Step 1 — Build the list out of your point of sale
Every dispensary already owns the most valuable marketing asset in the building: a transaction history that says who bought, what they bought, how much they spent, and when they last walked in. Most stores never use it because it lives inside the POS and nobody has time to export it.
Connect your POS to your texting platform and that changes immediately. Customer records sync automatically, so audiences like "visited in the last 14 days," "has not visited in 60 days," or "top 10% by lifetime spend" exist without anyone building them. When someone shops tomorrow, their segment membership updates tonight.
This is the step people skip, and skipping it is why so many dispensary SMS programs stall at "blast the whole list once a month." With POS data behind it, every message you send can go to the people it will actually work on.
Step 2 — Get consent you can prove
Consent is not a formality — it is the foundation of both your legal position and your deliverability. You want a record for every number showing that the person opted in, when, and through what surface.
The surfaces that work: a keyword posted at the register and printed on receipts, a checkbox on your online menu or loyalty sign-up, and a tablet at the counter during checkout. Each one should state who is texting them, roughly how often, that message and data rates apply, and how to stop.
Age gating belongs here too. Capture the confirmation at opt-in so it is attached to the record rather than assumed. And never buy or import a list you did not collect. Purchased numbers produce opt-out spikes and complaint rates that damage delivery for everything else you send.
A good platform makes this automatic: consent language on every capture point, timestamped records, automatic STOP and HELP handling, and immediate removal from every future send.
Step 3 — Send a first campaign that pays for itself
Do not launch with an announcement. Launch with a win-back, because it is the campaign with the clearest math. Pick customers who have not visited in 30 to 60 days, write one specific offer that is genuinely worth a trip, and send it late morning on a day you are staffed.
Keep the message to one idea. Who you are, what the offer is, and where to use it. Include the opt-out line. Skip the emoji pile and the shouty capitals — both make carrier filtering more likely and neither improves response.
Then measure three numbers: delivered rate, click rate if you included a link, and redemptions at the register. Redemptions are the only one that matters for deciding whether to keep going, and for most stores this single send covers months of messaging cost.
Step 4 — Turn the wins into automations
Manual campaigns are how you learn what works. Automations are how you keep the revenue without spending time. Start with three.
A welcome message that fires when someone opts in, thanking them and giving them a reason to come in this week. New opt-ins are the warmest audience you will ever have and most stores waste them.
A lapsed-customer flow that triggers on each person's own timeline — 45 days after their last visit, not on a calendar date. This runs quietly forever and is usually the highest-ROI thing in the account.
A post-purchase or restock note tied to what they actually buy. Someone who buys the same cartridge every three weeks should hear from you when it is back in stock, not when you happen to run a store-wide promo.
Layer on birthday and VIP touches once those three are steady. Resist adding more sends just because you can — frequency caps protect both your opt-out rate and your delivery.
Step 5 — Measure, prune, and repeat
Review monthly. Delivered rate tells you about list health and carrier standing. Opt-out rate tells you whether your cadence and offers are respected. Redemption and revenue per send tell you whether the program is working.
When delivered rate slips, the answer is almost always hygiene: retire unreachable numbers, tighten who is receiving each message, and re-check your content for language carriers dislike. When opt-outs rise, you are sending too often or your offers are not worth the interruption.
This is where the platform choice compounds. Cannabis Text Marketing handles the hygiene automatically, screens content before send, and builds the segments from your POS, so the monthly review is a five-minute read rather than a project.
Create your account, connect your POS, and run step three this week. The first win-back campaign usually settles the question.
Frequently asked questions
How do I start text marketing for my dispensary?+
Connect your POS so audiences build themselves, collect provable consent through a keyword and checkout opt-in, send one segmented win-back campaign, then automate welcome and lapsed-customer flows.
How often should a dispensary text its customers?+
Two to four sends per month works for most stores. Beyond that, opt-out rates climb and carriers begin treating the traffic as lower quality.
What should my first dispensary text say?+
One clear offer with a real reason to visit, your store name, and the opt-out line. Avoid heavy emoji, all caps, and multiple competing ideas in the same message.
Can I text customers whose numbers I already have in my POS?+
Only if you have documented consent to text them for marketing. Phone numbers collected for transactions are not automatically consent — start a keyword and checkout opt-in to build a provable list.
Which automations should a dispensary run first?+
A welcome message for new opt-ins, a lapsed-customer nudge on each person's own timeline, and a restock or replenishment note based on what they actually buy.