If you’re a gardener, you’re undoubtedly familiar with the Garden Watchdog website. Garden Watchdog describes itself as “a free directory of 7,109 mail order gardening companies” where “gardeners share their opinions on which companies really deliver on quality, price and service.”
Garden Watchdog highlights the highest ranked companies on their Garden Watchdog Top 30 list. I periodically look at the Garden Watchdog pages of the Top 30 companies, and whenever I do, I notice several common attributes:
• Many have used the “company comment” field to add a strong statement explaining their unique benefits.
• They respond to many customers comments, good, bad and indifferent. Clearly, they listen.
• Whenever they add a comment on the page, they speak in an authentic voice, and often identify themselves by name. You can tell there’s a real person behind the company, who cares about their customers.
• Not every Top 30 lists their plants at Garden Watchdog’s sister website, PlantScout, but some list hundreds, even thousands. It’s a great way to help their audience get to know them better.
In sum, the key to success at Garden Watchdog appears to be the same as with any social media: be engaged, and be authentic. Keep showing up on the sites that your prospects frequent, and you’ll rise to the top.
