The Rest of the Story

In last month's cliffhanger column, we devoted a good portion of the text to a math problem. For those who might have missed it, and as a refresher for those who might have forgotten it, I cited some frightening notions from the book, "The Great Depression Ahead," by author/economist/demographer Harry S. Dent.

In a nutshell, Dent opined that the retail realm is in for a world of hurt —for now and for the foreseeable future—because of a changing of the shopping guard. Out as primary buyers are the some 75 million Baby Boomers who had supported the economy vigorously for the better part of two decades. Replacing them are the some 41 million Generation Xers, who have become the folks now most likely to frequent the mall/grocery stores/car dealerships/garden centers.

DO THE MATH ... It doesn't take a PhD to realize that if the composite groups spend exactly the same, per capita, that spending in general will be WAY DOWN. And that isn't exactly what retailers want to hear these days, especially retailers in our market, where you've have had to battle weather woes for two years now, to boot.

So, what do you do as a garden center operator in response to this significant commercial challenge? Glad you asked. I did some asking myself, of industry folks who actually had a good year in 2010. No, there weren't many of them, but here's what they said worked:

• Your highest priority is to make sure more people visit the store, so every marketing effort should be made with this goal in mind. Meanwhile, your second-highest priority is to make sure people in the store spend more than they did previously, so every merchandising effort should be made with this goal in mind.
   
• Speak the language of the customer. You must be fluent in Facebook, Twitter and social media in general. You can't survive with the current numbers; find a way to increase them by tapping modern communication methods your customers prefer.
   
• Sell things none of the competition sells. And be sure you have a woman buyer find those things for the store. Women shop the store; women need to buy for the women who shop the store.
   
• "Fun up" your place. Destination retail establishments are the only ones that win today. You can't just brag about customer service and quality products. You MUST create dynamic reasons for people to visit.
   
• Don't be a garden center; be a "solution center." And make sure your customers know you are the "solutions center."
  
   
• Work harder than the competition. That one never fails, regardless of circumstance.