January 2013

St. Louis Cues – Part 2

From Cleveland to Chicago to St. Louis, the Midwest is a garden center hotbed. We head on down I-55 to see the greener side of St. Louis.

How to Reconnect Your Customers to Nature

Make it your job to let them know you're there for them to take a stroll, spend their lunch break, indulge the senses, Annie Kirk says. Make them aware that you're "invested in their well being ... and that you have an inventory that can make that happen."

The Transformational Consumer

I'm not suggesting that we don't need to develop programs and services that focus individually on Gen Y'ers or Boomers, but think of the power of what you can achieve if we focus on the commonalities they all share!

Putting the “Green” in Greenscape

Jennifer Schamber of Greenscape Gardens is full of great ideas. Here are five of her coolest, most local and earth-friendliest yet.

Health Concerns

A quick Google search for "health benefits of plants" can muster up 12,500,100 results in 0.29 seconds. Despite the fact this kind of compelling information about your products (indoor or outdoor) is so readily available, we can't trust consumers to find it on their own.

St. Louis Cues

From Cleveland to Chicago to St. Louis, the Midwest is a garden center hotbed. With another holiday season in the books, we head on down I-55 to St. Louis to highlight the area's retail know-how.

Let Me Explain… The Five Elements of Small Business Success

Originally starting with 16, Rick Segel looked at the most successful businesses he's worked with in the past and refined his list to five elements of small business success.

2013: Year of Uncertainty

Uncertainty? It's not going away, so get ready and be prepared to deal with it better than the other guy!

Space Savers

As consumers continue to struggle with busier schedules, smaller spaces and brown thumbs, we look at three possible solutions — bulbs, berries and fairies.

The Harley-Davidson Effect

It's time to reframe the discussion around relevance.

The Taste of Success

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams of Columbus, Ohio, is a small company with some big ideas to help get your business to the next level.

Simpler Times

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.