If you’ve been thinking about attending a Mailorder Gardening Association conference, the January 2010 programs looks like an especially good one to check out. Of particular interest are two speakers back by popular demand. (Click on the headline for more…)
Insights Into How Customers Rate Garden Company Shopping
In my last blog post, I emphasized the importance of following best practices in all your customer touchpoints if you want to maximize your sales without increasing your marketing budget. As I mentioned, the Secret Shopper Survey sponsored by the Mailorder Gardening Association earlier this year uncovered an astonishing number of opportunities for improvement in this regard. A new program at the next MGA conference is sure to provide even more ideas for low-cost improvements. (Click on the headline for more…)
Harbinger of a Good Season to Come?
Attendance at last month’s Independent Garden Center show jumped a full 36% over the previous year — to 6,043 registered attendees from 49 states and 24 countries. Considering that the majority of the exhibitors were selling ornamentals, hard goods and outdoor living products – not vegetable gardening products that boomed this past year – that […]
See You at the Independent Garden Center Show?
The Independent Garden Center Show (Chicago, Aug. 18 – Aug. 20) is less than two weeks away. Thanks to the overwhelming popularity of this new show, it’s been expanded to include more than 900 vendors of unusual, high-quality products for the independent gardening merchant.
I’ll be there on Tuesday, August 18 and Wednesday, August 19. Please let me know if you plan to attend. I’d love to meet!
Building Customer Engagement: Some Novel Approaches
In my last post, I mentioned some of the ways Terrain at Styer’s, the Philadelphia nursery owned by Urban Outfitters, is expanding their market. One of the key elements in their program is events, including those that reach far beyond the traditional gardening how-to offerings. Their July calendar includes the following: (Click on the headline for more…)
