Connect+ by Proven Winners®
New Promotional Support Program for 2020
[Danny] This past week, while we were at the Farwest Show, Proven Winners' Jessica DeGraaf shared with me a new promotional support program they are introducing for 2020. You may remember they offered a special program this past spring where our centers could participate in a customized video series by Garden Answer's Laura and Aaron LeBoutillier. The program produced a series of videos each participating center could use on their website and in social media. The program was very reasonable and gave a wonderful message and a number of you participated. This new expanded program for 2020 brings together a number of offerings and is called Connect+. I asked Jessica to give us some commentary on the program and she sent us the following details.
While we discussed each tier of options to Connect+, we discussed the real value of just a couple of the elements such as the Facebook or Pandora pieces, it was obvious it would cost a center much more than the total cost of this offer and therefore what a great value this could be for our centers. Obviously you need to consider what Proven Winners® programs you will be carrying, what they can offer that matches up with those products and how you can implement in your center. If the product mix matches what you can sell, the value of this offer is pretty amazing. At a time of increasing effort is needed to handle all the promotional tools a center is utilizing today, this type of support can bring some needed relief. Be sure to also follow the link at the bottom to see the simple chart showing the four levels of promotional support.
Here's Jessica's message to you:
Danny, thanks for your time yesterday. I thought that I’d do my best to give you a deeper overview of the Connect+ Program below.
Basis of the Program:
Program/benefit simplification for our retailers
Education on the programs we offer
Marketing support that many retailers crave
Affordability
Upgradeable
This is a program that’s exclusive to IGCs and is not based on volume, previous purchase, size or number of stores. All IGCs are able to participate as desired, and rather than having an a-la-cart program, we’ve developed 3 tiers a customer can choose from for support, at the same time still offering our “Getting Started” offerings for zero cost.
The simplification aspect is the result of reviewing all our programs and noticing that we had various deadlines throughout the season for each program that didn’t serve retailers well. Many retailers expressed an interest in “putting to bed” their decisions in the summer/fall months before they focus on the holidays, and certainly before the next spring planning begins. Therefore, we’ve established an early-bird pricing by Jan 1st. In the future, retailers can sign up for the following spring by July 1st of the previous year.
The education refers to creating a succinct list of all our programs IGCs can take advantage of. As we developed the program, we shared the “benefits” list with retailers and each one was blown away by what they were missing or didn’t know we offered (reps too have had this reaction). So creating an accompanying chart has helped create clarity at a glance.
We also know that many retailers are struggling with staffing and finding affordable options to get marketing campaigns going. Many have great intentions, but they often fall short of expectations for a variety of reasons including the lack of talented staff . As a result, Proven Winners wants to come alongside retailers who cannot afford their own Pandora campaign, or don’t know how to initiate a Facebook campaign that is more than merely boosting their posts, and handle a portion of their marketing efforts for them.
Affordability is a key component of the program – recognizing that costs are scrutinized more than ever. Retailers who have had a chance to preview the program have said “it’s a no brainer – we spend that much for a consultant or media buyer, and you’re doing all the work”, or “I would have paid more than that!”. Retailers will recognize that if they tried to duplicate the benefits we offer in each tier, it would cost double or triple what we’re charging. This is intentional – as it’s not our objective to cover our costs, but to subsidize each of these benefits on behalf of the IGCs that wish to partner with Proven Winners.
Which then leads to the last element, upgradeability. This does not mean jumping from one tier to another in a given year, but rather once a tier is chosen, there are a number of benefits that a retailer can “upgrade” to better suit their needs – such as more Gardener’s Idea books, an extended Pandora or Facebook campaign, or more social media graphics. While there are additional costs for selecting an upgrade, it allows great flexibility and maintains affordability at the same time.
SPECIAL OFFER for Group Centers: We will be offering a special additional offer for Clients of The Garden Center Group on top of the normal program. Watch for details. To see the three levels of support options DOWNLOAD OUR PDF HERE.
We believe CONNECT+ can address each of the issues mentioned and provide wonderful results for retailers who wish to participate. Meghan and I are available to answer any questions Group Centers have and we also look forward to showing you more at The Fall Event 2019!
Thank you!
Jessica DeGraaf
Retail Account Manager
Proven Winners®
[email protected]
Mobile: 616.706.7970
The #1 Plant Brand
www.provenwinners.com