Planting Stories

Tell them the Story

noreply@blogger.com (Miriam Young) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:19:00 +0000

In an age where running shoes are sold for their iPod-compatibility and wine is marketed to appeal to computer geeks, what can the horticulture industry do to broaden its boundaries?

To influence today’s consumers, we need to connect with the non-gardening aspects of people’s lives. And that means taking a fresh look at everything from pot tags to jumping on the social media bandwagon.

Click here to view a summarised version of the presentation I recently gave at the Four Oaks trade show.

Navigating the Internet Marketing Jungle

noreply@blogger.com (Miriam Young) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:57:00 +0000

It started with websites and email. Then, just as all us non-IT geeks got to grips with those, social media and all things Web 2.0 started to emerge. Within a short time the internet has become abundant with communication opportunities, but the success story headlines have led to confusion and misunderstanding about what’s really practical and effective when it comes to promoting a business.

With blogs, social networking sites, YouTube, Google Adwords and others all competing for attention on the web, it’s easy to expend an enormous amount of time, energy and sometimes money just keeping up without achieving anything special. Not everybody can stand out from the crowd. Navigating the internet marketing jungle is best done by stripping away the buzz-words and peer pressure to reveal which paths lead to relevant rewards, and weighing up the effort to effectiveness ratio for each.

A task you enjoy requires less effort than one you don’t. So if you have a regular supply of interesting news and views and you (or any of your staff) love writing, then blog, Tweet, Facebook (is that a verb yet?) away to your heart’s content. If you’re fascinated by social networking then click around, post, link, make friends, find followers, do what you will. But if your heart’s not in it you’ll struggle to do an effective job.

Here is a quick beginners' guide to some popular internet marketing channels:

Blogs
What: A diary, written in normal language. Can include pictures. Readers can post comments for you and others (if you wish) to read.
Shelf life: Long. Posts stay visible forever (unless deleted) and can be picked up by search engines. Other people may quote from or link to your blog.
Effort investment: Easy if you’ve got plenty of interesting original information (facts and opinions) to offer and are good at writing prose. Ideal for updating anything from daily to monthly.
Who can you reach: People who enjoy a longer read – magazine subscribers. Most likely reach an older audience than Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
What’s the point: Can give you credibility as a trusted voice of authority if the postings are good. Can provide another in-bound link to your website.
Wasted effort?: May pick up a following of readers who are nowhere near your catchment area so never going to buy from you.

Facebook
What: A diary, but in note form rather than long-winded prose. Postings appear as public feeds on your own page and as personal feeds on the pages of your ‘friends’. Can include pictures. Readers can post short comments for all to read. Can be used to voice news or comments, but not to go into any depth describing them.
Events application allows you to email event announcements to all your ‘friends’.
Shelf life: Short. Postings will very quickly drop down ‘friends’ personal pages, so they need to remember to look at your profile page to see all you have to say.
Effort investment: Easy if you’ve got lots of time-relevant information to broadcast, such as new stock, weather reports, tip of the day, special events, etc. and are good at condensing information into few words. Should be updated at least once a week, but more often is better.
Why should you care: A great medium for reminding people you’re around and prompting them to buy from you.
Who can you reach: Early technology adopters. Should be operated as part of an all-round marketing strategy designed to appeal to these people. The attitude portrayed on Facebook should be reflected in the store.
Wasted effort?: You may think you’re doing well if you pick up lots of ‘friends’, but that doesn’t mean they’re aware of your postings as they’ll only see them if they’re in the habit of visiting Facebook regularly.

Twitter
What: A text-only diary of 140 where each entry is limited to 140 characters.
Shelf life: Very short. Postings will very quickly drop down ‘followers’ personal pages, so they need to remember to look at your profile page to see all you have to say.
Effort investment: Easy if you’ve got lots of short, snappy snippets of useful information to share, such as gardening weather updates in your catchment area or arrival of special limited stock. Should ideally be updated at least once a day, more often is better.
Why should you care: It’s the fastest way to spread news and instils a sense of urgency.
Who can you reach: Youngsters, early technology adopters, but needs to be treated as part of an all-round marketing strategy designed to appeal to them.
Wasted effort?: There’s not much to gain if your news really isn’t that time-sensitive or sensational. Like Facebook, you may have lots of followers but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re tuning into Twitter all the time.

You Tube
What: Video clip database searchable via internet search and YouTube’s own site. Can be embedded in your own and others’ website and shared via social networking sites.
Shelf life: Long. Posts stay visible forever (unless deleted) and can be picked up by search engine results.
Effort investment: Easy if you’re handy with a digital video camera and have some informative and footage to shoot.
Why should you care: If a picture can paint a thousand words, then a video can paint exponentially more.
Who can you reach: People searching for gardening topics using keywords that match your tags. Useful for livening up your own website, blog or Facebook page.
Wasted effort?: Unless your clips are outstandingly controversial, shocking or humorous, you’re unlikely to become a Susan Boyle-type sensation. But if you tag your clips well with keywords that gardeners may be typing in to search engines (e.g. how do I plant roses) then they could well be discovered by a relevant audience – but not necessarily within your catchment area.

Google Adwords/Adsense
What: AdWords are small text advertisements that link directly to your website and can appear on search results and on other websites that carry them via the Adsense system. The advertiser pays for each time somebody clicks on the ad.
Shelf life: As long as you want to keep paying.
Effort investment: Easy if you’re good at choosing keywords carefully, can articulate your call to action in about 15 words, aren’t overwhelmed by a choice-rich campaign management system and have money to spend.
Why should you care: Adwords can bring traffic to your website and has the effect of moving you up the Google rankings list due to the large amount of in-bound links generated by it. Local targeting is possible.
Who can you reach: Anybody searching for your chosen keywords or phrases via Google.
Wasted effort?: Can attract a lot of clicks by the wrong people, which can become expensive. In theory you are in control, but you need to spend time analysing data and experimenting with different formulas to make this cost-efficient.

Listings
What: Local or industry specific directories.
Shelf life: As long as your contract with the directory provider is.
Effort investment: Very little. After all, you know your contact details and sales story.
Why should you care: Directories will generally be used by people seeking what you offer, so the targeting is relevant. Each directory entry you have includes an in-bound link to your site, thereby improving your search engine ranking.
Who can you reach: People who have chosen to use, or found via internet search, the directory you’re listed on.
Wasted effort?: If the entry format doesn’t allow you to fully describe what you offer and differentiate yourself from other entrants. If the cost appears disproportionate to the amount of relevant traffic the directory gets.

Social media has become an influential marketing force. But it hasn’t signalled the death of the direct approach. Social media is a time-consuming activity for all concerned and often people just want to get on with things. Sometimes the simplicity of a business saying “This is what we do. We’d be delighted to have your custom.” Is all a customer wants to see in response to their wish “I want to buy this thing. Is there a place near me I can get it from?”.

For anybody involved in selling or using plants and plant care related services, Plant Concierge has been created to provide that direct approach. This project centres around a database of service providers that consumers can search for via the website PlantConcierge.com. The search facility is tailored to match relevant requirements (under categories of Advice, Installation, Maintenance, Design) and geographic areas with those able to offer them, providing a direct line of contact between people who want to find each other, saving a huge amount of time, effort and frustration on both sides.

What does this mean for Garden Retailers? Apart from the fact that the site also includes a Retail Store search (free to place a profile on), it encourages your less green-fingered (or thumbed) customers to employ help from those available to give it (which could include many of your other customers), leading to more gardening activity taking place in homes of less confident gardeners. And that translates into more garden centre sales. On-line and off-line promotional materials are available to encourage customers to participate.

In an anarchic Web 2.0 jungle, Plant Concierge has restored order by providing a high relevance, low-effort tool for garden centres everywhere.

For further thoughts on retail marketing via social media check out John Stanley's Retail Community Website http://www.retailcommunity.biz/ and look for the teleseminar "Using Web Technology to Grow Your Business".

In search of plant brands

noreply@blogger.com (Miriam Young) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:09:00 +0000

In an age where running shoes are sold for their iPod-compatibility and wine is marketed to appeal to computer geeks, the horticulture industry also needs to look beyond its traditional boundaries to inspire a broader consumer audience.

But are plant suppliers offering retailers marketing programs that do this?
And are retailers receptive to such ideas?

On 8th September this year I’ll be giving a presentation entitled “Tell them the Stories” at the Four Oaks Trade Show (England) in which I’ll be looking at how other industries cross-market their products and explaining how the horticulture industry can benefit by following suit.

“Tell them the Stories” is all about progressing from reliance on appearance-based impulse sales to influencing purchasing decisions via communicating with customers.
I’ll be showing how retailers can create their own publicity-attracting themed promotions and highlighting the availability of supplier-created solutions which make that job easier.

I’m therefore looking for examples of UK-available lifestyle-oriented plant brands to help me illustrate the presentation. So if your company offers UK retailers a branding program with general lifestyle appeal, and you’d like a bit of free publicity at the show, please contact me NOW at Miriam@plantingstories.com

“Tell them the Stories” will form a part of a complete day of retail-oriented seminars hosted by John Stanley under the banner “Marketing Nursery Stock when the Rules have Changed”. For further information on Four Oaks Trade Show, www.fouroaks-tradeshow.com.

Plant Concierge - A new project for a new era

noreply@blogger.com (Miriam Young) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:45:00 +0000

It seems the whole world is stuck in limbo waiting for the current financial turmoil to settle. Being without direction is never comfortable and we’re all anxious to know what shape our lives will take in the aftermath of all this.

One thing which is for certain is that life goes on. There will be people and homes and businesses. And the newfound public awareness of green issues is unlikely to disappear. Having been slapped so hardly in the face by the build-up of materialism, the instinct to live in closer harmony with the natural environment could come to the fore in a big way.

The current trend for bringing nature closer to home (especially grow-your-own food) could be amplified by the present situation, as people with less money to spend outside the home turn their attention towards improving what’s in it.

So while many are still waiting and wondering, I’m seizing the moment to initiate a new project that will tune in with modern day lifestyles and bring gardening to the people. A project that will make it easy for non-gardeners to enjoy plant life in their homes, encouraging new spend into our industry and providing work opportunities for many knowledgeable individuals.

The name of this project is Plant Concierge, to be found at plantconcierge.com.

Plant Concierge will take a multi-faceted approach to facilitating gardening activity within homes of ‘non-gardeners’. And let’s face it, this is a far bigger target group than the one we traditionally go after. As the project develops there will be opportunities for retailers and product suppliers to get involved, but for now I am looking for gardening advisors, designers, gardeners and landscapers to come forward as service providers.

If you or anybody you know wants to take advantage of this opportunity for free publicity of your services then please go to www.plantconcierge.com and register as a service provider.

Tough economy presents opportunities for horticulture

noreply@blogger.com (Miriam Young) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:56:00 +0000

Yesterday I saw an encouraging article on the BBC. In the midst of the economic doom and gloom, some businesses are actually thriving. Not in spite of the downturn, but because of it. Cobblers are reporting a surge in trade as people decide to have their existing shoes fixed instead of buying new ones.

Where there’s a problem there’s always an opportunity. The financial markets may be nervous and the resulting hardship for many is real, but the world hasn’t stopped turning.

So where do the horticulture industry’s opportunities lie at this time?
With less money to spend on travel, people are spending more time in their homes. This increases the desire for those homes to be aesthetically pleasing. When times are tough, the human instinct for progression doesn’t disappear – the retail therapy just needs to be re-directed.

With big ticket items off the agenda, getting a few nice plants to brighten up the home and garden is a perfect, low cost, pick-me-up that instantly enhances the living environment, while improving the garden doubles as a great investment for the property as a whole. Coupled with the current pressure on society to be greener, the feel-good factor of having more plants around is amplified.

The time is right for the public to be receptive to gardening promotion, so it’s up to the industry to deliver it. The key is in marketing products appropriately for the mood, pre-empting the particular concerns customers have in the current economic climate.

Demonstrate value for money
Spell out how many weeks/months/years of pleasure a particular plant will bring and plant the thought of what excellent value it represents over time.
How...
In stores via p-o-p and knowledgeable staff. On the web via promotional pages on store websites. Via the media by sending press information on this subject to editors.

Implement transparent, honest marketing
It’s never good to disappoint customers by making unrealistic claims about products, and when money is tight loosing trust is suicidal. If a tropical plant is only likely to last 2 months in a temperate climate then say so – perhaps with a tongue-in-cheek twist that if the customer can’t get away to paradise this year, at least paradise can come to them for a while! Knowing a product has a limited lifespan is unlikely to stop the customer from buying - otherwise there wouldn't be a cutflower market - but managing customer expectations will earn respect and loyalty.
How...
In stores via p-o-p and knowledgeable staff. On the web via promotional pages on store websites. Via the media by sending inspiring information about your more interesting but shorter-lived plants to editors.

Make it really easy
Efficient spending at this time is paramount. Customers won’t want to risk wasting money by purchasing unsuitable plants or the wrong care products, so make sure there’s plenty of advice at hand to help every customer discover how to shop efficiently. Implement a proactive policy for advising customers on purchases.
How...
In stores via p-o-p, in-store displays and knowledgeable staff. On the web promote the super-helpful advice your store is offering via your own website. Via the media go to your local press with a story about your proactive policy of helping customers shop efficiently.

Exude positivity
Today’s consumers don’t just buy products, they buy solutions and emotions. Right now everybody needs a solution to the general economic gloom, so if coming into your store makes them feel good, they’ll be all the more likely to want to take a piece of it home. So have cheery displays and above all, happy, friendly staff.
How...
In stores via displays and staff.

Lessons from the outside world

noreply@blogger.com (Miriam Young) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:52:00 +0000

As a publicist and writer I get to play a part in the promotion of all kinds of internationally marketed products. From electronic goods to sports shoes to business IT services to human resources, plus of course plants and horticulture-related items.
This exposure to other markets sets examples of what businesses in the horticulture industry can and should be doing to remain competitive in a rapidly changing market.

Both on and off-line, goods are being retailed in an ever-more integrated fashion – just look at Amazon.com, you can go on-line to buy a book and come away with a patio-full of planted containers - and that means every horticulture-related business has to widen the demographic appeal of its products.

While every customer from every demographic is welcome, the challenge the horticulture industry faces is in how to promote goods in a way that non-core audiences respond to. While garden centres are in the consumer front line and have to work on retailer tricks-of-the-trade, the inspiration that drives promotion of individual products needs to come from the beginning of the supply chain.

This means that when a new plant variety is introduced it should be accompanied by information that appeals not only to commercial growers and knowledgeable gardeners, but to a broad, uninitiated consumer market who are probably way more familiar with IT terminology than with different soil types. It means explaining how different potting mixtures or containers are suited for different use and why one costs so much more than another. I’ve been working in this industry for many years and when I walk into the garden centre it’s still not clear to me which products are best suited to my purpose!

Product originators therefore have a powerful responsibility to feed the market with carefully considered sales stories. One challenge they face is in having staff who are so familiar with the horticulture industry and its vocabulary that they can find it difficult to identify and describe the sales features which make a product appealing to outsiders. This is hardly surprising given that most goods are traded within the boundaries of the horticulture industry’s own comfort-zone, finally coming into contact with consumers who have dared to enter the garden centre sales environment. The industry as a whole is not accustomed to courting consumers who haven’t made the first move, but as attention within the garden centre has to be harder-won and the specialist market contracts in favour of a broader range of sales channels, it must learn to speak the language of the non-specialist consumer.

Outside of horticulture I work with businesses who take a strategic and disciplined approach to integrated marketing. They’re playing the internet game with skill, creating well-structured websites that attract search-engine attention and coax sales through. They’re using language cleverly, creating concise, feature-heavy texts that are quickly and easily understood by the widest possible audience. They’re connecting with consumers by focussing on solving their wish-list and resisting the temptation to show off by using jargon. This is the communication style that business customers and public consumers with the potential to buy your products interact with every day. This is their comfort zone. And the horticulture industry must adapt to it, fast.

Could You Be The Weakest Link?

noreply@blogger.com (Miriam Young) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:50:00 +0000

An edited version of following article was published in the Autumn 2008 issue (Volume 1, No. ZERO) of GARDENS International Magazine. This is the original article.

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The international garden industry is a complex web. Each consumer product sale represents a triumph of teamwork. From licence holder to retailer, every business in the supply chain depends on every other to do their part. The team can only perform as well as its weakest link, and everybody familiar with the TV show of that name knows that the weakest link gets voted off, never to return.

The garden industry is used to trading between its many connections. Yet the system often collapses when it comes to marketing. Businesses who attempt to promote products or brands frequently find themselves acting without support or cooperation from their trading partners, the net result of which is lost opportunities and lack of progression for all.

So why does the industry as a whole let itself down so badly when it comes to promoting products through the line to consumers? And how can individual businesses ensure they are contributors to team success and not the weakest link?

The comfort zone
Traditionally, the garden industry has relied upon a fairly captive audience. With products trading on their own merits within a familiar network, investment in branded promotion seemed unnecessary. Appreciation of promotional marketing and all it entails therefore never developed fully as an industry culture.

The wake-up call
Today’s consumer habits dictate rapid integration between the garden and general lifestyle markets. The target market for garden industry products is no longer captive and ever-larger proportions of sales in future will depend on excellent product marketing right through the line.

Every link in the supply chain needs to embrace the big marketing picture, understand its integrated role and be pro-active in fulfilling the responsibilities that will fortify the industry for the future.

The strong-link retailer
In the front line when it comes to pulling consumer money into the industry, retailers are in a better position than anybody to know what stimulates spending. Retailers have a responsibility to educate the rest of the industry about this and become the catalyst that inspires and pulls innovative product promotion through the supply chain.
Comfort-zone transition: Move from “product seller” to “product development leader”.

The strong-link product originator
Every product is, presumably, put on the market because it satisfies a need and has a set of relevant and inspiring sales features. Product originators have the responsibility to ensure this information is available to the consumer via the supply chain and direct publicity. This means defining and presenting clear, consumer-considered sales stories and consulting with others in the supply chain to develop market-identifying branding.
Comfort-zone transition: Move from “product supplier” to “promotion base generator”.

The strong-link distributor
Distributors have the best seat in the house when it comes to seeing all sides of the promotion story and occupy a position of power when it comes to the realisation of marketing programs. Relied upon by all to carry out information distribution as excellently as product delivery, distributors also have the responsibility to facilitate and encourage communications between trading partners on either side to assist in the development of marketing programs.
Comfort-zone transition: Move from trading goods to trading complete marketing concepts.

The team of the future
Being a strong-link business demands discipline, hard work and a perhaps a new way of thinking. It requires investment in appropriately skilled, enthusiastic staff. It requires financial input and unilateral action.

The reward for those who make the commitment will be membership of a world-class industry team with staying power. The risk for those who don’t is to be voted off as the weakest link.

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Copyright: Miriam Young 2008
If you wish to reproduce or publish all or part of this content you must get my permission.
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