You might be wondering - how the heck do I "brand" my business, when I don't even know what  "branding" is.
Well, let's work backwards....
    Who do you want to be?
    How do you demonstrate who you are to your customers?
    How are you going to communicate who you are? 

OK, just roll with me here... Branding is more about a long-term ever-evolving "brand strategy".
A great logo is essential, but "branding" is action.

To brand, is to make a mark. Branding is active. Thus, the act of branding requires deliberate action. You control how the public perceives you. How you look, act, feel and deliver contributes to the act of branding your company.

So, the big question is... What do you stand for and what is your mission?
And, what is your strategy for building your brand?

Your brand is the mark you make in peoples minds.
If you aren't memorable, your brand is not effective.

According to Entreprenuer.com, once you've defined your brand - here's how to get the word out.
    Get a Great Logo
    Write down your brand messaging
    Integrate your brand
    Create a "voice" for your company that reflects your brand
    Develop a tagline
    Design templates and brand standards for marketing materials
    Be true to your brand
    Be consistent

For more info on branding check out Entrepreneur.com 
I would highly recommend working with a pro to help you through this process, as it's a bit like therapy.
It helps to have an objective and highly skilled professional to guide you through the journey of self discovery of your future persona.

Hope this helps.

1. Have a Vision
2. Capture Their Minds - - and Their Hearts
3. Create a Look
4. Sell out on your terms
5. Work with people you trust

Jill Krasny from INC. sums up the Apple deal beautifully!  read more

As a dispensary owner you have a lot to think about...permits, legal, security, employees, growing great bud and often times the customer becomes an after-thought. "If we build it - they will come" generally works, at least for a while.
When people leave your store - what do they tell their friends? What kind of impression have you left?
Why will they be back? In the long run, how is the customer experience contributing to your brand?

SInce we're talking about YOUR BRAND, have you ever wondered if your name reflects your space?  And does your space reflect your name? And more importantly, what's memorable about the experience for your customer?

For more information about the "Customer Experience" contact Pot Shop Designs - or check out this article about Hunting for the Perfect Experience -  Dick’s Sporting Goods creates an outdoorsman’s paradise for its new Field & Stream concept

What's the difference between a household brand and just another product?  Strategy. You may not have a gazillion dollar advertising budget... But for just a moment, pretend that you do. As the pot industry grows, you want to stand above the crowd. How would you invest your resources to support your brand?

Marijuana is not exempt from sound branding strategy. In fact, it is more important to be impeccable with your brand than in most other product segments, as this renegade industry becomes more mainstream, each individual store or product will reflect on the overall "marijuana" brand.
Industry leaders stress caution when positioning your dispensary, product or service.

For a more in-depth read check out FastCoDesign article.

6 Branding Lessons from the Pioneers of Weed Design Four experts in cannabis culture explain how to brand a high-demand, once-illegal product.

Industry mavericks are on the front lines working to make marijuana mainstream. Strains have crazy names with counter-culture logos. Dispensaries have unmemorable names related to medicine and health. Logos and packaging are undergoing an identity crisis. Branding experts are exploring ideas to rebrand the entire cannabis industry.

Cannabis is not just for stoners anymore and dispensary owners will need to consider this for future success. Let's look 10 years down the road... will Trainwreck, Green Crack & Chemdawg stand the test of time? Will the government and corporate America embrace the irreverent attitude that fueled this market?
And just as important, will it resonate with future consumers?

As the industry progresses and infiltrates all 50 states, the overall "branding" of cannabis related business and products will be important to the success of the end of prohibition. Imagine if Jack Daniels had been called Death Wish.

Food for thought  click here

Canna Law Blog article  - because Branding is important.

Have you ever looked at your #potshop from your customers point of view?  How do they experience your brand?
And more importantly, aside from your stellar strains or the best pricing in town - what really keeps your customers coming back?

Have you ever wondered what people say about your shop when they leave, or what they say to their friends about the experience... or if they even bother mentioning you?

How does your space feel to your customers? How is the lighting? Does it create both a mood as well as highlight your product in the best possible light? Are the corners of your store dark and dank...or does it feel like an operating room? Think about your favorite restaurant, bar or retail shop, what is it about the atmosphere that keeps you coming back? Have you achieved a similar response to your space? Does your artwork and merchandising engage and entertain the customer. Are you able to easily upsell accessories. Is the flow of your store functional not only for business operations, but also for your customers to easily browse products and feel comfortable?

How would you like customers to describe your store? Food for thought... Can they even remember the name of your store or do they simply know it's on the corner of such and such.

As #DenverDispensaries are ready to rebrand from medical to recreational, does the face of your business need to change to attract both target markets? Do you cater to college kids or baby boomers? The demographics of these target markets are very different, are you successfully attracting all of them?  The consumer has many choices, how they "feel" in your space matters.

Interior Designers help you to effortlessly pull together the elements to make a store special, giving it a cohesive look and feel. To make sure that colors, textures and furnishings are balanced and in scale. Their job is to make the process easy and fun for you, to ensure that the final result will be worth the investment. Many a DIYer has wasted a ton of money, only to achieve mediocre results. Designers have resources and ideas that you don't have the time to track down or even care to think about.

As the #CannabisIndustry grows and struggles to maintain a professional front, it is our responsibility, to the industry to show our operations as serious businesses that will be around for the long-term. Think of an Interior Designer as an investment in the concept before the investment in the build-out. In the long run, this will save you time and money and help you avoid costly mistakes. Wise entrepreneurs look to the professionals for the skills they lack. Chances are, you are more interested in running your budding business than searching for the perfect shape, size and color of ______ for your space. Interior design is all about the details. It takes time and patience... It's a process and most business owners don't have the interest or experience to attend to these details effectively.

The good news is that you don't have to let your business suffer as a result of your lack of time and patience.  Luckily there are design geeks out there obsessed with creating amazing transformations and cultivating loyal customers for the long-term.

For help with your #Dispensary interior design and branding, consider a professional who is passionate about their craft.
Click here for more Pot Shop Designs

http://mmjbusinessdaily.com/if-i-did-it-over-again-lessons-learned-from-cos-recreational-frontrunners/

Forward thinking pays when designing your dispensary business. Entrepreneurs share their wisdom on opening your pot shop. Partnering, planning, construction and interior design take time. Here are a few valuable tips from the seasoned pros.
Courtesy of mmjbusinessdaily.com

What is your brand doing to engage me? Jack Morton Worldwide nailed it. Brand as a Verb.
From creating a video to designing a space, the thing that has made me a successful brand champion for my clients, is that I experience them as a consumer. The message and the actions must be relative to your customer. Ultimately, it's how your customer "feels" about you that will determine the strength and longevity of your brand.

Marijuana had been legalized well over a month before I decided to check out my neighborhood dispensaries. Although I know a few people with MMJ licenses, nobody really talked about "my dispensary" with any kind of pride or belonging. Never a  recommendations, like "you really have to check this place out". 

As a hometown "Marijuana Tourists", my buddy Jim and I made a day of it  and decided to visit 7 or 8 shops. The few Jim had been to in the past were pretty ratty and made him feel uncomfortable like he was doing a back alley deal. He too,  was on a mission to find "my" favorite pot shop.

For the most part, I felt like these businesses were just thrown together like a college frat house. Being well past the college age, I was craving a hip environment that I would enjoy patronizing in the future. I wondered why these dipensaries didn't put more effort into creating an amazing decor and memorable customer experience. It seemed the focus was on the back room and the product.  Not a bad thing, but honestly, I felt a little neglected.

The next stop was even worse.  I felt interrogated and violated in a strange little sterile lobby where they swiped my drivers license. I wanted to run. Once inside, we were lined up like sheep prohibited from wandering. The institutional look was understandable, considering they wanted to be seen as 'medicinal" in the early days, but I felt cold and wanted to break out of the line and go sip a latte in a cozy coffee shop.

After a few more seedy attempts, we finally stopped in a Victorian cottage in uptown.  Scattered with a few antique pieces, it had a comfortable charm, but very little product selection and a back alley entrance. We finally found another comfortable downtown dispensary where we hung out on couches, took in the sights and soaked up the vibe before we made our selections.

As an interior designer, I couldn't help but wonder why so many of these dispensaries thought so little of the front of their store and the customer experience. I realized they didn't understand the value in it and probably didn't have the time or skill to improve their space and brand their business. And then we became inspired to help change the perception of recreational and medicinal marijuana shops in Denver.

Welcome to Pot Shop Designs. 
Interior Design & Branding for the Cannabis Industry
www.potshopdesigns.com