FURTIVE COLLECTIVE

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the former director of the Los Angeles Patients & Caregivers Group. LAPCG is a medical marijuana dispensary and cannabis product retailer with smaller sister stores throughout the state.

What challenge were you trying to address with Furtive Collection?

Before the legalization of recreational use of cannabis, we contracted Furtive Collection to guide us through appropriate advertising methods and business positioning strategies. We wanted to be prepared once cannabis was legalized, but we needed outside assistance to help reduce the stigma surrounding our products through our advertising efforts.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The extent of Furtive Collection’s involvement can be segmented into three distinct tasks: staff training, conducting a retail intelligence program, and developing a marketing and social media strategy. Combined, their efforts worked to help us remain competitive and relevant in our industry.

We needed to properly train our staff so that each person was prepared to counsel a customer or guide them toward an appropriate cannabis product, without giving actual medical advice. Furtive Collection examined the market regulations and provided us with suitable materials to facilitate these training efforts.

Furtive Collection also coordinated a retail intelligence program, which involved them visiting competing dispensaries and determining their strengths and weaknesses. They also conducted polls of current cannabis users and why they chose their preferred dispensary, in addition to polling prospective cannabis users who were unsure about its benefits or how to start partaking.

Furtive Collection then identified methods for us to draw in consumers from competitors, as well as how to market our products to people that are interested in using cannabis as alternative medicine. We had to determine a way to make them feel safe in this environment. Part of these efforts included revamping our presence on Instagram and Facebook. We learned we had to diversify our social media methods because we were serving markedly different populations on each platform.

What is the team composition?

We worked primarily with a project manager and a researcher/copywriter.

How did you come to work with Furtive Collection?

BDS Analytics, which reports on the cannabis industry, recommended Furtive Collection to us. We had several meetings, and we were confident in their abilities.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April–June 2017.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I’m no longer at the company, and this occurred over a year ago, but I can see they were spot-on with all of their predictions and guidance. We usually focused our selling efforts around the traditional high-volume shopping days for cannabis products, but their insight helped us expand our goals and maximize our selling potential year-round.

How did Furtive Collection perform from a project management standpoint?

We initially hired them for pieces of marketing advice, but their portfolio and breadth of resources fostered a more prolonged engagement. They adapted well to all of the additions and changes we made to the original scope. They handled everything in stride as the project evolved.

What did you find most impressive about them?

In retrospect, I greatly appreciate their ability to forecast changes in our industry and their ability to understand my big-picture goals and deliver strategies that help us accomplish them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Furtive Collection was able to provide a trove of resources and tools, but it would have been valuable if they could have helped us implement many of these changes—training our staff themselves, for instance.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When I first hired Furtive Collection, I was sure I knew what I was hiring them for, and I wanted it to be clean and simple. They persuaded me to hear about their other services, and I wish I had done that sooner so that we could maximize our time together. They’re capable of so much more than I initially realized.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I own a company where I sell handmade candles. I had also sold clothing and accessories up until October but have decided to sell candles exclusively. We sell our products online and we also do wholesale.

What challenge were you trying to address with Furtive Collective?

My biggest business challenge at the time was deciding whether I wanted to continue doing the clothing and accessories, as well as the candles, or make a business shift and focus on just doing the candles.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Furtive Collective’s involvement was more about providing high-level strategy. They helped by giving me guidance and tips, but they didn’t actually have a hand in doing work for me. They gave me advice and suggestions on how to move forward with the business as a candle only company. They looked at my analytics on Google and gave me suggestions and strategies on how to use social media and how to identify my target market better.

How did you come to work with Furtive Collective?

My husband is pretty good friends with Furtive Collective’s founder, Evan, and because I had these business questions, my husband connected me with them. I didn’t search for any other companies because of the personal connection with Furtive Collective.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in March 2016 and we had several meetings between then and May.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Last year, if people purchased anything from the fashion part of the company, I’d be normally selling about one candle along with the customer’s order, and it would typically be a purchase under $50. Since we switched to just doing candles, I usually get two to three candles per order and the sales have gone up from over $50 to $100 on average. So, it’s basically doubled. This result is primarily due to the change we had in target customers. When we did away with the clothing and accessories, which were more low-end products, we also got rid of the lower-end customers. By focusing on the candles, which are higher-end products, we’ve elevated the type of clientele as well. Also, trimming down the selection has made it a lot easier for customers to make a choice, rather than having to go through pages and pages of products.

How did Furtive Collective perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very good at getting back to me and being available to answer questions. It was such a big change for the short amount of time that we consulted. Within those two months, they were able to get my analytics and lay out the strategy. Once given the information, I was able to make a more informed choice. Since I was pretty sure about the direction I wanted to go, I acted on the suggestions they gave me. Then, I worked with the web development team to rebrand and get a new website going.

What did you find most impressive about Furtive Collective?

Their availability and quick responses were impressive. They were also very good with time management. The meetings were not prolonged by unnecessary discussions. Even though I paid by the hour, I knew I wasn’t getting charged extra for mere chit chat. They were very efficient and knowledgeable. They presented other strategies that they’ve used with other clients. So, all of those things gave me the confidence in making my decision. Knowing that it worked for other companies, I knew it could work for me too.

Are there any areas Furtive Collective could improve?

No. I was pretty happy with the service.