How to Find Your Ideal Online Dispensary Menu

Finding the Best Online Dispensary Menu for Your Needs

A good online menu saves both you and your customer's time. It helps you easily present your products to potential customers so they can decide whether to order online or stop by to learn more.

Is It Compliant?

Regulations vary from state to state, which means what flies in Colorado may not necessarily pass muster in Arizona or Maryland. Make sure that your online dispensary menu complies with your state’s regulations.

Your menu should impose both purchase and age limits, collect the appropriate taxes, and maintain any data required by your state. Otherwise, your software could end up hurting your dispensary and get you in trouble with your regulating agency.

Is It Compatible with Different POS and Loyalty Platforms?

Your menu should be kept up to date in real-time, which means it must be integrated with your POS. And for maximum customer satisfaction, it should also be integrated with your loyalty program so your customers can earn points on online purchases.

Check to see which POS systems the menu is compatible with. If it is not compatible with your current POS, it probably isn’t a good choice for you. If you haven’t yet chosen a POS, make sure that any you are considering are able to integrate with your menu choice.

Is It User-Friendly?

Your dispensary menu should display a clear image, share information about the product, and provide packaging and weight information. Ultimately, if it’s not easy to use, your customers won’t use it, which defeats the purpose of having an online menu.

In addition, your menu must look good on mobile. More consumers are now making purchases on their smartphones than ever before. If your menu doesn’t look good or if it just doesn't display properly, they’ll go elsewhere.

Beyond ease of use and mobile-responsiveness, your menu should feature the functions that online shoppers expect. Users like to search or filter through available products to more quickly find the items they want. Is it easy to use these features? Can they select their preferred brands or sort their items by cost? Menus with limited functionality can leave customers disheartened—and drive them right to your competition.

How Does It Look?

Online, appearances matter. Beyond item photos—which should be professional grade—how does the menu look and feel? Does it reflect well on your brand? Are there clear “add to cart” buttons so that your customers can easily buy their favorite items?

How Are You Notified of Orders?

Someone orders a Durban Poison cartridge and some edibles—how is your team notified? Does the order print out on a dedicated printer? Does it show up on a tablet or in your email?

Make sure filling your orders is simple. Ask how your team will be notified of new orders so you can create an online order process to ensure each order is given the attention it deserves.

Can You Track Orders?

Tracking orders can help you ensure you’re meeting your customers’ needs and delivering on your promises. For customers, order tracking can provide a sense of security and build trust. It helps them better plan their visit for in-store shopping and lets them know when to be home to get their delivery.

Plus, understanding how long it takes to compile your in-store orders and how long delivery orders take allows you to provide accurate info to your customers so you can make sure you’re providing an excellent customer service experience.

Where Does the Menu Live?

Depending on the menu company you choose, your menu may live on their website, or it may be embedded on to your own website (while still being maintained on their site). The latter is preferable because then your customers will stay on your website. Being linked to another site can confuse customers and make them feel less safe when ordering.

Your website should naturally point visitors to your online menu so they can make a purchase. Not only is it convenient for your customers, but it’s just a good business move in general.

To get the most from your dispensary menu, make sure your website is truly working for you. MediaJel offers website themes that have been specifically designed to convert visitors into customers. Our attractive dispensary website designs share the benefits of buying from your dispensary and clearly point to your online menu with CTAs in multiple locations.

If you’re offering delivery, a delivery page is a great way to share the benefits of your service and information about how it works, including delivery limits, times, payment options, and more. This can then link directly to your menu.

How Does the Menu Work?

A good menu will integrate with your POS to automatically populate your in-stock items. This means you only have to worry about updating your inventory on one platform. As items sell out or as you add new items to your inventory, your menu will automatically update so web visitors will see and be able to order from your current offerings.

As your menu populates, it will use the menu company’s product library and display the photos and descriptions that they have collected. Choose a company that maintains a large product library so that you can ensure your products will show up properly.

How Does Your Online Dispensary Menu Company Get Paid?

Make sure you understand the payment structure for your online dispensary menu before signing an agreement. Will you be required to pay a yearly or monthly licensing fee, or do you only pay when a purchase is made using your online menu?  Are you required to sign a contract for a specific length of time?

Also, check whether customers are required to pay a fee. If they are, they may be less likely to use your menu to order, so look for a free-to-the-customer option. You want to make ordering online as easy as possible for your customers.

How Do Customers Pay for Their Online Purchases?

How customers can pay for their orders may depend on your state. For online orders to be picked up in-store, your customer will pay in-store with whichever payment methods you accept. If you offer delivery, they will pay during the delivery. Most menu companies do not yet accept payments on behalf of their dispensary partners. However, with more cannabis payment platforms opening up, this may soon change.

Do You Need Separate SEO with a Menu?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is vital for drawing traffic to your site, increasing your visibility and brand recognition, and improving your search rankings. While you can certainly just link to your online menu, if it’s living on your site, SEO can be crucial for helping you stand head and shoulders above the competition.

MediaJel can help ensure your menu page is SEO-friendly so Google can more easily find you and share your info with possible customers. Plus, having your menu show up in searches may help increase your sales.

We offer SEO services to help you improve your website as well as specially optimized Wordpress themes to ensure you’re set up right from the start.

Does the Online Dispensary Menu Company Offer Support?

Setting up an online menu isn’t always intuitive. Make sure that the company you select offers the level of assistance you need so you can get up and running as quickly as possible. You don’t want to find out that they only offer minimal support after you sign up—be proactive.

Not everyone is a tech whiz. If you know you need help getting set up, ask for it from the beginning. A good menu company will be happy to help you get established on their platform.

Beyond setup, check that the online menu company’s customer support will help you make adjustments to better optimize your menu or troubleshoot problems should you experience any issues with their platform.

What Insights Does the Company Provide?

Which products are the most popular? What product types are most online buyers purchasing? What are your most popular online strains? What are the average units per transaction and average purchase size?

A menu with built-in analytics can help you curate your menu so it’s even more appealing to your customer base. With analytics in hand, you can create enticing deals and specials to appeal directly to your online customers.

How Frequently Do You Need to Check on Your Menu?

If your online dispensary menu is automatically populating from your POS inventory system, you shouldn’t have to make many adjustments. However, it’s always smart to check your site to make sure it’s up and running, especially if you’re having work done to your website. You don’t want to be notified by a customer that your menu isn’t working properly.

Maximize Your Menu with Additional Services

Once you’ve chosen your online menu, make sure you’re getting the most from it. Increase your online sales by integrating your menu with your loyalty program, incorporating your online menu URL into your SMS marketing campaigns, and implementing a sound SEO strategy.

When you combine your menu with your loyalty program, you can encourage your customers to spend more on your online menu in order to meet loyalty thresholds. Everyone likes special perks, make sure your loyal customers are getting them!

SMS marketing campaigns are extremely effective thanks to their 99% open rate. By directly linking to your online menu, you make it easy for customers to locate special items and make a purchase. SMS campaigns can also be used after a sale to encourage customers to leave a review. These reviews will help potential customers decide whether to check out your dispensary and can be a valuable tool for creating more interest in your dispensary.

When you use MediaJel for your SEO needs, you’re getting a dedicated team of marketing professionals ready to help you get to the top. We’ll create a strategy that focuses specifically on your needs to help you get the most from your online menu.

dutchie: Your Online Dispensary Menu Solution

If you're still looking for a menu partner, contact us! We've built relationships with several industry leaders to ensure our clients have access to the best dispensary software. One of our preferred partners is dutchie, an industry leader in the online dispensary menu space. We'll be doing a free workshop on November 14th which is a must-attend!

dutchie offers dispensaries a simple, easy-to-use platform with a clear payment structure. They’ve worked tirelessly to ensure their dispensary ecommerce solution is compliant in every state they operate in. Plus, their menu can integrate with a variety of POS solutions, loyalty programs, and SMS marketing solutions.

When you choose dutchie, you’ll be able to embed your menu right on your site, thus building more trust between you and your customers. dutchie has a large product inventory that includes most popular cannabis brands and features professional product photography and accurate descriptions. This means your online menu will be both attractive and user-friendly.

And don’t forget analytics—find out everything you want to know about online purchasing behavior so you can tailor deals, curate your products, and more. dutchie analytics will help you sell more and sell better. It’s an ideal, hassle-free solution that lets you focus on providing your customers with the service they deserve.

Want to learn more about how to get the most from your website and menu? Contact us or go check out our webinars.