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As I write this, the daffodils are fading, the grass needs mowing, and the lovely pink apple-blossom-like flowers of our quince ‘Toyo Nishiki’ are shouting “Spring is here.” I, like many people in this industry, am excited, just waiting for the buds to burst and another year’s beauty to unfold.
But while we say, “Game on,” another group of people, much more numerous than we garden-folk, says, “Oh no, here we go again.”
 Years ago I was discussing with a leading industry business demographer the relatively small spending done each year on lawn and garden products by American homeowners. He smiled and said, “When it comes to gardening, there are three basic types of homeowners: (1) the “Wow it’s spring” group, (2) the “OK, I’m going to try again” group, and (3) the “Darn it, do I have to?” group. “Unfortunately,” he added, “the third group outweighs the other two, and unless we can turn them on, we will always be a small industry.”
Much has been written about how we need to engage the next generation shopper to help her to feel comfortable in our stores and confident in her shopping decisions. If you take a look at the question and responses to the left you’ll have a pretty good feel for what we’re up against.
This one box tells us in a simple, concise way their fears, perceptions, aspirations and expectations. Each “If” is a cry for help from people who don’t know how to overcome that particular fear or challenge. This survey tells us that people who don’t garden routinely perceive that our products and projects are time-consuming, expensive (huh?), and tied to hard work. And the responses tell us that consumers are begging for how-to information and simple success “recipes.”
That noted, I thought I should run through the list, challenging us as an industry and as individuals, to judge how we measure up—and to show what we may have to do offset these fears to win customers for life.
PERCEPTION CHALLENGES:
“No time.”
Do your customers know you have ready-planted containers and window boxes? Do you shout about herbs big enough for tonight’s pesto sauce? How about bags of perfect soil ready to cover that ragged garden patch or all those pre-mixed, ready-to-use remedies?
Are you talking up herbicides that last for months, perennials that return for years, plants with weeks of vase life and clever hoses that slowly “drool” on their veggies so they don’t need extensive watering?
Do you sell, by the flat, spring bulbs in full flower so people can scrape away the snow/mud and pop them in for Easter? Do you show plant groupings of “Garden Ready” options, and do you tout them with signage that says “Plant A Hummingbird Feeder” or “Fragrance this Weekend”? How about creating a spot devoted to “Weekend Project Ideas” complete with all the products they’ll need to “Cover that air conditioning unit” or “Decorate the Deck”?
See, you all know this stuff, and you all carry this stuff!
“No money.”
My first response to this one might be, “You are kidding!,” but we have to recognize the consumer’s position—and respond accordingly.
I’ve written before about this; high cost is a perception based on two things: the money they remember spending compared to what they’re asked to spend today, and the price of your “Known Value” lines. If your basic 4-inch geranium is $2 more than the guy down the street, your red Knock Out rose is $7 over his price, and your lawn food costs double what the competition charges, the public will assume that everything you carry is expensive.
Competitive pricing will help address the money issue, but you also have to connect the dots through educational messages at point-of-sale such as “Feed the birds for pennies a week,” “Fresh salads at a fraction of grocery store prices,” or “Orchids that bloom for months for less than a bunch of flowers.” Do you display (and provide take-home info sheets for) timers, drip irrigation, plant frames, weed mats, starter fertilizer, Osmocote and snail bait? Do you display all these with the 4-inch color as a Flower Garden Success Kit with its own fixed price? All garden centers in this day and age should always have something on sale, or bundled for an attractive price.
You can market 6-foot arborvitae in this manner: “Hide the neighbors for $99.” That represents an immediate value to many. Not enough places use bundling or volume buys, or spell out the specials, or have at least one item on sale in each department every week (charging the reduced margin dollars to the marketing budget).
“No Space.”
Coming from England, where postage-stamp gardens are the norm, I would not have considered this challenge at all, but again we can respond very easily. Retailers should be developing whole new themes of Small Space Gardening with smaller varieties, and/or the very trendy vertical gardening concept. And anyone can come up with creative ways to use containers or décor that become statement-makers in small areas.
I don’t believe most consumers have any idea how much can be done in patio containers or even on a balcony. As already mentioned, we have to educate and strut our stuff with merchandising and education so people can indeed grow salsa on their balcony, potatoes in a wine barrel or Arugula on a windowsill.
“It’s hard work.”
Many of us have a “nursery back,” and we know tending the garden can be hard work. So why not promote the tools, gizmos, techniques and new plants now available to reduce the physical efforts (and injury) once inevitable when digging, pushing a mower or pruning roses? Buyers should be looking for items that reduce the work involved, and salespeople must learn to sell them as “Mother Nature’s Helpers,” with tips on avoiding backache, blisters and thorns.
For every negative perception, the best response is “Product Knowledge” training that shows the benefits of all the goods you offer to address each respective challenge. Pre-emergent herbicide reduces weeds, but, so what? That’s not the selling point. The big “KA-Ching” is that pre-emergent herbicide means fewer weeds to pull and therefore… less backache!
“It’s complicated. I need help.”
Today’s consumers tend to see gardening as a series of projects like growing fresh herbs, feeding the birds or fixing the fence. Projects can be short or long, but have an end goal. There is a huge opportunity for our industry to re-present existing products, suitably signed, simplified and bundled, as answers to the customers’ goals. This will connect their dots and simplify the projects so much more effectively than self-service box stores.
Here’s another way to address the issue of over-complication: Do a better job of interpreting boring information from suppliers. For example, you can market “Ground Cover,” but the term is still very much under-appreciated. Instead, sell ground cover by the square foot and bill it like this: “This flat of plants should cover 100 square-feet of ground in two years – no more weeding!.” That shows, in vivid terms, just how well you can meet a customer need.
Do you feature themed “project bundles” such as wreaths, berries, ribbons, lights and an extension cord for an instant fall makeover? Or a cache pot, an orchid, Spanish moss, a ribbon and a gift card? Do you group dense shrubs as “privacy plants” or Knock Out roses as no-mess, no fuss roses, or Osmocote as “Feed and Forget” fertilizer?
Do you have quick-sketch plans with products bundled for the top 10 projects you get asked about? Like plants for around the fire pit, safe plants for toddlers or pets, hiding an ugly fence (or neighbor!) or windy corners, etc.? It’s not complicated to us, it’s all in our minds and experience, but we have to re-orient our retail practices to think like a customer (nice phrase, hmm).
Fear of failure is frequently suggested as a reason why consumers don’t spend very much and seem shy to get involved. Helping them win just a small victory will reduce that fear and give confidence. Success creates loyalty, period.
If you still don’t think that helping people figure it out is a winning strategy, take a look at Ace Hardware, which competes in EVERY department EVERY day with the big-box stores. Ace’s “Helpful Place” message has been an absolute winner and the company thrived, even as housing ground to a halt. What was once a smart slogan has become a part of Ace’s culture, and it has created huge loyalty.
Ace stayed relevant to a changing consumer also crying for help. Will you?
Contributing editor Ian Baldwin offers other useful ideas in his “TLC … Think Like Customers” sales training program, available at www.ianbaldwin.com.
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