Marketing Strategy

More and more companies are involving customers in marketing decisions. Some catalogers invite their buyers to vote on a choice of catalog covers. Others use customer suggestions to name new products.

At the recent Mailorder Gardening Association conference, industry consultant Ian Baldwin reported that one garden center regularly sends emails to the top 20% of their customers, inviting their feedback on new products the nursery is considering carrying. About 4% respond to any given email. Not only does the process provide helpful guidance on new product selection, but it also forges a much stronger bond between business and customer.

Our last two blog posts discussed two of the three keys to marketing to Gen X and Gen Y buyers: emphasize end results and simplify the shopping experience. Today’s post deals with the third: build on small successes. (Click on the headline for more…)

My last few posts have discussed why learning to market to Gen X and Gen Y is critical, and the three keys to doing so. Today’s topic is Key #2, simplifying the shopping experience. (Click on the headline for more…)

As mentioned in my last post, the first of three keys to marketing gardening products to younger buyers is to emphasize the end results.

What do I mean? Don’t sell patio furniture; sell an outdoor relaxation area. Don’t sell trellises; sell privacy. Don’t sell the time-consuming, steep-learning-curve hobby of gardening; sell higher property values through landscaping.

For a prime example of selling the end product… (Click on the headline for more…)