Make new work for you

Garden centers have become incredibly diverse in the spectrum of retail environments, certainly not what they used to be. The roadside stand with a few flats of annuals and bags of top soil perched upon make-shift plywood tables is a thing of the past. There are new varieties coming out what seems to be every day, and it's almost impossible to know what you should order, and what the latest, hottest trend is going to be. Is the fad for spring going to be a simple "Moonlight" theme of all crisp whites and dark greens, or is it going to be a chaotic mixture of textures and colors? No one has a crystal ball to tell him the answer, but we can use past experiences to predict the future, and that could be our saving grace when ordering time comes around.

Sometimes, we nurserymen (and women) get so wrapped up in trying to keep up with the trends that we forget to go back to our roots. Life in the garden center business hasn't always been so complicated, and there is no need to reflect the complexity of your order forms onto your tables. More likely than not, your customer will be content looking at five different well-thought-out selections of this year's "Hottest New Annual" as opposed to one flat of every single color. Your store will look more like a hodge podge if you load your tables with color galore. Your customer won’t know that it's a new plant, even if you do have the POP signage to prove that it is, in fact, the latest and greatest thing.

The approach that should be taken to simplify the ordering process and keep your tables organized is as simple as VIPER: Visualize, Implement, Price, Entice and Reward.

Visualize
While looking over all the literature and order forms, visualize who your customers are. You should know your customers and their shopping habits well. Many garden centers will have a devoted clientele, whether it be the "traditional" older customers or hip youngsters. Try to think back to what interactions you might have made with them over the last selling season. Did they seem like the cutting edge type of gardeners? Did they ask what's new and exciting, or did they ask for what you had last year?

This will make a huge impact on what you should order. If you find that your target is more adventurous, make a note of that on your orders, but don't go overboard. A little bit goes a long way when introducing new plant material. Most people will look at something different and immediately think "I've not seen that before, it must be hard to grow." This is not the kind of mentality that will move product. Give them tried and true varieties, but maybe select a few different colors that you haven't carried in years past. Believe it or not, if your customers are loyal, they will notice this.

Make sure to visualize where it's going to fit in your store. Are you going to have room to accommodate these new varieties? Overbuying just because something is new is a recipe for disaster and a loss of profits. If you want to push the newness of something as a selling point, make sure to integrate it into your already set up sales floor. People will look to what they know before they wander looking for the unknown.

Implement
With new varieties coming out, it is crucial to know what effect the plant is going to have on the sales of your other stock. If you get the newest heat-tolerant geranium, for example, make sure you adjust the rest of your ordering accordingly. You will have to adjust your numbers to reflect the increase in others, such as getting less of the "old-fashioned" geraniums. You will also find that there are going to be other issues that will arise such as special light or size requirements. Some new plants are only going to be available in a certain size pot. For example, the 'Endless Summer' hydrangea will need more space than say a 'Little Lime' - Hardy Hydrangea. Make the difference apparent and educate your sales staff as to the benefits of the new plant.

A little signage goes a long way when it comes down to the implementation of new varieties as well, but be cautious. You never want to place new plant material next to old plant material and have a sign in front of it knocking the old variety. This will cause your old plants to sit stagnant, due to the fact there is a big warning sign sitting next to them. Avoid words such as "improved" or "better", and use "unique" instead. Old plants will still move, and the new ones will be marked with a seal of approval.

Price
Place your new varieties in a location that the world can see, but don't make the customer pay more for what is new. Although the newest variety might cost a little bit more in the short term, it's well worth it in the long run. Price them competitively with the existent varieties that you carry. If you start gouging people on what's new, chances are the customer will take the mentality of, "Well, the old variety did well last year, why should I pay more?"Most of the time, price drives what sells and what doesn't, and unlike other markets, like automobiles or clothing, people aren't interested in paying twice as much for what's "new."

Pricing should also be very apparent in front of the new product, even more so than in front of old product. If something is eye-catching enough to stop a customer, the customer doesn't want to have to amble about to find somebody to ask how much something costs. Get the customer to the register quickly and reduce the probability of them second-guessing their purchase.

Entice
Create an air of excitement around your new variety and make a big deal about it. Plant up containers, garden beds or anything that holds soil with your new varieties, but incorporate some of your old varieties as well. This will assure a good blend of old and new purchasing. For example, showcase a new variety of coleus with some older varieties of impatiens. The customer will be familiar with the impatiens, but not expect the uniqueness of the coleus. Blend in some items from other sections of your nursery as well, like a garden trowel of a similar colored handle or a decorative bird bath to really set the mood.

Other ideas include creating a mass display of one item and peppering in the new item sporadically. By creating a solid, almost stark backdrop of say, any broadleaf evergreen, the new cultivar will undoubtedly steal the show. Not only can you sell both the new varieties and old, but you can also educate your shoppers on how to incorporate deciduous and evergreen plants to maintain appearance for winter. You might even find that you'll end up selling more than you bargained for. Combine the newer 'Bloom A Thon' azaleas with the new 'Little Lamb' hydrangeas — the colors will complement each other, and the customer will want to have the set to try to replicate what they've seen at your store.

Reward
By incorporating the newest varieties into your garden center, you will see rewards of all kinds. Not only will you capitalize on getting fresh, unique stock on your tables, but you will also see the rewards at the register. But these things can't sell themselves. All the fancy labels and POP material in the world cannot compete with a smiling employee offering assistance to the customer in need.

By creating a buzz about a certain plant, a buzz that your employees can start, you'll get excellent word-of-mouth business. If customers come into your store and are wowed by both an excellent plant and impeccable service, they will tell their friends. The friends will then be enticed not only by the new variety but also the fact that your service is top notch. Don't forget to harness the benefits of our other favorite free advertisement and blow up your Facebook and Twitter pages with images of the new products. Reward your internet friends with a sneak peek of what you will carry in the spring, and get them thinking outside the box early on.

We all have bad days around the nursery, but they should never overshadow the fact that customers are always No. 1, and their needs should be met. If you've seen this as a problem at your garden center, you might look into a rewards program for your employees. Although it's not a raise or promotion, just a simple challenge will hype up your employees up about the new variety. Say a new hydrangea comes out, perhaps make a challenge for your employees, whomever sells the most of the plant gets to adopt one and take it home. A little token of appreciation goes a long way.

Including new varieties to your garden center should be exciting, and if you do it right, extremely profitable!

Nikki Weed is a horticulturist and professional adventurer who uses her experiences and knowledge to manage a successful garden center in Greenville, S.C. She can be reached at pepitaweed@gmail.com.