Weed Doesn’t Sell Itself Anymore: Why the Dispensary Is Cannabis’ Most Powerful Marketing Channel

For years, cannabis companies could rely on one simple reality: demand far exceeded supply. Consumers lined up outside dispensaries, shelves emptied quickly, and simply having product available was often enough to generate sales. That era is over.

Executives speaking during the “Weed Sells Itself Is No Longer True: What Moves Cannabis Products Today?” panel at the IgniteIt Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago said today’s winners are the companies that understand retail, build recognizable brands, leverage data, and create products consumers actually want—not simply what cultivators prefer.

Moderated by Tom Zuber, managing partner at Zuber Lawler, the panel featured Yung H. Tan, CEO and co-founder of MFused; Boston Dickerson, CEO of Show-Me Organics; Travis Scadron, SVP of Business Development at Surfside; and Laura Jaramillo Bernal, COO of Botany Bay.

Supply shortages no longer drive demand

Laura Jaramillo Bernal said Illinois illustrates how dramatically the market has evolved.

“When adult-use launched, quality didn’t matter. Price didn’t matter,” she said. “There simply wasn’t enough product.”

Today, mature markets face the opposite challenge. Increased cultivation capacity, more dispensaries, competition from neighboring states, and the rapid expansion of hemp-derived products have fundamentally changed the competitive landscape.

“It’s a much harder product to sell now than it was five or six years ago,” she said.

For brands, simply producing quality cannabis is no longer enough.

Quality gets consumers back, but brands get them to buy

Tan argued that one of the industry’s biggest misconceptions is believing premium cannabis automatically sells itself.

“Quality has become table stakes,” he said.

Consumers now face hundreds of options across dispensary menus. Winning their attention requires differentiated branding, thoughtful product positioning, innovation, and consistent execution.

Once consumers make their first purchase, quality becomes critical.

“The quality reinforces that decision and drives repeat purchases,” Tan said.

Boston Dickerson agreed, adding that consistency—not temporary discounts—is what ultimately builds lasting customer relationships.

“A lot of consumers are willing to pay for consistency,” he said.

Rather than developing products based on internal preferences, Dickerson encouraged operators to reverse the process by studying repeat purchases, customer surveys, and budtender feedback before making cultivation decisions.

Budtenders still shape purchasing decisions

Despite advances in e-commerce, panelists agreed that budtenders remain among the industry’s most influential salespeople.

According to Dickerson, they’re often the first audience brands need to convince before reaching consumers.

Laura Jaramillo Bernal noted that cannabis shopping can still overwhelm customers, many of whom face menus containing hundreds of products.

“Even people who’ve been smoking weed since the ’70s have no idea what to make of a menu,” she said.

How retailers train and incentivize budtenders, structure digital menus, and highlight products inside stores continues to influence purchasing decisions significantly.

Scadron added that as more markets move toward kiosks, online ordering, and digital menus, brands must compete for visibility long before customers speak with store staff.

Retail success starts with location

When asked what separates successful dispensaries from struggling ones, Jaramillo Bernal offered an answer many operators may not want to hear.

“It’s ultimately a real estate business,” she said.

Store location, parking, accessibility, and local competition determine much of a retailer’s success before the doors ever open.

She also challenged the industry’s tendency to treat dispensaries as lifestyle destinations.

“People don’t shop for cannabis when they’re out on the town,” she said. “It’s an errand.”

Rather than designing stores like trendy boutiques, she argued, operators should think more like neighborhood pharmacies: convenient, accessible, and efficient.

Measure marketing by revenue, not impressions

Marketing restrictions continue to limit cannabis operators, but Scadron said companies should stop focusing on tactics and start focusing on measurement.

“The marketing tactics that work the best are the ones that you measure,” he said.

Every campaign, he argued, should be evaluated through customer acquisition cost, lifetime customer value, and return on investment.

“If you’re not tracking cost per acquisition to lifetime value… how do you know what’s working?” he asked.

While many operators hope federal rescheduling could eventually expand advertising opportunities on platforms such as Google, Meta, TikTok, and X, panelists cautioned against assuming regulatory changes will immediately transform marketing.

Jaramillo Bernal noted the industry has spent years expecting the next major federal reform to change everything.

“I’ve stopped making predictions,” she said.

The best marketing happens inside the dispensary

Asked where brands waste money today, Tan pointed to expensive conference booths and large-scale brand activations.

Instead, he recommended investing where purchase decisions actually happen: inside dispensaries.

Limited-time promotions, retail displays, budtender engagement, loyalty programs, and in-store merchandising deliver stronger returns than broad awareness campaigns, he argued.

Dickerson agreed, saying his company’s marketing strategy centers on retail execution rather than expensive branding exercises.

For both executives, the objective is straightforward: help consumers discover the product once—and let quality create the repeat purchase.

Companies that combine strong brands with disciplined retail execution, data-driven marketing, and consistent product quality will be better positioned to compete in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

As cannabis competition intensifies, understanding what drives consumer purchasing decisions has become essential for operators, retailers, brands, and investors alike. Join us at IgniteIt’s Colorado Market Spotlight in Denver on September 18 for in-depth discussions on the strategies shaping one of the nation’s fastest-growing cannabis markets, then continue the conversation at the IgniteIt Washington, D.C. Summit on November 18, where industry leaders will examine the federal policies, capital markets, and business trends defining cannabis’ next chapter.