In This Issue
Xylella fastidiosa: how Italy has tackled the problem
Gardman reports £1.5m loss - but earnings soar by 50%
Durston Garden Products HOLD prices for 2018
Christmas provides an October sales boost
Edwin Meijer reveals lessons learned from Canada trip
Young GCA delegates experience garden centre retailing Canadian style
RHS move National Gardening Week to later spring date
Which new plants really stand out?
Yobs smash up community garden centre - causing thousands of pounds worth of damage
Elho makes 'grow your own' available to everyone
Wildlife website redesigned with customers in mind
Shoplifting costs retailers £800m a year says research
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Pot sales soar as gardeners get set for Autumn
Sales of festive products gather momentum
Cyclamen back on top of Bestsellers chart
Poppy-related Wild Bird Care products sell well
For peat’s sake – a conversation on compost
TV and Radio 4 gardening expert to launch gardening school at Tong GC
Revolution in 'on-demand' product labelling
Garden centres to benefit from generous PR discounts
The best of last week's
"Xylella is the most serious situation I have come across in 32 years in the industry"
Supplier rebates to exceed £1.5m for Choice members
Coolings buys Potted Garden Nursery at Maidstone
Scotts fail with claim that Westland Safelawn advertising was misleading
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
All the latest news from the world of garden centre catering
Stylish new Café Bar opens at Squire’s in Shepperton
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Email neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk, or trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call the GTN News team on 01733 775700


Edwin Meijer reveals lessons learned from Canada trip


Edwin Meijer, from Garden Connect, has come up with three marketing tips following the International Garden Centre Association trip to Canada...

It was my first time but definitely not the last one! Two weeks ago I came back from the International Garden Centre Association trip to Niagara Falls, Canada. With a group of over 200 people from all over the world, we enjoyed the trip through the garden industry in this part of Ontario.

Since I was travelling around in a bus with a group of about 20 youngsters from the industry it was very relaxed and entertaining, and we even learned something while having fun! Here are 3 online marketing tips that I learned about in Canada. You can apply these yourself into your own centre. And at the end of this newsletter, I have included a link to check out that will provide you with much more inspiration for your garden centre!

 

1. Solutions, not products

Monday morning started off at 8 am with an inspiring presentation about Amazon and Blue Apron (like Hello Fresh delivering meal boxes in the US). And it was spot on! A box, home delivery, recipes and a bunch of carrots aren’t really innovating. But if you combine them you'll create a solution rather than a selection of products. And that’s exactly what younger customers are expecting. They want to have a garden but don’t want to do the gardening. And we would like to cook, but preferably without using our brains.

A lot of opportunities. How about a webshop with ready-to-use products like pot/plant combination. Let Amazon sell products, you’d better focus on solutions.

2. Sell a front yard

Life was tough in Canada. At each garden centre, we visited we had to conduct an interview with one of the owners to learn more about their ambitions, challenges and successess. I also had to do one together with Franco, a marketer of Garden Centre Maier in Switzerland, I had the honour to interview one of family members of Holland Park Garden Gallery. Quite remarkable because she wasn’t an older man but a former Miss Teen Canada (and that isn’t a joke!).

Anyways, apart from her looks, both she and her mother had some very bright ideas. They plan to start selling front gardens via their webshop. They designed three gardens fitting into the most common gardens in their surroundings. And they plan not just to sell the gardens in a DIY package but they also offer to do the landscaping as well. Apart from that they started to specialise in decorations for weddings which worked really well. A great combination of solutions, online marketing & offline services!

3. Video works. Period.

At Terra Greenhouses they are using a lot of videos. They noticed they are able to generate a lot of exposure via YouTube among their customers. They got two types of video’s which should be appealing to different audiences. One in a more traditional style showing how-to’s: how to plant a container or how to care for your lawn. The other one is a vlog in which a young lady is maintaining her garden. The funny part of the latter: she also includes the mistakes she’s making. I rarely see mistakes happening on TV, so this is way more recognizable for the younger audience!

 

Apart from these online marketing tips a lot of topics have been discussed including succession (nothing to worry about for me!), catering (and how annoying chefs can be) and staff management. In other words, it was an overall very useful trip and I suggest you go to the website of the 2018 congress which will be held next year in Prague: check it out.

Last but not least: thanks for reading my blog. I know it’s your monthly struggle so to thank you, have a look at the photos I posted on our Facebook Group. Wanna learn more about How To Grow Your Own Pizza? Have a look and enjoy!

See you at the HTA Marketing Forum on the 15th of November! Go to www.gardenconnect.com if you want to learn more about online marketing for your garden centre.

 

Edwin Meijer
Edwin@gardenconnect.com
0203 475 5541
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