The Plantsman 



What does the Future Hold? 



Environmental Scanning at Work (The Green Summit Chapter 2) 



By Nancy E. Adams 



I promised you another article 

 from last year's Green Summit 

 conference experience. One 



exercise that proved extremely helpful 

 had the participants looking towards 

 the future and where the greens indus- 

 try is headed by scanning the current 

 environment through popular. .and 

 some obscure. ..magazines. The Sum- 

 mit commented that "by anticipating 

 what might be among a range of pos- 

 sibilities, leaders can develop back- 

 ground, context, and understanding 

 that will help them address whatever 

 futures may come. A key leadership 

 skill in preparing for the future is con- 

 stantly scanning for new sources of 

 data and new key messages, and that 

 means turning to multiple and varied 

 information sources." 



One source of varied information is 

 your local, large bookstore. There 

 you'll find the wonderful world of 

 magazines - hundreds of them spe- 

 cifically written to attract a targeted 

 audience and full of potentially useful 

 articles and photos. Yourjob is to 

 periodically select a handful of them 

 from areas outside your normal sphere 

 of interest (punk rock, atomic science, 

 holistic medicine, teen scene, Latina 

 living, etc.) and spend a few hours 

 identifying industry specific messages 

 from within their pages. In fact, it's a 

 great exercise for your entire staff! The 

 price is right and the synergy you'll 

 receive from the group sharing their 

 findings and translating ttiose thoughts 

 into business ideas may be invaluable. 



ie/ecl magazines that are outside your ' comion zone" and identify potential industry 

 specific messages by reading the articles and looking at the advertising messages. 



Here are a few nuggets gleaned from 

 the magazine pages at the Green 

 Summit. 



• Consider offering more services to 

 meet the expectations of younger 

 consumers. 



• Sell "green experience" gifts. 



■ Find innovative ways to speed to 

 market new plant "fashions." 



■ Explore "branding" opportunities 

 for plants and services. 



• Connect to the "buy local" story 

 that already resonates in the pro- 

 duce arena. Label New England- 

 grown nursery products as "locally 

 grown." 



■ Sell plantscapes as "lifescapes." 



• Promote green products as healthy 

 for kids. 



■ Offer night blooming and scented 

 plants for "midnight" gardeners to 

 enjoy. Provide lighting solutions for 

 them. 



■ Personal shopping is a good solu- 

 tion for the problem of personal 

 busyness. 



Consider a European trend toward 

 green roofs. 



■ Tie gardening to holistic medicine 

 trend. 



• Emphasize ease-of-use, service 

 plans, and low-maintenance producte 

 to appeal to the older population. 



• Bring new plant material to market 

 from China 



Use more solar power and bio-diesel 

 to run equipment and vehicles. ♦ 



Aprii/May 2006 



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