In today’s competitive marketplace, similar products are frequently offered by multiple organizations. This can make it challenging to set yourself apart from the competition as unique features often proliferate throughout the market over time. Putting product aside, what you need is a new differentiator. What is a marketing differentiator? It’s a marketing strategy whose goal…
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The science community has made us all acutely aware that gardening provides countless physical and mental health benefits when practiced regularly. But gardening education seems to be what’s lacking in the process. In an article posted on WebMD, Charlie Nardozzi, horticulturist at the National Gardening Association in South Burlington, Vermont says, “When you’re engrossed in…
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Have you heard of something called “disruptive marketing”? That’s when a company decides to shake up their marketing strategy by changing customer perceptions. In this post, we’ll give garden centers and nurseries a few ideas of how they can accomplish this. It’s hard to believe that September is already upon us. With autumn 2019 arriving…
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About a year ago, The HC Companies donated planting containers and flats to the Plant Growth Facility at Purdue University – Department of Horticulture and Landscape (HLA). While we here at The HC Companies always strive to help the industry whenever we can (both professional and educational), you rarely think about the impact your helping hand…
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“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill In searching for a corporate charity, The HC Companies wanted to partner with a local organization where we’d have the opportunity to see the impacts of our efforts. An organization that understands giving your time…
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Avid gardeners are well aware of what a “hardiness zone map” is, and most novices are probably at least familiar with the terminology based on the plant tag information found at their local garden center or big box store. Hardiness zone maps were first developed back in 1938 – representing “the average annual extreme minimum…
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The week of June 17-23, 2019 is National Pollinator Week. The week is proudly sponsored by the Pollinator Partnership, whose mission is to promote the health and sustainability of pollinators critical to our food supply and ecosystems across the globe. From the Pollinator Partnership, “Pollinators are essential to our daily life. Imagine a cup without coffee,…
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For thousands of years, the Judean Date Tree was an invaluable food source in the desert of the Kingdom of Judah – as well as providing shelter and shade for much of that community. Vast forests of date palms covered an area some seven miles wide, with trees stretching up to the sky some 80…
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Gardening has always been known to be good for our mental health. It gives us a sense of responsibility, allows us to be nurturers, connects us with other living things, and to no surprise, helps us to relax. But a recent study conducted around the globe by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has…
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The garden was probably the last place most of us would expect to see an infiltration of technology, but it’s becoming a reality with mowers, weed-pickers and sprinkler systems to name a few. Techopedia defines artificial intelligence (AI) as, “an area of computer science that emphasizes the creation of intelligent machines that work and react…
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