As a business owner, you want the world to know about your products and services. And today, there are more ways than ever for potential customers to discover your dispensary. One of the best ways to reach clients is through a thoughtfully managed media presence.

Working with the media doesn’t come naturally to most, but because the media is such a powerful communications tool, business owners need to be prepared for the next time a reporter calls—or you call them.

Here are tips on how to prepare for and handle three common media interactions.

1. Be Prepared When the Media Comes Knocking

Let’s say cannabis news breaks on pending legislation, banking or security, and the local news station contacts you or your staff for a comment. Now what?

First, you need a policy in place that instructs employees on how to handle such calls. Such a policy typically designates a single individual to handle all media inquiries. (This ensures that your dispensary is providing a consistent, thought-out message to all outlets.) This person should get all of the information from the reporter, including the story angle and reporter’s deadline.

While an interview request can be a great opportunity, there are several questions to ask yourself before rushing to say “yes.” For example: Are you an appropriate voice for this story? If the topic is a legal land-mine or you don’t like how the reporter is framing the story, it is perfectly acceptable to decline.

Ask the reporter ahead of time for the basic theme or topic on which she wants you to speak. You can even request to see the planned questions ahead of time, but not every media outlet will be willing to provide them.

Taped Interviews: For taped interviews, try to answer questions in complete sentences, or sound bites. If you do find yourself stumbling over an answer during a taping, you can ask to restate a response. (Of course, this isn’t an option for live television or radio interviews.) For taped segments, including the reporter’s question in your answer makes it more likely that your response can be used on air, and it also allows you to work in the name of your business. For example, if asked, “How long have you owned this dispensary?” your response should be, “I’ve owned Awesome Plant House for five years,” rather than simply stating, “Five years.”

Under no circumstances should you allow anyone to convince you to say anything you would not want to end up on television. Say only what you want to say and what you believe in.

To get comfortable handling tough questions, practice makes perfect. Watch how other business and political leaders respond to situations on cable or local news. Take note of what works and what doesn’t in how someone handles themselves under pressure.

Marketing Assets: One more asset to have at the ready is your own original photography (and video B-roll, even) that shows you, your dispensary, products and staff in the best possible light—literally. The more you can offer the press your own visuals, the more satisfied you will be with how the images work in the article. These photos can also be used for other communication needs, such as on your website, in social media and to accompany press releases. It is a good idea, however, to determine if the media outlet needs exclusive photos, and if so, provide images that you have not used or provided elsewhere.

© wdstock | iStockphoto

2. Initiate the Conversation

Sometimes you want to take the lead to get a story about your business published, or you want to offer support for a piece of legislation, such as home delivery or social use. There are several ways to share your insights and expertise, including calling your local news outlet and offering to speak on why this topic is important to you.

Write Your Own Story: Another option is writing an op-ed for your local newspaper or magazine, or favorite industry news source. This is an opportunity for you to take a thought-leadership position and to be proactive on issues you care about. Industry news outlets are interested in obtaining your insights on what your customers are saying and industry trends you are seeing.

3. React to Negative News Appropriately

Suppose your business shows up in a less-than-flattering way in a news story. How should you handle these situations?

Don’t hide; the story or negative review won’t disappear if you ignore it. In fact, if you don’t have a web presence, a negative news story or review could be the first thing potential customers find when researching your company online. It is more important than ever to be transparent in these situations. Have a response strategy prepared for addressing the issues head on.

Prepared Statement: Have a statement ready to provide when the media calls. If you don’t provide a response, you may be perceived as having something to hide. When drafting a statement, look at the situation you’re in and address it, both to the media and to stakeholders. Accept responsibility; if it is your company, at the end of the day, you are liable. The quicker you accept responsibility and address the key issues, the sooner you can control the narrative and potentially remedy the situation.

If an employee has done something that doesn’t live up to your company’s standards, make it clear what those standards are and what actions you are taking to address and remediate the situation. If something is wrong with a product, admit it, make it right with the customer and, again, clearly state the measures you are taking to address the problem and prevent it from recurring.

Even if you can’t fix the situation immediately, being responsive quickly shows that you are a company that cares about its customers and its reputation.

Last, be proactive with positive news. Create your own content with the engaging messages you want to get out into the world via press releases, videos and other media outreach. The more positive coverage you put out there, the more positively your brand will be received. CD

Shawna Seldon McGregor is a managing partner at Grasslands: A Journalism-Minded Agency.

Providing your employees a safe and healthy workplace is not merely the right thing to do or a smart business practice; it is the law. The federal workplace safety standards of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act have been law since 1970, and, despite cannabis’s illegal status at the federal level, cannabis businesses are subject to workplace safety regulations just like every other private industry in the U.S.

Since Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) citations are public record and can be found on OSHA.gov, a cursory search of citations over the past several years shows that OSHA has been paying close attention to the cannabis industry. It is following the growth of the industry and issuing citations to dispensaries and grow operations. In reviewing 10 OSHA citations of cannabis dispensaries from 2016 and 2017, a clear pattern emerged: All citations were related to violations regarding hazard communication and employee exposure to hazardous materials. The following are the most common citations

1. Lacking an adequate written hazard communication program for the workplace.
2. No eyewash station or safety shower where employees may be exposed to corrosive or injurious materials.
3. Respiratory protection violations.

OSHA compliance requires continual oversight, planning, review and training, in addition to a comprehensive company safety program. Ultimately, there is no magic bullet for ensuring that your business is OSHA compliant. It is an ongoing process that must be continually modified and updated to suit the changing workplace conditions. And everyone in the company—from executive management to employees carrying out the day-to-day operations—must participate.

Below are general guidelines every business owner should be following to avoid the common mistakes (and costly fines) made in these three areas.

The reality is that most of your employees are not going to follow all the rules all the time. Accidents happen, and mistakes get made.

Hazard Communication

The Hazard Communication citations were mostly due to either missing Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) or because employees had not been properly trained in the company’s hazard communication program. Any employee who may come in contact with any hazardous materials at the workplace must be given proper training to do their job safely and must have access to information about the hazardous materials in the form of SDSs.

Keep an inventory of all materials that come through your dispensary or facility. Make sure that you have a system in place to classify hazardous and non-hazardous materials. Ensure that:

• you are requesting and receiving the SDSs for all materials you receive from your supplier or distributor;
• all employees know where to access this information and have been trained and understand the information within the SDSs;
• all proper signage is in place; and
• all chemical containers are properly labeled.

OSHA’s Hazard Communication standard is in Subpart Z of the 1910 standard and can be searched under its standard number: 1910.1200.

Eyewash Stations

Eyewash stations and/or safety showers are required in any facility where an employee may be exposed to an injurious or corrosive material. (OSHA’s requirements for first aid are brief and can be found under Subpart K of the 1910 standard (standard number: 1910.151).) Eyewash stations and safety showers can be easy to overlook, particularly when a new hazardous material introduced to the workplace may require an eyewash station that was not previously needed.

Many effective temporary or portable eyewash stations—that allow for quick installation in cases where installing a permanent fixture would be prohibitively expensive or too time-consuming—are available. If you are using a temporary eyewash station, ensure that it is being inspected regularly so that it is in good working order with an adequate supply of water.

Hazardous materials at a dispensary could include common cleaning supplies, such as isopropyl alcohol or bleach. The presence of anything classified as hazardous by the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard requires a written HazCom program. The best practice is to keep an SDS for every chemical in use or stored at the workplace.

It is the employer’s responsibility to provide a safe workplace, not the employee’s.

A safe workplace is the shared responsibility of everyone on the job, but because of the way the OSH Act is structured, in the eyes of OSHA, it is the employer’s responsibility to provide a safe workplace, not the employee’s. That means that the burden of proof lies with employers to demonstrate that they are taking the proper precautions, putting the safety policies and programs in place, and following OSHA regulations.

The reality is that most of your employees are not going to follow all the rules all the time. Accidents happen, and mistakes get made. A common defense against an OSHA citation is that the violation was a result of employee error. But to prove that, employers must provide evidence to show that they did their due diligence, provided the proper training to the employees, did everything in their power to prevent that unsafe condition, and was unaware of employee misconduct at the time of the incident.

That is why regular, documented safety training is so important. In addition to giving your employees the knowledge to work safely (which cuts down on incidents and workplace injuries), it gives you, the employer, an invaluable, ongoing affirmative defense. The more documentation you have, the better off you are. Records of employee safety training show that you are actively engaged in keeping your employees safe and doing everything you can to give them the knowledge they need to do their jobs safely.

© tarasov_vl | iStockphoto

Respiratory Protection

Respiratory protection requires meticulous planning and attention to detail. This is especially important for vertically integrated operations that operate cultivation facilities. What hazardous vapors, gases or particles are your employees being exposed to? Is there adequate ventilation in the work area to mitigate the respiratory hazards? Can fans or a negative pressure ventilation system control the respiratory hazard? If you are unable to determine the severity of the respiratory hazard, an industrial hygienist may need to be brought in for testing.

Keep in mind that having your employees work in respirators is not a simple, quick fix. Extensive regulations spell out how your respiratory protection program must be implemented and what it must cover. (These requirements are found in subpart I of the OSHA 1910 standard (standard number 1910.134).) Your company must have a written respiratory protection program that adheres to OSHA’s requirements. All employees must be trained to recognize the respiratory hazards and to use their respirators correctly.

Prior to using a respirator, OSHA requires two things: a medical evaluation and a fit test. All affected employees must be evaluated by a medical professional to determine that they are medically able to work in a respirator. Wearing a respirator is taxing on the lungs. Some individuals may have health issues that prevent them from using a respirator. If using a tight-fitting respirator (such as an N95, or P100 full- or half-face mask), all employees must be fit tested for the model respirator they will be using. Fit testing gauges the respirator's effectiveness for the user and ensures a correct fit, so that the respirator works as designed.

Fit testing must be performed annually or any time a new tight-fitting respirator model is used. The employer must pay for both the fit test and the medical evaluation. The medical evaluation must be completed first, to confirm that employees do not have any health issues that would make working in a respirator hazardous. The fit test can be done at a dispensary or any workplace. The fit test must follow the requirements per OSHA. Ultimately, any time workers put on a respirator, the employer pays for everything, as it is their responsibility to protect their workers from any workplace hazards.

Remember, fit testing is even required when using a “dust-mask” type of protection also. So long as it is rated as a respirator and designed to protect against hazardous vapors, dusts or gases, the user must be fit tested. Keep in mind that the process of medical evaluations and fit testing are mandatory even if you implement a voluntary program. You must ensure that your employees are medically fit to wear the respirator they are using, and your voluntary respirator program must be documented.

Luke Tipton is the safety coordinator for Milestone Safety Group.

Cannabis marketing can feel a bit like shooting in the dark. However, as legalization rolls out across the country and more data becomes available, one thing is becoming crystal clear: Women are driving the consumer market, especially women over 40. This is a huge opportunity for cannabis because, despite the vast amounts of research supporting the fact that women are responsible for over 80 percent of household spending, most feel underserved and misunderstood by brands, especially when it comes to healthcare.

By choosing to focus on women as a target market, brands provide a conduit for bringing new people into cannabis. The more women feel that the industry is actually listening to them, and providing the products and experiences they want, the more money they will spend and the more products they will recommend to friends and family.

Aliza Sherman, CEO of Ellementa, a cannabis education company for women, says that women in their 40s, 50s and 60s are often sandwiched between caring for aging partners and children. “As caregivers, they seek ways to improve the quality of life for their loved ones while also needing to pay greater attention to their personal self-care, as many of them are going through major physical transitions with perimenopause and menopause,” Sherman says.

I’ve spoken with countless dispensary owners and product brands about their target audiences and found many to be hesitant about overtly focusing on women. Oftentimes I hear fearful pushbacks such as, “We’ll alienate men,” “Women are mainly in the medical market,” or “The ‘O.G.’ market won’t like it, and you’ll lose business.”

None of this is true.

Since women do most of the buying in households, it only makes sense that often men will be introduced by women in their lives to the products they use. When I was applying for a license for my female-centric dispensary, I heard over and over again from men I spoke with that it sounds like the kind of place they’d like to hang out. Where the women go, we find that men will follow.

Most women will purchase cannabis products for wellness or medical purposes, but most of those who are new to cannabis will wait for full adult-use legalization before approaching a dispensary, based on what my colleagues and I have discovered from the market. However, simply assuming that they will fall under the medical market, and that you don’t need to cater to them at all, is shortsighted and could turn off potential new customers.

Broadening Product Options

“We started with the intention of just providing good, quality product to everyone. But as time went on, I began to hear more and more from our female customers that the strains were too potent, and since many of them were being reintroduced to cannabis after 20 years, they were finding it too much to deal with,” says Bobby Devine, CEO of Spark1, a chain of medical dispensaries in Montana. “So we started to introduce more CBD and lower-potency strains. We also noticed that women prefer vaping devices to smoking, so we’re adding more options there as well.”

While not every brand is right for the female consumer, leaders should recognize the influence women have in growing and championing the cannabis industry. Cynthia Gonzalez, CEO of Elite Care California, a delivery service focused on patient care, describes how the retail experience is changing because of the growing female market: “One of TIME magazine’s ‘Top 25 Inventions of 2016’ is dosist, a disposable vaping device. It is small, sleek, easy to use and discreet. It resembles a tampon. This prototype was designed with the Apple user in mind, seeking the high interest of millennials, but for our female-owned and operated delivery service, it’s our No. 1 product for women 45-plus. Intentional or not, women are driving the consumer market.”

Brand Loyalty

An added benefit of embracing the female consumer: Women are more brand loyal than men, according to “Battle for the Sexes: The 2016 CrowdTwist Gender Loyalty Report.” In fact, women are 22.2 percent more likely than men to always buy the same product or services regardless of price, quality, convenience or brand promise.

Paige Kazazian, CEO of Denver-based edible company Faro Kitchen, says, “As more states adopt cannabis programs, the degree of tourism-based industry growth will slow, since people won't need to travel to other states to experiment with or obtain cannabis. This will mean that businesses, from the grow to the register, will have to focus on growing organically with resident consumers. That means reaching out to women and older consumers, and for the majority of the industry, it will require them to adjust their focus.”

Kyra Reed launched Markyr Cannabis, a digital marketing and social media strategy agency, in 2016. Reed’s cannabis clients include cultivators, manufacturers and software companies.