Marketing Your Garden Center and Nursery Using 4 Easy Tips
Marketing your garden center or nursery is an ongoing effort that requires commitment and a little know-how to succeed. As the pandemic, which began in late 2019, continues to change consumer behaviors regarding purchasing, it has never been more important to guarantee your garden center can target and reach customers where they’re now searching.
If you can’t depend on services like WebCitz, by following the four marketing tips we’ve outlined below, you can ensure that your continuous efforts will reap profitable rewards.
Understand your customers first
Businesses which make assumptions about what their customers want and need usually are not very successful. In addition, as customers become more educated and trends continue to evolve rapidly, wants and needs can often fluctuate from one growing season to the next. Therefore, you must engage with your customers at the start, middle, and end of the season for cumulative data, which will help identify inventory needs later on.
Take a survey at the counter, conduct a poll to your email database or on your social media channels, or even have an associate walk around your location asking customers one or two questions. Your greatest metrics often come from the customers already in your store.
Host educational classes
While YouTube videos provide information for DIYers on various topics, there’s nothing like face-to-face demonstrations that allow customers to ask questions and engage directly. So why not encourage customers to turn to your garden center or nursery instead?
On-site classes provide an invaluable resource to customers while subliminally touting your staff as the industry experts. By educating your customers, you’ll increase their trust in your business and guarantee they’ll return time and time again whenever they have questions relating to their lawn and garden needs. In addition, classes can be posted on local community boards, through your email database, and on social media channels.
Target new residents
New homeowners represent perhaps your greatest opportunity for new business. For starters, they’ll need a resource to help understand their new landscape and planting zones (unfamiliar plants and trees; growing conditions if moving from another state; watering requirements, etc.).
Many resources are available to help you specifically target new homeowners in your area.
Some include Every Door Direct from the US Post Office, WelcomeMatServices, HomeAdvisor, NextDoor, and many more. Community publications may also offer opportunities for marketing your garden center or nursery to new homeowners, and partnering with a local, prominent realtor could also be a beneficial business arrangement.
Finding customers where they are looking
Today, regardless of age, many people turn to the internet when looking for home and garden businesses around their area. Have you created a Google Business Page with contact information, business hours, and directions? Are you active on social media channels that make sense for your business and actively engaging with users? If you have a website, are you practicing SEO to make sure that you show up on the first page of Google search results?
It can all be a little overwhelming, no doubt, but many of these digital marketing practices will help ensure you’re at the top of gardeners’ shopping lists.
Below are some additional links to review before you start marketing your garden center this season.
- Digital Marketing Trends for 2022
- Marketing Trends for 2022
- Exposing Gardeners to New Plant Varieties
- What Customers Expect to Find on a Business Website
- Why Custom Branded Containers Work
No one approach for marketing your garden center or nursery is the answer for every business. You need to consider geographic location, income levels, competitors, and budget. What’s truly important is that you start making marketing a consistent part of your business model now.
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