Your GMB profile is what shows up on Google Maps, it’s an often overlooked tool in a retailer’s marketing arsenal. Google likes to suggest their own products like maps & videos in search results, you’ve probably seen the proverbial “Map Pack” when searching for service providers yourself.

Give it a shot, search “Dispensaries near me” and you’ll see the map pack for yourself.

Being in that top 3 to 5 results can lead to thousands of visits to your business & your website, so it’s worth putting in the extra effort to get results with these Dispensary GMB Tips.

In no particular order, these dispensary GMB Tips will help you maximize the value of your Google Maps profile

Claim it. Sounds dumb, but you’d be surprised how many businesses simply haven’t claimed their GMB profile, or worse yet, someone else has claimed it and is using it inappropriately.

• Encourage reviews as much as possible. Your social reputation is one of the most important factors in deciding which profile to show on top of another one, it’s not the only factor, but it’s a big one.
• Reply to reviews, all of them. Not just with the same suggested formulaic reply, sound like an actual human being.
• Don’t ignore the bad reviews, they’re the most important. You’ll always get some unreasonable people, but showing that you reached out to try to solve the issue shows people that you’re listening and care. It can also be a very valuable canary in the coal mine of your business, alerting you to training, staffing or customer service protocols that might need tightening internally to improve your customer service experience.
• Use all the media features available. Google lets you upload things like your logo & store images, but they don’t stop there. There are spots for products, staff, inside, outside, 360 views… use them all if you can and use high-quality produced media, don’t just upload some crooked picture from your phone.
• 360 photos of the inside of your business are a particularly powerful hack. With over 15K views and counting, you can be sure that Mary Janes Store has benefited from being able to visit virtually. Try for yourself, drag the photo below around with your mouse.

More dispensary GMB tips:

• Matterport, or one of the other recognized systems for creating virtual tours is another, more high-end place to find professionals to get you the best quality 360 tours. The real estate industry is often where you’ll find these people as home tours are their bread and butter.
• More good Dispensary GMB tips are to connect with Google Maps Contributors called Guides, who can be useful in sourcing photography, reviews & in some cases, 360 photography. Pro Tip – use the  Local Guides Connect site that Google Runs to connect with local guides.
• Offers & Events are both valuable areas that are worth using on a regular basis. Obviously do it with sensitivity to the regulations but do leverage them to promote your loyalty program, new client offer or other things that are NOT “buy the best skunk here” (as tempting as that is). You want to keep it generic and PG, but it doesn’t mean you can’t use it.

In summary, you should ensure that you’re actively managing your business profile on Google Maps as it’s one that is often overlooked and underutilized. Remember that Google owns it, so they’ll always show it preferential treatment over other data sources.

That means the work seeds that you plant today will keep on growing, month after month & year after year.