Lion Labs

Expanding reach for growing brands

Growing a list of engaged customers is essential for any business, especially for those looking to establish themselves in a new and increasingly competitive market.

LeafLink helps brands like Lion Labs easily expand their digital marketing efforts and reach new buyers so they can stay focused on scaling operations.

“Since we operate with a small team, much of our labor resources are prioritized against expanding production capacity and building inventory to keep pace with demand in the Michigan market. This makes finding efficient methods for connecting with customers to build sales extremely important.”

Erik Root | Chief Operating Officer, Lion Labs

Company Overview

Lion Labs is a cannabis processing company based in Michigan. They were founded in 2018 and first launched RISE tablets in May 2019 when the state was medical only. This was followed by the launch of Element premium concentrates in September 2019 and Dream edibles in January 2020. Lion Labs has been on LeafLink since May 2019.

Product focus: Concentrates and Edibles

The Goal

Lion Labs was looking for an effective way to reach new retail partners and re-engage with previous customers while operating a small team dedicated to product development. To do so, they used sponsored emails to connect with a network of qualified buyers.

The Challenge

In order to succeed in Michigan, one of the fastest-growing cannabis markets in the country, brands must keep buyers engaged and coming back for more. On top of that, thanks to the release of recreational licenses at the end of 2019, there has been a steady influx of new retailers looking for product. Staying top of mind – while keeping up with growing demand – is key for brands.

“We were previously connecting with new customers through referrals or as they discovered our brands online or in-market. Ads sponsored email blasts provide the best tool to reach new customers and see the impact of our email marketing with insights like open rate and click through rate.”

The Solution

Bolster new and ongoing customer relationships with LeafLink

• Send Out Alerts
  Whether releasing a new product or letting retailers know their favorite menu item is back in stock, Lion Labs relies on sponsored emails to convey the message to their customer base
  
• Develop Customer Relationships
  Lion Labs utilizes LeafLink’s CRM to track retail leads throughout the sales cycle, making it easier to form relationships with new buyers and to re-engage previous customers
  
• Leverage LeafLink’s Customer Experience
  To ensure the best possible outreach using tools like sponsored emails, Lion Labs connects with their LeafLink Customer Experience Lead to explore advertising options as well as ways to tailor messaging and presentation

The Results

Lion Labs uses sponsored emails to better communicate with new retailers and existing customers so they can spend more time developing products and fulfilling orders

• Set the stage for selling
  “The sponsored email put us in touch with retailers we hadn’t reached before. Not only did we get organic orders from these contacts, we’ve seen consistent re-ordering from them as well.”

• Decide what works best
  “The first sponsored email was a little bit of a test and learn. Though we knew, even if just 2-3 shops purchased, connecting with new buyers and their potential for reordering could justify the investment.”
• Focus Resources
  “Sponsored emails gave us the opportunity to think about our portfolio and focus on how we want to represent the brand to retailers in the marketplace.”

“We weren’t sure how sponsored emails would work. Would this just be clutter in someone’s inbox? We ended up getting over a 50% open rate and receiving organic orders from stores that had never ordered from us before.”