January 2013

Simpler Times By Pete Mihalek

Baby boomers. Generation X. Generation Y. Millenials. Connect with one, but don’t alienate the others.

I, for one, have had my fill of all this generational talk. We’re all well aware Baby Boomers are getting older and Millenials can only function with a smartphone glued to their hand.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could make 2013 not about the glaring differences between the generations and how to appease each and every one of them, but rather how to fill in the gaps and find business approaches that work well despite a customer’s age?

But how?

Well, I’ve always been an advocate for making things simple. Maybe that’s a great place to start.

retail therapy

The article “Space Savers” on page 22 features ideas for consumers who love plants but struggle with limited greenspace. In it, retail editor and expert Jason Loper, www.ApartmentTherapy.com, kicks the article off with a little common sense:

“A display that is over-styled or complicated might turn off a customer who would think, ‘Oh, I could never do that at home.’ Whereas a display that seems easy and natural may inspire a customer to think, ‘I can do that!'”

From half-built how-to displays to streamlined bullet points on signage, it’s about making gardening success believable, achievable and convenient. If you do that, you’ll have Generation “You-name-it” eating out of the palm of your hand.

And remember, nowadays, consumers have so much noise going on in their heads — Facebook, debit or credit, Twitter, puppies, Netflix queues, dry cleaning, work presentations, grocery shopping. For 2013, don’t complicate things by adding to the confusion.

pat on the back

Since the last time we crossed paths, Lawn & Garden Retailer received a nice pat on the back — something Mom could brag about over the holidays. We were notified that Lawn & Garden Retailer and its sister publication, GPN, were both medalists in Folio magazine’s highly-respected Eddie Awards competition. Folio is the magazine for people who publish magazines and the Eddie Awards recognize “excellence in outstanding magazine editorial and design.”

Both publications were honored for “Best Full Issue” in their respective categories. Lawn & Garden Retailer‘s May 2012 issue was recognized with a silver award.

And on behalf of the Lawn & Garden team, I just wanted to thank the expert contributors — Vicki Nowicki, Sid Raisch, Stan Pohmer, Jeanne Pinsoff Nolan and Jonn Karsseboom — who helped make that issue a real winner.

Our Custom Media Division was also honored recently by the Custom Content Council in the 2012 Pearl Awards competition, which recognized our Custom Media Division’s Creative Garden Retailer custom print and digital magazine produced for Suntory.

All in all, great news to help bring one busy year to a close and get excited about the unlimited possibilities in the year to come. From our team to yours, we hope you have a safe and wildly successful 2013.