 Yale Youngblood |
Way back when, I was preparing a speech for a certain sector of the industry, putting the last touch on my presentation in my hotel room literally minutes before my name was to be called as “our next speaker …”
Because I believe strongly in the power of technology, I chose not only to open my talk with a note on the subject, but to focus two entire segments on the effects of technology, particularly as they relate to the gardening industry.
As I dotted the last “i” and crossed one more “t” at my hotel desk, I became convinced that this might be the best seminar outline I had ever prepared.
And it might have been … had half of my audience not been Amish.
Yeah, my “Pong” story—recalling my official introduction to the computer world —didn’t go over nearly as well as I had hoped, and I just nixed completely the tale about my first brush with text messaging (or, my f b w/ tm, for you who are fluent in the language).
That gaffe notwithstanding, I do believe in the evolutionary process that transported us from rotary dial to “My Faves” and from channels 4, 5, 8 and 11 to a television channel just about television (among 1,000-plus channels in all). Technology has given a sense of urgency to practically every facet of our lives, including the garden.
But that’s the catch: That gaffe was very “withstanding.” I had committed a cardinal sin of marketing: failing to connect my message with my audience. Consequently, it never gained traction with a good portion of the folks to which it was devoted.
This month, columnist Chad Harris addresses the subject of marketing in the third installment of The Success Series, our veritable survival guide for prudent-thinking garden center operators looking to craft the perfect retail store. Actually, “addresses” probably doesn’t do justice to Chad’s missive on page 52. He dissects, explores and deeply delves into this oh-so-important facet of day-to-day operation and ultimately shows how marketing isn’t merely important, but vital to helping a store reach its potential.
There will be a test on this
After you’ve finished taking Chad’s latest “class,” you’ll know when guerilla marketing best suits your needs—and how to take social marketing from a nice concept to which everyone is paying lip service to a practical, profitable application that keeps your store top of mind with your customers.
You’ll learn why and when print marketing works, and you’ll get a better grasp of just what kind of online marketing serves as a virtual revolving door to your garden center. You’ll even discover a way to pay for all of the above so that your investment pays back. Chad’s bottom line is this: Marketing done well is several parts AND a tidy sum.
And that’s something that connects with practically any audience.
yyoungblood@gie.net
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