Emerging Thought Leadership from USCC Reveals Urgent Need for Consumer Research in the Cannabis Space

SoapBoxSample Announces the Launch of a New Cannabis Consumer Research Service

As competition heats up in the cannabis market, what factors will determine whether brands can survive “the green rush”?  One clear takeaway emerged from thought leaders at the US Cannabis Conference (USCC) in Phoenix last week – know your customers; they may not be who you think they are.

Business owners, investors and experts gathered at the USCC for an event focused on the new era of cannabis. SoapBoxSample led a session in partnership with Jupiter Research and ProGrowTech titled, “Will You Survive the Green Rush?” The session focused on how consumer research can help companies get the right message to the right audience at the right time. At the start of the session, Jacqueline Rosales, SoapBoxSample COO, took questions from the audience that were sent out to respondents in real time, providing attendees with immediate feedback from real consumers.

SoapBoxSample presented data collected from cannabis consumers – much of what they uncovered contrasted with current assumptions. One example was the startling statistic that while 1/3 of cannabis consumers are purchasing in dispensaries, only 12% trust dispensary employees as a source of information about new products. Companies that distribute their products in dispensaries left the event with a clear directive that opportunities to educate consumers are being left on the table.

To demonstrate their commitment to cannabis research and their passion for the cannabis industry, SoapBoxSample announced the launch of their new product — a bi-weekly survey of cannabis consumers built around the research needs of growing cannabis businesses. Clients will be able to tap into a custom-built resource, ask questions, and access insights – all at a low cost.

Kaila Strong, Dir. of Marketing for Jupiter Research, a vaporizer technology company, urged business leaders to take a more conscious approach in their marketing. “This type of research is useful for product testing, product development, allocation of budget and also our own internal understanding,” said Kaila. “The golden rule of marketing is that you don’t assume that you are your consumer.”

Andrew Myers, CEO of ProGrowTech, a company that builds high-end lighting solutions for large-scale grow operations emphasized the importance of research for his company as they move into direct-to-consumer sales and unveil new products for 2019.

Brands that are able to gather feedback from their customers in order to improve their products and marketing are the ones that will survive and emerge as leaders in the industry. “People are invested in this space because they believe in it, and they’re passionate about it,” said Jacqueline Rosales.

Read Another Cannabis News Release – Age, Gender Play a Role in Cannabis Consumer Habits

The Culture Connection

This article originally appeared in the August 2018 issue of Quirks Magazine – Special Feature Faces of Market Research.

Authentic Leadership and Team Building Expert

Five years ago, when Jacqueline Rosales was faced with the enormous task of building a startup from scratch, she decided to start with an aspect of company-building that many leaders don’t tackle at all. She wrote the company ethos. Known as the Telltale Ten, these are the ten guiding principles that became the basis for the establishment and rapid growth of SoapBoxSample.

“I realized the first step was really to focus on what type of company I wanted to build. That’s what I was most excited about. You can be smart, skilled, and experienced, but if you are not willing, able, and genuinely pumped about working for a company that embodies these ten principles, then I am sorry (not really), you can’t play with us,” said Jacqueline.

Flash forward to today, SoapBoxSample has 45 full-time employees. They’ve expanded their product offerings to include a Full Service division, Passive Metering, and Mobile Missions and have integrated the operations of icanmakeitbetter, an Insight Community Platform.

Jacqueline attributes the company’s success to her staff. While her staff says it’s her authentic leadership style. “If you hire the right people, you can overcome any obstacle. They dive growth and success. My goal is to charm them enough that they want to become integral parts of a greater whole.”

In 2015, Jacqueline began documenting her entrepreneurial journey – both in and out of the office, in her blog, The Telltale Ten. Popular posts include No Budget Isn’t an Excuse for No Brains, So You Want to Be the Boss? and Yay, My Kid is Not a Jerk.

U.S. Hispanic Holiday Shopping Trends

We polled members of MySoapBox to find out how people are giving and gifting this holiday season. This year we focused on Hispanics  – the fastest growing consumer segment in the U.S.

 

SoapBoxSample Announces Two Promotions Following Year-Long Hiring Initiative

Newly appointed Vice President and Senior Research Director Promoted from Within

After a year of strong growth resulting in major hiring initiatives throughout 2017, SoapBoxSample announced the promotion of two employees. Mike Chavarria has been promoted to Vice President of Business Development and Valerie Hanson has advanced to Senior Research Director. Both are effective immediately.

Mike has an extensive background in Market Research with over 10 years in the industry. In his role as Director of Business Development since 2014, he has distinguished himself as an expert in high touch research approaches, including Insight Communities, Mobile Research, and Digital Passive Metering.

Valerie was the first employee of SoapBoxSample’s Full Service department. She joined the company in 2014 following the acquisition of CickIQ. Valerie’s vast experience and in depth knowledge of client of key client’s business, has continued to result in year of year account growth.

Over the last year SoapBox has been on a hiring kick, and has increased the staff by 25% since January. Last month, SoapBox celebrated their 5-year anniversary.

Jacqueline Rosales, COO, commented, “SoapBoxSample’s staff expansion allows the company to focus on optimizing new products and services while continuing to provide high-quality, customized solutions for our clients. The addition of new talent, along with the incredible success rate of internal advancement and promotions has allowed us to build an amazing staff.”

Over the course of 2017, SoapBoxSample has been focused on adding enhancements to MySoapBox Meter, their Passive Metering technology. MySoapBox Meter tracks consumers’ step-by-step interactions as they move across the digital world. Clients can build a detailed roadmap of the path to purchase without disrupting the process.

In 2016, the SoapBoxSample and icanmakeitbetter (ICMIB) operations were integrated following the acquisition of ICMIB by SoapBox’s parent company ISA. With the addition of Insight Community platform capabilities, SoapBoxSample now offers an even more diverse portfolio of products.

SoapBoxSample Adds Industry Specialist to Team

Anthony Bean Joins the Sales Team as Senior Account Executive

March 14, 2017, Los Angeles, CA – SoapBoxSample, part of the ISA family of companies, announced today an expansion of their sales division. Anthony Bean will join the team as a Senior Account Executive. In this role, he will manage client accounts and build relationships with key industry players to achieve aggressive sales goals for 2017.

Bean says: “I’m thrilled to be able to join the SoapBoxSample team. The company is well-regarded within the market research industry making some bold moves over the past few years to lead the way in new methods to solve client problems. I’m really looking forward to this opportunity to work with SoapBoxSample’s expansive portfolio of products and services to deliver world-class solutions to our clients.”

Anthony is a result-oriented team player with 12 years of experience under his belt. Most recently from Toluna, Bean’s background includes positions with Harris Interactive and J.D. Power and Associates. He has distinguished himself in the Market Research industry with his extensive expertise across automotive, financial, film industry sectors and his community solutions awareness.

Jacqueline Rosales, SoapBoxSample Chief of Operations, added “We require talent who can ask the tough questions of clients and really understand the core of their business to recommend the best approach and combination of methodologies. We are super excited for Anthony to join the team. With the changing landscape of research, our clients need forward-thinking thought partners and Anthony has had great success building relationships on this premise.”

SoapBoxSample’s continual staff expansion allows the company to focus on optimizing new products and services while continuing to provide high-quality, customized solutions for their clients. In 2016, the SoapBoxSample and icanmakeitbetter (ICMIB) operations were integrated following the acquisition of ICMIB by SoapBox’s parent company ISA. With the addition of insight community platform capabilities, SoapBoxSample now offers an even more diverse portfolio of products.

Last year SoapBoxSample added multiple new capabilities to its product lineup. MySoapBox Meter seamlessly collects behavioral data from PC, mobile and tablet devices, gathering a holistic view of a consumer’s path to purchase. SoapBoxSample also expanded their mobile missions’ features last year, by enhancing their mobile app MySoapBox Mobile. The app captures respondent’s digital journeys in real-time. Respondents can upload photos and videos securely through the app, to a cloud-based storage solution. MySoapBox TV stores respondent’s photos and videos, which clients can easily view, tag and edit.