Cannabis Target Audience: Understanding Cannabis Consumer Personas

Understanding the diverse world of cannabis consumers is crucial for businesses aiming to effectively market their products. Today’s cannabis market is varied, encompassing everyone from millennials and baby boomers to wellness enthusiasts and first-time users. Each group has unique preferences and reasons for using cannabis, making it essential for companies to tailor their marketing strategies accordingly. Here’s a quick overview:

Women: Interested in wellness and relaxation benefits.
Baby Boomers: Often use cannabis for health reasons related to aging.
Millennials: Value the social aspect, quality, and eco-friendliness of cannabis.
Wellness Enthusiasts: Drawn to the physical and mental health benefits, especially of CBD oils.
First-Time Users: Need clear, beginner-friendly information.

Businesses learn about their consumers through surveys, group discussions, direct observations, and data analysis to create detailed consumer profiles. Campaigns like MedMen’s Forget Stoner have successfully challenged stereotypes and opened the market to a broader audience by appealing directly to these diverse consumer personas. However, the evolving legal landscape, increasing competition, and shifting consumer interests present ongoing challenges. Keeping up with these dynamics through continuous research and adapting marketing strategies accordingly is key for businesses aiming to succeed in the ever-growing cannabis market.

Key Cannabis Consumer Personas

Understanding who buys cannabis and why is really important for businesses that sell it. We’re going to talk about the main groups of people who buy cannabis, what they like, and how to reach them.

Women

More and more women are using cannabis. It’s important to make them feel comfortable and informed. Here’s how:

Use branding that appeals to women
Talk about how cannabis can help with wellness and relaxation
Use social media influencers who are women and use cannabis
Provide easy-to-understand information for beginners

Baby Boomers

Older folks are starting to use cannabis more, especially for health reasons. Here’s what works for them:

Information on how cannabis can help with issues common in older age
Endorsements from celebrities or doctors they trust
Tips on using small amounts and safe ways to use it
Comparing cannabis to things they’re familiar with, like wine

Millennials

Young adults use cannabis a lot, often with friends. They care about where and how it’s made. Here are some ideas:

Support causes they care about and show your business does good
Talk about local, eco-friendly growing practices
Offer high-quality, special products
Be clear about what’s in your products and where they come from

Wellness Enthusiasts

People interested in health are getting into cannabis, especially CBD oils. Here’s how to talk to them:

Explain how it can help physically (like pain or sleep) and mentally (like stress)
Offer tips on how much to use for health goals
Use images and stories that show a healthy lifestyle

First-Time Users

People new to cannabis might feel lost. It’s important to help them understand. Here’s how:

Explain the basics in simple terms
Use clear labels that show how strong something is
Offer advice on starting with small amounts
Warn about using too much and possible side effects

How We Learn About Cannabis Consumers

To make sure cannabis businesses do well, it’s super important to get who their customers are and what they want. Here’s how experts figure that out:

Asking Questions

By asking people questions through surveys, we can learn a lot—like who they are, what they think, and how they use cannabis.
These surveys can reach a lot of people, giving a good snapshot of different types of cannabis users.
Whether online, over the phone, or face-to-face, there are many ways to ask these questions.

Group Chats

Small groups of people talking together can share deeper thoughts and feelings about using cannabis.
This helps researchers dig into the details and understand the little things that might not come up in a survey.
It’s important to talk to a mix of people to hear a variety of experiences.

Watching and Learning

Seeing how people buy and use cannabis in real life, like in stores, gives a clear picture of their habits.
Watching what they do and how they make choices is super helpful.
Sometimes, asking a few questions right then and there can add more insight.

Digging into Data

Looking at numbers, like how much cannabis is sold or what’s popular on social media, shows what’s trending.
Using math and computer tricks, experts can sort people into groups or guess future trends.
Combining different kinds of data gives a fuller understanding.

Creating Profiles

Making up profiles or stories about different kinds of cannabis users helps businesses figure out how to talk to them.
These profiles are built from both the number crunching and the deeper conversations.
They include stuff like age, likes, dislikes, and why they use cannabis.

By using these methods, cannabis companies can get a clear picture of their customers. This helps them make better products and messages that speak to people. Keeping up with what customers think and want is key in the fast-moving cannabis world.

Real-World Applications and Results

Forget Stoner Campaign

In 2019, MedMen started the Forget Stoner campaign to change how people see cannabis. Before this, a lot of cannabis ads showed the "stoner" stereotype, which didn’t appeal to everyone. MedMen wanted to show that cannabis is for regular, everyday people.

The ads showed normal scenes – an older lady gardening, friends at a book club, a couple chilling at home. The main message was "forget stoner," aiming to get rid of old stereotypes. The ads talked about how cannabis can be a part of everyday life, helping people to see it in a new light.

The campaign was a big hit. It reached over 2 billion people through media around the world. Surveys said that 75% of people who hadn’t tried cannabis before now felt more open to it.

This teaches cannabis companies a big lesson: knowing who you’re talking to is super important. Avoiding stereotypes and focusing on common experiences can help sell more.

MedMen is still updating its approach as more new customers start considering cannabis. Keeping ads friendly and easy to relate to is important, especially for people trying cannabis for the first time. Listening to what people want and keeping up with changes means companies can stay connected in a meaningful way.

Considerations and Challenges

As the cannabis industry grows, businesses need to keep up with the times, which can be challenging for several reasons.

Changing Laws and Regulations

The rules around cannabis are always changing, with more places making it legal for medical or fun use. This changes who can buy cannabis and what kinds of products are allowed. Companies need to keep an eye on these rules to make sure they’re talking to the right people and selling the right products.

Staying informed about the law helps companies target their marketing better and come up with products that people can actually buy under current laws.

New Competition

As more people get into the cannabis business, it gets tougher to stand out. Companies need to watch what others are doing, learn from their successes, and figure out what customers want.

Keeping an eye on the competition helps businesses stay relevant and offer products that meet their customers’ needs. If they don’t, they might lose customers to other companies that do a better job.

Changing Consumer Interests

What people want from cannabis is always changing. For instance, CBD products have become popular lately. Businesses need to keep track of these trends so they can offer what people are looking for.

People also care more about supporting good causes and eco-friendly practices nowadays. Companies need to show they care about these things too if they want to keep their customers.

Regular research, like surveys and interviews, is crucial for understanding what people want as it changes.

Limitations of Data

While data can tell us a lot, it’s not perfect. Sometimes surveys miss certain people, or folks might not be totally honest. There are always some things we don’t know.

Talking to people directly can help fill in the gaps, but even then, we can’t predict everything. What people say they like doesn’t always match what they buy.

It’s important to use many sources of data over time to get a good picture. Comparing different data helps us figure out where we need to know more.

Knowing your customers well in a changing market takes a lot of work. But doing your homework and keeping up with the trends can help businesses give people what they want.

Conclusion

If cannabis businesses want to do well, they need to understand who their customers are and what makes them tick. The key is to create clear pictures of different kinds of buyers, or personas, to make sure marketing really hits the mark.

Here are the main points about using these personas:

Today’s cannabis users are a mixed bunch, buying for various reasons. Sorting them into personas helps tailor messages just for them.
Typical personas include women in wellness, older folks using it for health, and enthusiasts looking for strong, quality stuff.
Personas should include details like who they are, what they do, what they care about, what they like to buy, and where they get their info. This helps target ads better.
It’s important to keep these personas up to date as things like laws, what people want, and the competition change. Regular checks through surveys, talking to people, looking at sales data, and keeping tabs on customer feedback are key.
Using accurate personas can help bring more people to your site, sell more, keep customers longer, and come up with better products. They make sure your message connects.
But remember, personas aren’t perfect. Sometimes what people say isn’t exactly true. And personas should be just one part of staying in touch with customers.

As the cannabis market grows bigger, the businesses that will stand out are those that best understand what today’s cannabis users want, using solid data to guide them. They’re the ones most likely to build strong customer loyalty and grab a bigger slice of the market in a world where competition is getting tougher.

Who is the target audience of the cannabis industry?

The main group of people that the cannabis industry focuses on is millennials. Studies show that 39% of millennial cannabis users say they use cannabis several times a day. Also, most millennials use cannabis just for fun, with 62% saying they mainly use it recreationally.

Other important groups include:

Older people using cannabis for health reasons
People interested in CBD for wellness
People trying cannabis for the first time or using it occasionally

Cannabis companies should talk directly to these groups, offer products that meet their specific needs, and use influencers to spread their message.

Who is the target market for medical cannabis?

In California, young people in Generation Z make up a big part of the medical cannabis market. This is because 18-year-olds can get medical cannabis, while they have to wait until 21 to buy it for fun. Experts think many of these young medical users will switch to the recreational market when they’re old enough.

Outside of California, typical medical cannabis users include:

Middle-aged and older people using cannabis for health issues that come with age
People with long-term illnesses and pain
Those looking for natural treatments and wellness products

Medical cannabis companies should focus on teaching these groups about cannabis and showing it as a good option for treatment.

What is the consumer profile of cannabis?

Cannabis users come from all different backgrounds, but some common trends are:

They come from all races, ethnicities, genders, and income levels
The average age is in the mid-30s
Most have gone to college
The majority have full-time jobs

So, it’s hard to pinpoint a "typical" cannabis user, but they’re often working, educated people in their thirties who use cannabis regularly or occasionally.

What is the consumer trend in cannabis?

One big trend is that more people are using cannabis than before. In the last ten years, the number of Americans using cannabis has doubled. And in 2023, more people in the U.S. said they smoked cannabis than cigarettes for the second year in a row.

Other important trends include:

Cannabis becoming more normal
A growing demand for CBD products focused on wellness
People want high-quality, fancy cannabis products
Customers expect to know where and how their cannabis is made

Cannabis companies need to keep up with what people want and value to stay ahead. It’s crucial to keep researching what consumers like.