Case Study: Call Canna helps Ivy Hall launch their dispensary brand by handling all off-site customer support from day one.

Background: Call Canna is a black-owned contact center specializing in serving businesses in the cannabis industry. The call center takes the trouble of customer service and experience out of the business’s hands by handling all aspects of customer service and inbound sales support through an omnichannel presence, including social media correspondence and e-commerce order-taking. 

Goal: Ivy Hall entered an already saturated Illinois market with one goal: to differentiate itself from its competitors. It was created as a warmer and more welcoming alternative to the typical straightforward storefront dispensary. The vision was to experience cannabis with a boutique-style, luxury feel in-store, and that meant giving the customers a unique experience that felt catered to their wants and needs. 

Challenges: Ivy Hall’s experience-forward approach attracted many customers, new and old. As IH became busier, the employees were forced to focus on the people entering the store while letting the phone calls slip through the cracks. Conversely, when the phones are ringing off the hook, the budtenders cannot give the customer their undivided attention to answer questions and sell products. This lack of efficiency was hurting their bottom line and destroying the customer experience.

Implementation: The number of agents was assessed for each Ivy Hall location. The agents are rigorously trained through Seed Talent, the same education platform the Budtenders utilize at Ivy Hall. The platform provides the best knowledge about the industry cultivators and brands available at the dispensary for the agents to study and retain that information to give accurate responses and thoughtful product recommendations. 

Call Canna was quickly integrated into the system at Ivy Hall. Through utilizing an omnichannel customer service platform, all communications were addressed promptly. When a customer needed to be passed off to an IH employee, the employee was first prepped by Call Canna agents to minimize any chance of miscommunication. An emphasis was placed on clear communication by both Ivy Hall and Call Canna to personalize care for each customer and take the customer experience to the next level. 

Results: Ivy Hall immediately saw results with increased productivity and efficiency. Pairing with Call Canna gave customers a comfortable platform to ask questions and get the information they sought without slipping through the cracks. When customers call in and are dealt with efficiently and kindly, they are more likely to want to go in-store to experience it in person. This customer-centric approach, which includes personalization and friendly customer service, results in repeat purchases and sets Ivy Hall apart from its competition. 74% of consumers make purchases based on their buying experience, and 77% view CX as crucial as product quality. 

In-store employees could also focus on the customers coming into the dispensary and spend more time with them. This opportunity for uninterrupted dialogue has been essential in building their business. Sales have gotten much larger because they can showroom everything in the store, which leads to people wanting to buy more. 

Conclusion: Call Canna was instrumental in helping Ivy Hall’s staff focus on their store’s proficiencies while supplementing their customer service with a highly trained call center. Previously, customers were slipping through the cracks due to the high call volume and in-store traffic. This is problematic when considering that 61% of consumers switch to a competitor after just one poor experience. Since switching to Call Canna, Ivy Hall let a dedicated team of agents focus on all customer service inquiries and complaints. This allowed their internal employees to focus on in-store customers, thus increasing the time spent with customers and making larger sales.