The Roadshow workshops will cover opportunities and ideas to attract customers in a modern, targeted way and help garden centres encourage and support them via a range of different channels. Staff attending will be better placed to advise and enthuse customers and more effective at selling and customer service. There is also a substantial package of marketing ideas and material provided.

Double Your Sales Challenge

The Double Your Sales Challenge is open to anyone attending the Roadshow. The focus will be on dramatically increasing sales of plants, bulbs, seeds and other core gardening lines. Although there is no obligation to participate, those who opt to do so can choose one of three different levels of support:

1. Bronze. This is for delegates not wishing for any further support apart from Roadshow materials and ideas which they can build on and develop independently. They will be asked to feed back results and will be given the same monthly challenges as those on the other levels.
2. Silver. If garden centres would like further mentoring, all delegates have the opportunity to do this on a distance basis. They will get regular online support, materials and tips from organiser Liz Hutson and feedback from other centres on either the Silver or Gold level via a private Facebook group.
3. Gold. A maximum of 6 centres can opt to have a higher level of mentoring for their teams. This includes everything in the silver level plus further ideas and materials and a bespoke in-house package comprisinge in-depth sales training, a ‘Make it Happen’ workshop to help with planning, execution, idea generation and consistency and a day long workshop to formulate and discuss ideas. As part of the package they will also have the option of having a consumer talk to raise awareness and give tips concerning the health, social and environmental benefits of gardening, plus specific tips on grow your own and environmental activities. If the garden centres are also taking part in the Cultivation Street initiative this can be linked in too.

Although this is setting the bar high, Liz feels it is definitely achievable: "We’ve seen this is possible at the recent GCA Conference where the fantastic results achieved by Westland’s Rising Stars were revealed. Imagine the potential if whole teams were enthused, focused and armed with the right support and materials."

Growing for health

One of the topics under discussion on the main Roadshow will be the commercial opportunities relating to the health benefits of all aspects of gardening.  

Liz commented: "Interest in health across all age groups is growing rapidly, as is concern about the environment. Gardening has many benefits that link into health topics trending on social media, such as increasing vitamin D levels, enhanced mindfulness, stress reduction, improved blood oxygenation and, of course, it helps keeps you fit and affects other major health markers in a positive way. Grow your own has even more benefits – greatly increased mineral, vitamin and antioxidant content versus commercially grown crops, higher enzyme status and potential benefits for our microbiome, which is a particularly hot topic.

"Currently supplement companies are making a fortune out of consumers who are worried about the nutrient status of shop bought produce.  Very few have joined the dots and seen how much more beneficial and healthy it would be to get them from growing vegetables and fruit in mineral rich soil, for example. But if and when this happens - and we should certainly be helping it along - it stands a lot more chance of going viral than ‘Houseplants Make You Happy’, however true that may be!

"Then there are the environmental and social opportunities – the success of the HTA’s Cultivation Street initiative and the social and community benefits it has offered to those who have adopted it is a prime example of the latter. The modern consumer wants and needs inspiration and, even more importantly, advice appropriate to their varied needs."

As well as the in-house marketing materials and sales staff training, delegates on the Grow Your Own Profits Roadshow will be given a ‘Growing for Health’ consumer support pack and logo for use on the their own signage as well as the signage provided. This will enable them to promote and market benefits internally and externally and provide consumers with practical information and tips according to available time, space and expertise.

Commenting on the Grow Your Own Profits Roadshow, Liz said: "What first started out as an initiative to make more of commercial opportunities has grown into something that could hopefully make a real difference on both a macro and micro level. It is as much about core values as it is core gardening and taps into what a growing number of consumers hold dear to their hearts. Garden centres have a real opportunity to become key players in supporting the health of consumers, wildlife, the environment and society overall."

Further details about the Roadshow, the Growing for Health initiative and the Double Your Sales Challenge are available from Liz Hutson on 01531 631592 or liz.hutson@ledburybband.co.uk.