58 Candles - and stuff worth celebrating

Sandi Hillerman McDonald
Owner, Hillerman Nursery & Florist

The challenge: We’ve operated a garden center in our region for several years, and we’ve enjoyed moderate success. What we want to do, though, is really create an identity. What do the established stores do to make a name for themselves? -- Georgia retailer
 

Sandi says:

We celebrated our 58th anniversary at Hillermann Nursery & Florist in April, and we look forward to the next 58 years. We will always seek innovative ways to meet new challenges and opportunities while continuing to do the things that brought us this far. Here are some of the things we think set us apart:

• We care for our community – We enjoy giving back to the community by supporting local parishes, schools and charitable organizations in many ways.

• We care for our customers – We strive to offer them the best services and quality products available to us, going the extra mile.

• We care for our plants – We grow and offer the highest-quality plants possible, through selective purchasing, training and skillful care.

• We care for each other – We have a great team built here at Hillermann’s that we are very proud of.

• We have fun – We look forward to coming to work each day, especially in spring, finding new ways to help others find success in their own yards and lives.

• We expect the best – Having done our best, we expect the best, knowing that life is what we make of it, and every day can be a great day.

Planting seeds – literally. As an example of how we try to take care of our customers, we offer our “Hillermann’s Garden Reward E-Newsletter” to give them information, products and services they might not find elsewhere. This year, in particular, we could see that growing from seeds was going to be popular. So, in one of our recent e-newsletters, we encouraged our customers to consider going that route:

“There is nothing better than the satisfaction that comes from harvesting a bounty of spectacular plant that was once only a tiny seed. Not to mention the fact that you can get a package of seed that will grow many plants for about the same price it costs to buy one plant. Besides, you can get a better selection of varieties and control of dates to start and transplant.”

Then we offered a link to our Seed Starting Handout Sheet to help them along.

What's for supper? Hand in hand with seed-growing is the push toward growing your own edibles. Hillermann’s tries to promote that in the e-newsletter as well. There’s a section called “Sandi’s Kitchen” in which we share recipes tied to a featured plant. For example, in honor of the potato in March, we offered a recipe for “Baked Basil Fries.” We also featured the potato in a section called “Fun Home Project: Taters in a Basket!” The text read:
“Have you ever tried growing potatoes in tough, clay soil? The results are usually less than bad.

However, here is the perfect solution for growing great potatoes. Grow them in a pot. Now, whether you have clay soil, live in an apartment, or don’t have a garden at all, you can grow potatoes the ole’ yard boy way. And that’s in a container.” Then there’s a link that takes them from the newsletter to a complete set of instructions for Taters in a Basket.

You say cyupon; I say coopon. We encourage our Garden Reward E-Newsletter customers to take advantage of money-saving coupons that are good for discounts on various products each month. One month, for example, we had a “Save $1” coupon on 4-inch shamrock plants (regularly $5, but just $4 with the coupon). We also had a “Save $2” coupon on True Value 20-pound Wild Bird Seed (regularly $8.99, but just $6.99 with the coupon).

As you can see, customer service is a priority at Hillermann’s, as it should be at any garden center. We try to do all we can to help our customers enjoy the growing season and make the most out of their outdoor space.
 

Sandi Hillerman McDonald owns Hillerman Nursery & Florist in Washington, Mo.