Pohmer

How to start your day off with successes and build on it

April 2024
How to start your day off with successes and build on it

Can you relate to this? You’re enjoying your first cup of coffee of the day before you head to work, and, because you have so much you want to accomplish today, you grab your smartphone... more »

February 2024
Strong leadership breeds success: Are you ready to step up?

At retail garden centers, change is constant; it’s an integral component of your business’s DNA. But the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated and intensified the scope, depth and rapidity of the changes we faced — some government-mandated,... more »

November/December 2023
What will give you the most juice for the squeeze?

You’ve heard this before, but it’s even more critical in today’s hyper-competitive world: If you’re not changing, you’re losing ground, especially as your competitors (including both the IGCs and non-GCs in your market) are fighting... more »
stock greenhouse

September/October 2023
Headwinds or tailwinds as 2024 approaches

It never ceases to amaze me that any three people in our industry can view the same data and situation and interpret this information differently, each of the three arriving at different conclusions and plans... more »
Expert tips for setting customer expectations

July 2023
6 expert tips for setting customer expectations

Consumers have almost unlimited choices on where and when they can spend their money. Brick and mortar and online, products and services, necessities and experiential (things like travel and entertainment) are all viable options for... more »

June 2023
The importance of treating garden center customers as guests

A few fundamental questions for you to ponder: Are you selling plants or providing solutions and fulfilling the needs and expectations of your customers? Are you in a transactional mindset, selling one plant at a... more »

May 2023
What’s your focus: How to differentiate the vital from the trivial in your business

Productivity isn’t necessarily about how many things you get done every day, but rather how many of the right things — the things that add the most value to your customers and your business —... more »
While returning customers are most valuable, you’ll always need new customers to expand your base and continue to build growth opportunities.

April 2023
Reaching new customers — while keeping the current ones

As an industry, we were blessed during the pandemic when our sales and profits exploded, thanks to both existing customers who were flush with cash and more leisure time, and an estimated 16+ million new... more »
Salwitz Dirty Secrets A Training Map for Uncharted Territory

March 2023
Tips for identifying your staff’s top talents

A few years ago, I worked with a garden center owner on a strategic repositioning and, since it was their fiscal year end, they were in the process of giving annual performance reviews to their... more »

February 2023
Steps for Improving Your Business

Winters get pretty dang cold in my home state of Minnesota. Whether you’re a transplant to the state as I am, or you're native born, the winters are long, and you have to make a... more »
Suburban Lawn and Garden Kansas Cityy shopping green goods

November/December 2022
Don’t Let Commodities Ruin Your Season

As I write this in mid-September, the economic climate is tense and uncertain and, as a result, retailers are having trouble planning for the fall/winter 2022 holiday and spring 2023 seasons. As Wayne Gretzky would... more »

September/October 2022
The Power of Engagement

Engagement…the act or process of creating emotional involvement or commitment. What a powerful word, one that we use all the time in many different situations. There’s a couple’s engagement, making an emotional commitment and agreement... more »