Turn Sunshine Into Profits
Make your independent garden center the community authority on outdoor living with great selection, a trend-forward staff and a strong online identity.
One of my favorite spring rituals is visiting local garden centers to watch the hustle and bustle of gardeners planning their designs. There’s an almost palatable sense of hope and energy as buyers pick and choose their favorite flowers, vegetables, herbs and garden accessories and start to visualize their beautiful warm-weather outdoor living spaces.
With the exceptionally brutal winter most of the United States has endured this year, this spring could be especially profitable for garden centers as buyers are eager to get outside, celebrate renewal and welcome the sun. But how do you maximize that momentum and keep those customers especially Generation X and Y, who traditionally have little gardening experience coming back season after season?
The most effective way to ensure that your spring customers will return throughout the year is to perfect the customer experience so that they see your independent garden center as their one-stop source for gardening information, products, service and support. There are three main components of this customer-focused strategy that will help ensure your success: managing your inventory, exceptional customer service from trained employees, and marketing your services online and via social networking.
Get a Grip on Your Goods
No matter how beautiful your products or how well-trained and helpful your staff, not having enough product is the fastest way to send your customers straight into your competitors’ well-stocked arms. But ordering too much could leave you with overstock that you’ll either lose or be forced to sell at deep discounts that could cut into your bottom line.
It helps to know your inventory history and facts: What did you sell the most of last year and how quickly did you sell it? What are the hot outdoor living and gardening trends this year? How long does it take your suppliers to replenish your stock? What is the most product you can afford to buy this year?
Generally, it’s best to order a bit of reserve stock in case you need it, so you don’t lose customers or force them to compromise on their outdoor plans. If you have what they need, they’ll remember you later as the garden center with the great selection.
Cater to Your Customers
Think of yourself as part of a community hub. Your customers make up a community, a group of like-minded people who appreciate your product and service. So treat them this way. Make it possible, even desirable, for them to come to your garden for more than a few geraniums and a shade tree. For example, someone who comes in planning to buy begonias for their planters or urns might be delighted to learn how to mix in different annuals for a more dramatic and lush effect. Delivering unexpected results like this is one example of exceptional customer service that will keep your garden center top of mind with gardeners far and wide.
People also like to feel good about what they buy. Let your customers know if you take part in Partners in Education or a similar program with a grade school. Support national programs like the Bonnie Cabbage program, where every third-grade class in the nation is given cabbage plants to tend. Why not work with local schools and Bonnie to have teachers or parent volunteers come by your nursery to choose the plants? The press loves fun, light local stories like these. And getting parents, grandparents and teachers in your garden center could increase traffic and add-on sales.
Educate Your Staff
Are you hiring employees with gardening experience and knowledge? And are you training them on your products? Gardeners, particularly first-time gardeners, often look to local garden centers’ expertise to get helpful tips on planning, growing and cultivating their outdoor living spaces.
Stay up on the hot trends. I’ll tell you that you can bet on herbs and veggies being big again this year. Consider associating with a local chef or restaurant(or several of them!) for a series on herbs. Focus on growing them in small spaces and feature the chef or the food as part of the event. Partnering with a well-known eatery creates double the buzz.
Container gardening is still huge and will remain so. Weekend workshops on container gardening are a great way to bring in customers. Wow them with new plant varieties, loads of color and fliers with ideas they can take home. And make it convenient for them: Maybe they can bring their empty pots and you can return them with a finished design after the workshop with a minimum purchase.
Promote novel ideas, such as container landscaping with edibles like blueberries, figs and strawberries. It’s a fantastic look, both practical and novel. Plus, they’re perfect for kids! We grew gorgeous vegetables in patio containers last year. Rainbow Swiss chard stole the show, as well as the Black Beauty zucchini and peppers!
Make sure you promote all the fun special events at your facility and keep reminding your customers. Do this every way you can, including e-mail, direct mail and word of mouth. Buy ads in the local media to promote your workshops, seminars and gatherings well ahead of time. You’ll want all of your media (print, flyers, brochures and website) to have a similar look so that your customers will immediately recognize your brand and begin to get the idea that you are the “go-to” place.
Get Online
The hectic pace of today’s consumers prevents many of them from spending time working on their outdoor living spaces, especially people under 45 who could be balancing careers, home ownership and parenthood. Being able to reach them online 24/7 with your products, services, creativity and expert advice could help you attract and keep them as customers. Social networking is key to finding more customers just like them, and that will help sustain your growth.
Your website is a sort of front door to your garden center. Use it to showcase your creativity and products by filling it with gorgeous images and specifics on how to create those featured images. This will “invite them in” and provide ideas that will save them time and effort in designing their own spaces.
Also, use your website to establish your garden center as the trusted resource for outdoor living advice and tips. Publish columns and advice from your employee “specialists.” Spotlight new products and ideas that will spark your customers’ creativity. Include an online form for customers to submit questions, and publish the answers in a timely manner. You may also want to include online coupons on your website to drive both online and in-store traffic.
Finally, you’re no one online unless you’re a social marketer. With more than 400 million users, Facebook is an obvious choice for quick, easy and free marketing. Include links on your website inviting visitors to become a Facebook “fan,” and encourage them to share the ideas and experiences they’ve had with your garden center with their friend networks. In time, your business can go “viral,” exposing you to more and more customers each day and generating priceless name recognition for your garden center.
Creating an exceptional customer experience isn’t difficult. Just remember the things that keep you coming back to your favorite stores: selection, customer service and accessibility. With just a little extra effort, you can help your customers create an unforgettable outdoor living experience and perhaps even inspire a lifelong love of gardening for some of them. They’ll thank you for it and so will your bottom line.
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