Ultimate guide to growing a successful Shopify CBD store

Exciting times lay ahead for our budding Shopify CBD sellers as we enter a time that hemp is being recognized for the health benefits that it provides. Opportunities abound.

It wasn’t too long ago that the mention of cannabis (aka the devil’s lettuce) would stir up feelings of horror and distaste to many a mother. But perceptions have changed in recent years as the medicinal value of hemp products have surely, but slowly entered the mainstream.

Because not every cannabis plant is going to get you high.

In fact, one of the most prominent extractions from the plant is the substance of CBD, and one of the most popular places to buy it is Shopify CBD.

There are online stores popping up left, right and centre selling the stuff with all kinds of claims to wondrous health benefits. CBD products are at the forefront of fast-moving progressive markets in the western world. It’s estimated to grow to 22 billion dollars by 2022.

Kim Kardashian recently had a CBD themed baby shower if you can believe it.

There’s just no stopping it.

But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of speed bumps in the way of budding (excuse the pun) Shopify CBD sellers.

There are still grey areas with regards to its legal status and payment providers, especially when it has come to Shopify sellers.

The good news though, is that if you navigate your operations in a smart way and take care to brand your products effectively there are opportunities abound.

That means that you need to push your marketing mind in to sixth gear and get your stockroom in tip top shape. 

And one of the most vital elements to getting your operations running smoothly is with the implementation of Shopify inventory software.

But we’ll get to that later.

For now, let’s dive into the basic steps of what it means to run a successful Shopify CBD store.

Getting Your Shopify CBD Facts Straight

Alright, best to start with the question, what is CBD?

Not because you don’t already know, but because the first step to being successful in an anxious market is to relieve the tension by being clear about what the product is.

That means being straight with the facts, offering up the benefits as well as dispelling misconceptions.

Don’t forget that this is going to be a new product for many first-time visitors and there is a lot of misinformation out there. But that also spells out an opportunity to provide those essential facts that are going to clear everyone’s mind.

So, as we know, CBD stands for Cannabidiol and is an organic compound that is found naturally in cannabis plants.

There’s lots of studies showing that there’s benefits to ingesting it when it comes to dealing with: epilepsy, physical pain, stress, anxiety, depression, acne and a whole load of other common ailments.

There’s even been studies showing that CBD can reduce blood pressure and as a result, the health of your heart.

Vaping is one of a hundred ways you can ingest CBD without having to smoke it and wreck your lungs. Ideally you want to stock up on a variety of products for your Shopify CBD store so that your customers can choose the method they are most comfortable with.

But it’s also vital to remember that it’s not a miracle cure and hasn’t been approved by state medical bodies for widespread use. So, it certainly shouldn’t be sold in that way either.

To continue with the enlightening facts though, you also want to reassure your customers of the fundamental differences CBD has with its psychoactive, and much more potent cousin of THC.

CBD is not derived from marijuana, which is the weed that gets you high.

THC is that well-known substance that will have you destroying a pack of Doritos and watching Alice in Wonderland with Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” playing in the background.

And as you might expect, it’s important to make the distinction between that mind-bending substance and the grounded world of Shopify CBD.

There’s often still a tiny amount of THC in CBD products, but this is usually legally capped at a very low percentage of around 0.3%. The effects are barely noticeable considering the average amount of THC in marijuana is around 10% (this is a very crude estimate).

Make sure you know what this is in your area of sale because the levels vary between the US and Europe for example.

Ultimately though, the important thing here is that if you want customers to stay then you need to be clear about what it is you are selling.

CBD is not going to get your customers high, but nor is it a miracle cure. It’s an organic compound found in hemp plants with health benefits.

Get that right and you’re off to a solid start.

Providing Proactive Customer Support

Taking a friendly and approachable attitude to customer support will do wonders to reassure visitors to your Shopify CBD store. Gaining trust is going to be a crucial factor in determining whether you your store succeeds or goes up in smoke!

Even with the information above, and all the research you’ve done yourself there might still be some confusion as to your Shopify CBD product.

And if you’re a bit unsure, then imagine how your potential customers feel.

Getting that first buy is super important here, because once the bond is established, it’s highly unlikely your customers will be going somewhere else after.

It’s one of the hidden beauties of selling a fairly unknown product.

But that’s why you need to make sure that you support your store’s visitors as much as you can. They need to trust you here, and to earn that trust you need to show you care about their wellbeing and needs.

There are plenty of popular Shopify apps which can help you set up a support system.

Aside from them, a good start would be to answer their questions pre-emptively.

You could start an FAQ with answers to questions such as:

• Which product is right for me?
• What dosages should I be using?
• Is there any potential risks or side effects?
• What is the difference between your CBD products?
• Do you offer discreet packaging?

Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. What would you be interested in knowing, even after you have tried CBD for the first time?

After you’ve done that, it’ll be even better if you can offer a contact address. A place where questions and concerns flow as freely as the hippies that popularized this love of the plant in the 60’s.

Because again, building brilliant relationships with your customers is going to go a long way to ensuring they make their way back.

Building a Memorable Shopify CBD Brand

Okay, so we already know how important it is to get the health benefits across and support our customers.

But where does branding fit into all this?

Well considering health benefits are the focus of CBD products it’s best to keep some focus on that aspect. Rather than going with stereotypes of weed use.

There’s no point marketing to marijuana smokers with tasteless caricatures of Rastafarians if the effects of the product are so vastly different.

You want to be breaking those stereotypes and highlighting the visible health benefits.

So, what are health brands doing these days?

Well, often the most successful Shopify CBD stores are both stylish and friendly.

Check out Sagely Natural’s store.

There isn’t one single way to sell your Shopify CBD products, and that’s the beauty of jumping into a brand new market. But if you want to play it safe then stick to simple, clear and friendly. Works a charm.

1. Soft green color palette – smooth on the eyes, and subconsciously keeps visitors’ minds at ease. Obviously makes sense with the hemp and plant theme too.
2. Clean design – gives a friendly welcome as navigation is made simple. Note how few buttons there are to press on the page of this Shopify CBD store.
3. Blog and information at hand – the blog posts offer interesting news and information related to wellbeing, from CBD benefits to healthy sleep patterns and even yoga poses.
4. CBD guide – this is what we were referring to before, giving visitors all the knowledge they want on tap, without having to leave your store to go find it.
5. Easy contact info at hand – email address to contact is great, but these guys offer a phone number too, which will inspire confidence in even the biggest skeptics.

Plenty to get inspired by here.

Take a look around and see what other Shopify CBD stores are doing to make their store as attractive and welcoming as possible on first glance. It’s also what a lot of the other best Shopify stores are doing at the moment.

But remember, this is a fresh market with fields of untapped potential so let your imagination flow free with ideas. You don’t necessarily need to do anything like this example store to be successful.

Shopify CBD Payment Issues

Eurgh.

Probably the least desired and most talked about topic when it comes to Shopify CBD sales.

There are plenty of murky waters here, and information changes often so we won’t get into the details here. But the lowdown is that there have been some reports that Shopify payments has blocked stores from using their services when it comes to selling CBD products.

Many US companies have instead gone with high risk merchant account providers for their Shopify store. They will allow you to take credit card payments but do keep in mind that they do charge a higher fee.

Others have turned to payment gateways like PayPal, but of course they can also stop payment from going through if they want. Especially because CBD products are still equated to marijuana and are illegal under federal law.

So, ultimately the best route to go down here is offer as many possible payment options to your customers as you can.  

That way if one route gets blocked up, you always have back up!

The Tool that Ties it All Together

Katana is the ideal cannabis inventory management software with features to manage your cannabis production for your Shopify store. Any time a product is low on stock, you can visually identify it on the stock levels page, and make sure to purchase it before you run out. Your customers won’t ever have to deal with late deliveries.

On to a lighter note.

To a problem with a much easier to find solution, and that is the issue of order and Shopify inventory management.

It might not be the first thing that comes to mind for Shopify CBD sellers, especially when there are so many other exciting aspects of business to look at.

But with all these incoming changes to payments you want to have the finest accounting software for Shopify and solid inventory data to show the scrutinizing banks that you know what you’re doing!

And the reality is that if you don’t take your inventory management seriously, then it can be too easy to lose out once your store gets growing.

You want to be ready for those big bucks, by having a solid inventory and order management system when the time comes.

And the beauty of being in a growing market like CBD is that the time will come. It’s just inevitable that progress will triumph, and all the creases of the industry will be ironed out. And you want to be there waiting with a neatly packed room of products, ready to be shipped off at a moment’s notice. 

Katana cloud inventory software is perfect for Shopify CBD sellers to keep track of their products and orders without having to rely on inefficient spreadsheets. It’s been designed with a visual color coded dashboard for quick decision making.

It’s especially useful for:

1. Managing your Shopify CBD inventory
2. Fully functional Shopify Order Management System
3. Integrating with accounting software like Quickbooks
4. Moving on from tedious inventory Excel sheets
5. Having your entire order fulfillment cycle in one place

The whole point here is to make managing your business as easy as possible while the CBD market is booming, and the competition is on.

That way you can spend your time working on supporting your customers, designing your store and selling your Shopify CBD products!