The Green Summit - Chapter 1 



BY NANCY E. ADAMS, Executive Director, NHPGA 



I recently represented the NH 

 Plant Growers Association at 

 New England Nursery Associa- 

 tions (NENA) inaugural Green Sum- 

 mit held in early September in Lenox, 

 Mass. Sixty-five horticultural profes- 

 sionals from retail, trade associations, 

 wholesale and allied trade businesses 

 spent l'/2 days assessing their busi- 

 nesses and the future direction of the 

 green industry. It was a time of reflec- 

 tion - time to concentrate on strategic 

 thinking in an otherwise hectic, face- 

 paced environment. However, I con- 

 fess seeing some folks rush outdoors 

 with their cell phones in hand during 

 break time. . .guess it's difificuh to pull 

 away even for just 2 days! 



I want to share some highlights 

 from that conference. I'm labeling 

 this Chapter 1, which intimates there 

 will be subsequent chapters. Hope 

 you enjoy the conference summaries. 

 One guest speaker was Pam 

 Danziger, Unity Marketing, a 

 consumer marketing specialist. 

 Although she specializes in luxury 

 brands, her finn has done market 

 research on consumer buying habits 

 in what she called the "outdoor living 

 markef" - gardening/landscaping, 

 plant material, birding, BBQ grills, 

 porch & patio decorations, outdoor 

 services, outdoor furniture, lighting 

 & sound, etc. The outdoor living 

 lifestyle is on a strongly positive 

 spending trend with impressive 

 growth potential. Competition is 

 intense for outdoor living dollars 

 amongst garden centers, home centers 

 and mass merchandisers, but the key 

 competitive advantage for garden 

 centers lies in the plants. To capitalize 

 on this advantage, horticultural 

 businesses should focus on their 

 existing customers, in particular, 

 their biggest spenders, and leverage 



this strength into other outdoor living 

 activities and pursuits including gifts 

 and seasonal decorations. Become an 

 expert on outdoor living! 



One key message: Shoppers are 

 less concerned about the product 

 they buy than the experience they 

 receive from that purchase. They 

 expect good prices (combination of 

 high value at a reasonable price), 

 wide selection, convenient location 

 and sometimes a place to shop for 

 other things. Garden center and 

 nursery retailers should concentrate 

 on enhancing the shopper's 

 experience by creating a unique 

 value for them through a high level 

 of advice and information, garden 

 ideas & inspiration, exceptional high 

 quality goods, better brands more 

 carefully selected by experts, and 

 product guarantees. Get to know your 

 customer more intimately. Have you 

 developed a customer database to 

 track purchases? Are you providing 

 a unique, value-added experience 

 for your customers? Is your business 

 able to demand higher prices as a 

 result? I'm sure we've all visited 

 businesses where we customers are 

 seen as inconvenient intrusions in an 

 otherwise blissful day. Is that your 

 customer's experience?!? 



Pam segments shoppers into four 

 distinct buying attitude types: 

 Sylvia the Garden Slave - takes 

 no joy in gardening, only does it 

 because she has to, and spends 43% 

 less than the average person on 

 outdoor living. She doesn't shop at 

 garden centers - thankftilly. 

 Therapeutic Thelma - gardens 

 for her personal pleasure - it 

 provides meaning to her life and is 

 therapeutic. She doesn't spend a lot 

 of money but does take a lot of your 

 sales staff time asking questions 



and seeking advice. Thelma spends 

 33% less than the average person on 

 outdoor living. 



Lounging Lisa - finds her garden 

 an important source of social 

 recognition yet doesn't want to do 

 the work herself. She spends the 

 most on outdoor living activities 

 - 39% more than average - and is a 

 wonderful target for outdoor living 

 services. 



Helen the Happy Gardener - is 



your primary customer who takes 



utmost pleasure from gardening - a 



do-it-yourself person. She spends 



most on plants but less than Lisa 



on outdoor living products and 



services. She spends 1 5% more than 



average and offers an opportunity to 



translate her gardening enthusiasm 



into an outdoor living passion. 



The key is to train your staff to 



recognize the types of shoppers they 



encounter so that they can alter their 



sales approach accordingly. Nurture 



and develop your Helen & Lisa 



customers. They offer the most upside 



profit potential. 



Some final thoughts on building 

 opportunity for garden retail sales. 

 Adding services (design, installation, 

 maintenance, delivery, etc.) to your 

 garden center will appeal to high- 

 spending Lisas and have been shown 

 to generate three-times more revenue 

 for garden centers than those that 

 do not offer any services. Expand, 

 develop and explore the outdoor 

 living category for your garden center/ 

 nursery. After all, the future doesn't 

 lie in growing and selling better plants 

 but in providing an enhanced outdoor 

 living experience for your customers 

 through your newly reinvented 

 Outdoor Living Center. 



WINTER 2005 



