DGCase study · Cannabis retail · Colorado Springs
How Elevations Dispensary went from under 200 to 2,209 Google reviews.
Not a one-off campaign — a repeatable system for reviews, listings, and local search that turned a well-loved local shop into the best-rated dispensary on the map for its area.
Results from Elevations Dispensary
Figures from Elevations Dispensary's Google Business Profile, as of November 2026. Donovan is the general manager and a part owner of Elevations. These are the store's results, not DG Marketing's own ratings.
The starting point
Elevations has been a Springs shop for more than 11 years at 8270 Razorback Road — medical and recreational, open every day. The product and the people were great. Google didn't show it. With fewer than 200 reviews, it looked like one more dispensary on the map.
In cannabis, Google Maps matters even more than for most businesses: almost every paid ad channel is off-limits, so the map pack is where new customers decide where to drive. If you're not in it, they drive past you to someone who is.
What we did
Five things, done every day, for long enough to compound.
- Made the Google Business Profile the storefront — categories, hours, services, photos, and description complete and accurate, so Google trusts the listing and shoppers get answers before they arrive.
- Built a review habit, not a review campaign — every happy customer gets a simple, same-day ask from the person who helped them. That's why Elevations' reviews are full of first names.
- Answered every review — good or bad. Replies show shoppers someone is listening and keep the profile active in Google's eyes.
- Kept business info consistent everywhere — name, address, phone, and hours matching across Google, Apple, Leafly, Weedmaps, Yelp, and the directories.
- Tracked what mattered — map-pack position, calls, direction requests, and review velocity every month, and adjusted based on what moved them.
Before & after
From one of many to best-rated in the Springs.
Colorado Springs · work ongoing since 2024 · figures as of November 2026, from the store's Google Business Profile.
- BeforeUnder 200 Google reviews
- BeforeLimited local search visibility
- BeforeNo structured review or listings system
- After2,209 reviews at a 4.9 rating
- AfterTop map-pack placement for its category (5-mi radius)
- AfterA repeatable review & listings system the staff runs daily
In customers' words
“Came in for the first time and literally every single person was so nice and helpful!”Laynee B. · Google review
“Elevations is the Hollywood of dispensaries.”Eric P. · Google review
Why this works for any local business
Restaurants, salons, caterers, and trades win on Google Maps the same way Elevations did: a complete profile, a steady stream of real reviews, fast replies, and consistent listings. None of it needs a big ad budget. It needs a system that runs every day — which is exactly what DG Marketing sets up and runs for you.
Disclosure: Donovan Gates, founder of DG Marketing, is the general manager and a part owner of Elevations Dispensary. This is where he built and proved the system DG Marketing now runs for clients.
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