Imagine a retailer clicks on your ad and has never heard of you. Would it be instantly obvious what your brand stands for, and what you have for sale? If not, it’s time to pull out The Polisher. (Obviously not a real thing, but go with me on this.)
In the cannabis industry, first impressions matter. By the time a retailer looks at your menu, they may have interacted with other sales reps. Reps who brought products to their store. Which of course they sampled because that’s part of the job.
The top-performing stores on LeafLink maximize every pixel to make a lasting impression. They polish their marketplace and listings with compelling visuals, sharp messaging, and irresistible calls to action to show retailers why they need to buy now.
Whomever is The Polisher on your team, usually marketing, should help retailers see these things when they first look at your brand presence on LeafLink:
1) High-resolution banner graphics that will make you crave the product.
2) Unique selling points in the description. Short. Sweet. Stoner-proof.
Clear always wins over clever. For example, an edible manufacturer I worked with was selling margarita-flavored gummies. Sounds delicious, right? They branded their entire presence on LeafLink like they were selling alcohol. Chunky rocks lined the margarita glass in the banner atop the menu. The tagline was all about Margaritaville. But, at the end of the day, conversion rates were not satisfying.
Why? The messaging wasn’t clear. Retailers had to stop and ask themselves, “Wait, are these gummies or drinks?” And in that split second of confusion, you’ve lost them. Retailers are busy and could be distracted by texts, knocks on the door, or a TikTok video from a retired aunt.
A good rule of thumb here: Don’t tell me. Show me.
1. Use the banner images to show the products -- in high-resolution.
2. Use the logo space to only show the logo.
3. In the description space, brevity is the soul of wit.
Tell them just enough up top, to make them want to scroll down and see more.
On LeafLink you can update your branding by going to Settings/ Brands. Tap that link for design specs you can share with your creative team.
2. Polish Your Product Listings
How many times have you been excited to see a retailer call you back? Then, they tell you they want to know if you have that product in stock and how much it costs. They tell you they only want one case, but they’ll have to think about it first. Well, you wouldn’t have wasted all that time if you set up Product Listings so they shine. Time for more polishing!
When listing a product for sale, think about what your retailer needs to see for them to decide to buy.
1. A picture of the product. (not just the packaging)
2. A unique product name (not a brand name rerun, which they already saw atop the menu)
3. The price (The MSRP protects your brand equity, so it’s not in the bargain bin.)
4. The batch test results (Show the THC%, category, and strain classification)
5. The product description (With the units per case, and what’s unique and special.)
Fun fact: A national survey of retailers who shop on LeafLink said wholesale price, strain, product photos, THC% are most influential when deciding which product to buy.
If a retailer doesn’t see that information, they’re going to search for another brand that shares that info. Don’t miss a revenue opportunity! Polish your product listings. Show retailers exactly what they need to buy weed from YOU.
When you do, your product listings will be ready for all the traffic your ads are going to drive to your online store. But make sure your listings are visible.
3. Confirm Inventory Status is Set to Available
One of the biggest mistakes advertisers can make on LeafLink is in the inventory settings. I've seen sellers keep products "internal," so only they can see their secret stash. Then they wonder why the orders aren’t rolling in.
On LeafLink, after you add the item to your inventory, you must set its status to Available. Otherwise, only your team will be able to see it. That’s fine if you only want to use the inventory feature to track inventory quantities. And it’s okay if you want to manually type in each and every little order a retailer calls or texts you about.
But if you’re serious about hitting your sales targets, make that product available. Retailers need to see it to consider it for purchase.
The LeafLink Ads Manager (now available in select markets) will detect what inventory is available and use that info to create sponsored product recommendations.
Pro tip: While you're in your inventory, confirm that it has a price and a quantity. The advertising feature uses that information to determine whether a product is "eligible" for an ad campaign. (Having that information helps us create a good shopping experience for retailers on the LeafLink Marketplace.)
Visibility is the first step toward consideration, and consideration leads to orders. Make those products available and watch your sales potential grow. Don’t let something as simple as hidden inventory hold you back!