12 Steps For Starting a CBD Business Online
It is undeniable that the CBD industry is expanding. Over the last decade CBD products have made their way to almost every sector, including food, health, beauty, veterinary practices and pharmacy. In 2020 CBD market was valued at the astounding 2.8 billion US dollars and is predicted to increase by around 5 times till 2028. With these results, it is no surprise that more and more companies offering CBD products are appearing on the market.
The interest in CBD products is so great and growing steadily that despite the constantly emerging new CBD businesses, there is still quite a large gap in the market, waiting to be filled by your business. Besides, more and more consumers are choosing to buy online, which a huge advantage for CBD resellers. Let’s face it, there has been no better time to start a CBD business than now. We have put together some tips on how to successfully start a CBD business online.
How To Start a CBD Business Online?
Contents:
- Do research and create your business plan
- Choose your niche and CBD products
- Find a trusted and established CBD supplier
- Research CBD regulations in your country
- Get all the necessary licenses
- Set up an online store and create your brand
- Choose and set up payment gateways
- Build your website and company blog
- Use Social Media as a marketing tool
- Implement online marketing strategies: SEO & SEM
- Work on good-quality customer service
- Contact us and start your CBD business today
1. Do research and create your business plan
It is reasonable to start a CBD business with carrying out a decent research about the market and the statistics. As already mentioned, CBD industry is about to be worth around 14 billion dollars by 2028, which should be a great incentive to start your business in this area.
If hemp and CBD have already been among your interests, then starting a CBD business should be a piece of cake for you. However, even if you are unfamiliar with cannabis, have no fear – with the help of the Internet and our blog, you will easily get all the necessary information to create a CBD business plan.
Getting to know your target group might be a good start. The good news is that the interest in CBD products is growing in almost every age group – from teenagers to elders. The source of interest in CBD products can vary from recreational to health and beauty reasons.
The only thing you really need to do is to adjust the marketing and language style to the communication channel. If you plan to advertise your products on social media, obviously you want to reach a slightly younger audience. However, we will focus on that later in the article.
READ MORE: WHY YOU SHOULD START A CBD BUSINESS?
2. Choose your niche and CBD products
Within the CBD industry, there is quite an impressive range of CBD products to choose from. By visiting various CBD online stores, you can quickly find out that the choice of CBD products is huge. Cannabidiol, which is a popular cannabinoid known for its valuable health properties, can be used in the form of dried hemp, CBD oils and tinctures, and also as food, pet products or CBD-based beauty products. Some of the leading CBD product are CBD body lotions and body balms, followed by CBD oils and edibles.
The selection of hemp products is so wide that you can either choose one specific category (such as beauty products) or sell products from each category. The choice is up to you. However, we recommend starting with a specific product category. CBD oils will be a good choice to start with. You can read about the types of CBD oils in our article about the best CBD oil for your store.
READ MORE: HOW TO PROVIDE HIGH-QUALITY CBD PRODUCTS: A GUIDE FOR RESELLERS
3. Find a trusted and established CBD supplier
If you want to ensure that you are providing well established, good quality CBD products that comply with norms and legislation, you should find a reputable and trusted CBD supplier. At Cannabis Spot we ensure best-quality, third-party lab tested CBD products from the best manufacturers in the industry.
Using our services you avoid all the problems and inconveniences related to arranging the necessary licenses and quality tests. We’ve got it covered. By using our services, you can be sure that you provide your customers with great-quality products. It’s a great start if you want to ensure yourself a high position on the market by building authority and trust among your customers.
What is more, in Cannabis Spot we offer not only well established CBD brands, but also white label CBD products. White label CBD products are the type of products, which have been on the market for a long time, but are stripped of labels upon resellers’ request. This way, you can use your own labels on already established and tested products of proven quality and from a trusted supplier.
4. Research CBD regulations in your country
Hemp products owe their popularity mainly to valuable cannabinoids, such as CBD, that have a wide range of therapeutic properties. Although CBD has no narcotic effects and is unrestricted in almost every European country, the issue of THC content in hemp products remains problematic.
THC is a psychoactive substance, which has an intoxicating effect. It also has valuable health properties, but to be able to use products with a high THC content, you need a doctor’s prescription. High THC content is found in Cannabis Indica (10%-20%), however, Cannabis Sativa from which most CBD products, such as CBD oils and edibles are obtained also contains trace amounts of THC.
In most European countries, the limit for THC content in CBD products is up to 0.2% – 0.3%. Therefore, you should watch the proper THC values in CBD products, so as not to exceed the standards in a given country, and thus not get a financial penalty.
READ MORE: HOW TO CHOOSE CBD OILS FOR YOUR STORE?
5. Get all the necessary licenses
Even though CBD is not restricted in most countries, you still need proper licenses in order to sell products containing hemp or hemp extract. In the EU you need to obtain a pre-marketing authorization of your hemp and CBD products.
There is no single rule regarding the sale of CBD in Europe, but if you want to know what are the THC limits in CBD products, read our article “Why you should start a CBD business”. When it comes to the necessary documents, each country has its own rules, for instance in the UK you need to complete an application for novel foods. You also need to make sure your CBD products have less than 0.2% THC and that they are not advertised as medical products.
Therefore, before you start a CBD business, make sure you know all the necessary information about the required documentation in your country.
READ MORE: THE IMPORTANCE OF THIRD-PARTY CBD LAB TESTING
6. Set up an online store and create your brand
If you want to have a successful CBD business, setting up an online store is a must. Don’t worry about the technical aspect – setting up an online store is a simple process. You can use an e-commerce platform, such as WooCommerce or Shopify and add it to a free or paid website template. These platforms enable you to customize your design and layout on your own.
If you don’t want to use website templates, you can contact a web agency that will not only build your website from scratch and add an online store to it. Although ready-made templates are definitely a cheaper solution, using the web agency’s services can help you avoid technical errors and adapt the website to your needs. When it comes to your technical skills, you don’t need to worry. E-commerce tools software such as WordPress enable simple and intuitive website management.
In addition, the agency will help you create a brand logo and the visual identity of your brand, which is another valid aspect of your company. Creating a visually and substantively coherent brand identity is a complete necessity if you want to inspire customers’ trust and establish your position on the market.
Remember to shoot and upload a good quality product photos. Unique and high-quality photos will not only attract customers but also improve the search results of your website
7. Choose and set up payment gateways
If you want to sell online, your website should definitely allow your customers to make online payments quickly and easily. Due to complex local legislation when it comes to CBD products, CBD is still considered to be the so called “high-risk industry“.
For this reason, not all online payment gateways are currently available for CBD businesses, but there are still many options available, for instance BigCommerce lets you choose among 65 payment gateways. Therefore it is important that you do your research to make sure which online payment system is available for your business.
8. Build your website and company blog
Remember that your website is not only a place where you can sell your products. It is also a powerful marketing tool that you should use to build customer trust, as well as your authority in the industry. Your website should definitely contain accurate and well-written product descriptions that will not only make it easier for your potential customers to find your website, but also encourage people who already find you to buy your goods.
The website layout should facilitate finding all the products your customers might be interested in. For this reason, products should be grouped into appropriate categories that are properly described and contain necessary keywords, such as: CBD oils, CBD cosmetics, CBD edibles, and so on.
Currently, the company blog is also an absolute basis for running any business online. Why? The main reason is of course online marketing. Internet users enter various queries into the search engine. It leads them to blog articles devoted to topics of their interest, however, bloggers do not share their knowledge selflessly. Company blog is a part of a website that usually hosts products or services.
This way, not only can you encourage the readers of the article to buy your products, but you also build your image of an authority in the CBD industry and by displaying your knowledge on the blog, inspires the trust of potential customers. However, if you don’t like blogging, don’t worry. Like most online business owners, you can always hire a professional copywriter to run your blog and social media.
9. Use Social Media as a marketing tool
Speaking of social media, this is another powerful tool worth using to promote your CBD business online. How does it work? Well, social media is no longer only a place where you can show your family vacation, post selfies or pictures from an afternoon coffee break. Most companies and online businesses use to promote their products, but mostly to build trust and commitment among customers by reducing the cognitive dissonance.
Replying to comments helps maintain a relationship with both old customers and potentially new ones. Social media is also a good place for all kinds of customer surveys. After all, why guess what your customers want when you can ask them. Social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook are perfect for the beginners.
10. Implement online marketing strategies: SEO & SEM
Online marketing platforms such as blogs and social media allow you to implement two equally important marketing strategies, namely paid advertising, also called Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and organic promotion via properly optimized content (SEO). How do they differ from one another and which one to focus on? In fact, if you want to be successful, you need both.
While paid promotion can bring you quick results, in the long run, relevant content marketing with the use of proper keywords, but above all – high substantive value, may be crucial for the promotion of your company. Remember that the advertisement itself will not encourage customers to buy if, after entering your website, they do not see content that has both high marketing value and substantive value.
11. Work on good-quality customer service
Effective marketing is also the level of service that in the Internet era will not go unnoticed by customers. Poor service level, untimely order realizations, technical problems and frequent website errors can have a very negative impact on your business. Any form of customer negligence will not go unnoticed, as the Internet is not only a great tool for selling, but also for sharing opinions about dishonest and irresponsible businesses.
Therefore, remember to put your energy to good quality customer service. Mistakes can also happen, especially at the beginning. However, it’s important to be honest with your customers and respond to any complaints with respect.
12. Contact us and start your CBD business today
As a wholesale B2B supplier, at Cannabis Spot we offer the best stock at reasonable prices, but most importantly, the best quality CBD products. Contact us for more information or advice on your CBD business. Our specialized team will answer all your questions.
