Jack Blaeser: It's the customer focus. It's understanding your customer and what's important to them. Then being able to create that environment that really engages them and, and keeps them. You get that right, it makes your job so much better and easier and gives you a big advantage over everybody else around you.
Welcome back to the Kaya Cast podcast. I'm your host, Tom Mulhern and I'm excited today to have Jack Blaeser from Mosaic on our podcast.
He's going to be talking about dispensary growth and digital customer experiences. And really diving into how to utilize technology to grow your business. Mosaic offers a all-in-one solution for loyalty and customer experience.
Jack has a wealth of information, a wealth of experience in business and starting businesses and building businesses. And really, I think he has a lot of great insights to share with dispensary owners about how they can really up their game when it comes to that digital customer experience, building a loyalty program, and how to engage your customers more effectively.
So I hope you enjoy this conversation with Jack Blaeser from Mosaic.
Tom Mulhern: Our guest today is Jack Blaeser, the founder and CEO of Mosaic, a company revolutionizing digital solutions for dispensaries with their industry first all in one branded app, payment, and loyalty platform.
He is a trailblazer in the tech and business sectors with vast experience as a CEO and board member across tech, software, insurance, and non profits.
So Jack, welcome to the Kaya Cast podcast. It's fantastic to have you on this show and I can't wait to learn more about you.
Jack Blaeser: Thank you, Tom. I appreciate you having me on the show.
Tom Mulhern: Yeah, well let's jump right in. Can you share a bit about your background and how did you end up in this crazy cannabis industry?
Jack Blaeser: For the last 20 plus years, I've been raising funds for startups and building startups around disrupting industries with technology. So I started to watch the cannabis space when states start to legalize cannabis and noticed that one, it's a big market, it's a market that's, has a potential to bring a lot of good in terms of, you know, wellness and health to individuals in terms of the economy and, and just really helping people in general.
Then when I looked a little bit closer at it, I noticed that. The technology was a real challenge for the folks in the industry, largely because these big companies and Amazon and others weren't ready to enter because of the federal legalization issue. So, technology wasn't there and having a technology background and seeing an opportunity to bring technology and solutions that could really help the businesses, in particular, the dispensaries and MSOs better connect with their customers.
Was a real opportunity to, to bring value there and build a business around.
Tom Mulhern: What is the disruptive technology that you guys are using at Mosaic to kinda, you know, tackle some of the issues and challenges within the industry?
Jack Blaeser: If you know that Starbucks app experience where as a customer, you can download an app or go online, order your coffee or whatever, be able to pick it up and gain loyalty points and all you know, that's a good experience for a lot of customers.
So that's what we're bringing.
We're making it possible for every dispensary MSO to have their own branded Starbucks like experience to better engage their customers to better able to help them in that sales process.
Tom Mulhern: So looking at, you know, the perspective of a dispensary,
what can they learn from, you know, the digital customer experience of a Starbucks or Taco Bell or CVS, like you're saying?
Jack Blaeser: The first thing I'd say is it's very hard in the cannabis industry because the technologies that are available are fragmented. Meaning that you got providers providing e-commerce solution, but different providers providing a loyalty solution and different providers providing a kiosk platform and then different providers providing payments.
So one of the things that we do is bring it all together and very easy to use platform. From a dispensary owner perspective or say a manager. The best thing to do is if you've used any of these apps like the Starbucks app you get it, you know, the value, you lived it, you see it.
And then you'll start to get an understanding of why it can be very valuable, not only to your ability to engage customers, but to minimize the overhead that you have. So customers can order online and come pick up a little bit less to do in the store for a bud tender.
Tom Mulhern: If there's a dispensary owner who is looking at their current customer experience and they're like, it's just not, it's not where it needs to be.
Jack Blaeser: What are some tips you would have for someone to work on making a better customer experience? Yeah. So my first suggestion, we do this as a business, but I'm sure it applies to dispensary, listen to your customers. Keep an open mind and where are they seeing, feeling and how are they reacting? What do they like and don't like? And that'll give you a little bit of direction on what you might be doing really well or what you could do better.
It does come down to leveraging good technology andevaluating your options and understanding what's going to work best for youand ultimately your customer.
That can make all the difference in the world. If you have an archaic or fragmented or technology stack, you can't necessarily, you can only go so far with that. Whereas, you know, there are better technologies and technology changes fast. So you always got to keep an eye on it, but if you can find the right technology.
And leverage that and then learn how to best utilize that technology. You'll get way ahead of everybody. You become, it's a competitive advantage. Like I'll mention Starbucks again, but you know, they become an industry icon because a large part of their technology. Investment and focus. And I know if you read about them, they spend well over a billion dollars on their technology and scaling it and leveraging that.
So,
Tom Mulhern: we see the opportunity there to really help customers in that way.What about for those dispensaries that are scaling from one location to multiple locations? How do you grow with them and, and help them create a customer experience in each of their shops?
Jack Blaeser: If you look at the playbook by Starbucks, you know, they've got tens of thousands of stores and they'll have one app, right? And they have one platform. So that consistency of experience across those stores is key for them. And the good experience, the user experience really is effective.
So for us. Our platform enables a dispensary very easily to launch all the capability that a big Starbucks or even a big MSO might have as an independent dispensary. But as you add more locations, those just become additional locations in the platform. So not only can it grow with you that way, but now it becomes even more powerful because you may have several locations in the same area.
Someone may be traveling, they may have friends, but now they can download a single app under your brand because it's a branded solution. It's not a marketplace that we provide for that dispensary or group of dispensaries MSO to leverage that brand across multiple locations in that same customer experience and to make it really easy for the end user again.
Tom Mulhern: How do you kind of approach the different types of cannabis users, you know, from those long time, maybe they've been in the illicit market to those new ones who are really canna curious. How does your approach kind of help every different type of customer that's out there?
Jack Blaeser: You know, I think the stores, the dispensaries, the retail operations are going after, the users that know cannabis and the ones that are willing to go into the shop to buy.
But there's 2 segments that are largely being, I won't say ignored, but not being pursued effectively because everyone's focused on that and they're fighting for that market that's a user who's willing to go into the cannabis store.
Number 1. are the other illicit users. I mean, well over 50 percent of the market in most states are illicit still, where it's legalized. They buy it because it's less expensive or, you know, that's how they've done it and they've got connections there. So how do you attract those and convert those users from illicit to pay a premium for the legal experience?
On the other side of it are all a huge group of people that want to maybe test it out the new users to adopt, you know, how do you get them to get comfortable with how it can help them? How do you educate them? How do you pull them into the space?
Those are two big challenges that I don't think people are tackling very well. And here's my suggestion amongst many, but the, the, the one area we can help is make it easier for them to kind of dip their toe or to add value to that experience.
because within our platform, you don't only show the product in a picture, but you can show video with a voiceover and other details about the product and how it helps you personally and educate the user and by kind of pulling them in that way and making it easier and more familiar. I think you can adopt those new users a little bit better and even give more value and more options to the folks that are buying on the illicit market.
So that's kind of the area that we think we can help that can make a really big push towards trying to get that open market that I don't see a lot of people fighting for necessarily yet.
Tom Mulhern: Have you seen any new, like, emerging technology trends that are happening in dispensaries that dispensary owners should keep an eye out for?
Data is what makes businesses unique and empowers them to make the right decisions and leverage technology better.
Jack Blaeser: The ability to take that data and then start to segment users into groups and then start to offer them
special pricing or promotions or offers or rewards is a good way to engage your customers better and keep them loyal and keep them from moving around to other competitors or back to illicit market. You get loyalty points and you have a program like that, that might pull in illicit users as well.
Then taking that data and being able to leverage it for marketing campaigns or, you know, direct email marketing or SMS marketing, like. That's, that's the gold right there and you have a great customer experience when they come in and then they leave and they're still getting that, you know, constant flow of an amazing experience.
Yeah. And then there's another trend around data and it sounds like it's a hyped term, but you know, ChatGPT. So we're already working with it and looking at how we apply machine learning, AI with the data to be smarter and eventually be able to provide, you know, personalized menus on an individual level and certainly personalized communications and offers to users.
So you can really hone in target on that user and what's going to drive their behavior and the most cost effective way for the dispensary and in a way that engages that user and gets them. You know, to buy the right products and more of the products.
Now, I'd like to kind of wrap it up with, you know, what is your number one tip for a business owner to grow or scale their business? You've been in a part of a lot of different businesses and a lot of different industries. what would you say is your number one tip for a business owner?
I come from a sales and marketing background initially, right out of school, and then I have gotten the opportunity to build businesses over and over it's the customer focus. It's understanding your customer and what's important to them and then being able to create that environment that really engages them and, and keeps them.
That can vary based on industry or even in cannabis, it can vary based upon, whatever location you're in and the type of customers you have around you versus another area or location. Obviously it varies by state. So that's number one is really understanding your customer. Because everything builds off that.
And then, you know, secondarily, as a person that always has tried to leverage technology to gain the competitive advantage and then build businesses to help others do that. I think it's really looking at technology and understanding how data and technology can give you that advantage. And that's probably an area where a lot of dispensaries maybe wish they had more expertise. You get that right, it makes your job so much better and easier and gives you a big advantage over everybody else around you. And you don't have to take my word for it.
Look at other industries and what Starbucks and others have done from that and why they've become so successful. There's case studies on it. So, you know, look at technology and how you can leverage it.
Tom Mulhern: How can people connect with you and connect with Mosaic and, you know, find out more about how you guys are really creating disruptive technology for this industry?
Jack Blaeser: Yeah, I'd love to talk to anybody who wants to learn a little bit more. I'm happy to do demos as well. Mosaic. green. Go there and check us out. If you want to reach out to me, feel free. It's a Jack.
Blaeser, B L A E S E R at Mosaic. Green. I'm happy to engage with anybody, share what we're doing. We've got great partners like KayaPush that we're happy to suggest to if you're looking for help in other areas that we don't provide today. The more we can help others, hopefully we can rise the tide for everybody together.
Tom Mulhern: Jack, this has been so fantastic. Thank you for taking the time to share that, you know, about Mosaic and what you're doing. And and for being, you know, a great partner with KayaPush. It's, it's awesome to see, unique solutions like what you guys offer. And to be a part of that.
Jack Blaeser: Thank you for being a great partner as well and the opportunity to get on your show. This has been fun. I love it. I love talking about this stuff and you make it so easy, Tom. So thank you.
Tom Mulhern: Once again, I want to thank Jack Blaeser for taking the time to be on the podcast. And, you know, he had so many fantastic insights into that digital customer experience for dispensary's and cannabis businesses.
Talking about creating a world-class experience with an all-in-one solution with an app and loyalty app. Is key.
If your customers are walking into your store and they've got a great experience when they walk in a beautifully designed store.
And, you know, they're able to access rewards and points and, and create that loyalty. That's the key to business.
And if you're able to harness the data. That is coming through those loyalty apps and your point of sale, your HR payroll system all of that, your entire tech stack, if it's all integrated into one. You are going to be so powerful and your business is going to grow and scale. So, thanks again, Jack, for sharing your insights.
I also want to remind you, it's not too late to vote for Kaya Cast and KayaPush for the Emjays Awards happening this November voting closes on October 15th.
So it's, we're, we're down to the wire. We need your help. We need those votes and you know, this would be huge. Also, if you're planning to go to MJ biz con. Hit us up. We've got a whole bunch of events happening. We'd love to meet you in person. And, you know, I'm going to be there. A bunch of members of our team are going to be there. Again, I want to thank you for listening to the podcast, subscribe and stay tuned for more conversations with business owners that are trying to launch scale and grow a cannabis business.
