The Power of Connection

The Power of Connection!

by Danny Summers

I believe the Power of Connection can mean everything! We saw first-hand what all of us being connected through The Group meant during the turbulent weeks in the spring of 2020. And even since then the Power of Connection has shown us much more. It enabled us to quickly pivot to react to the changing retail environment and needs of your Guests. It also provided results from these positive management changes through our Annual P&L Studies for both 2020 and 2021. The fact is your Power of Connection with 130+ peer Centers through The Group offers the unique resources many other Centers do not have.

The Power of Connection could also describe what we have witnessed over the past two years with so many people being drawn to the activity of gardening and having plants in their lives. Last year at The Fall Event 2021 we experienced The Nature Fix story by Florence Williams and why we all need more nature in our lives. This has not changed in 2022, even though sometimes weather restricts our opportunities. The Power of Connection with gardening and plants and their positive benefits should remain one of our primary focuses to share with everyone.

The Power of Connection is also at the heart of your relationship with your Guests. Creating more than a transactional relationship is extremely important for your Center. When reduced to a transactional relationship, it becomes simply about availability and price – the lowest price game.  We all know that is not how to build a long-term successful business today. The idea of building an Emotional Relationship with your Guests will be an key topic at The Fall Event 2022 and just one important reason you should be with us.

There are a number of exciting benefits of The Fall Event 2022 being in Kansas City, Missouri and just one of them that quickly caught my attention is that Hallmark first started there 111 years ago. This worldwide company continues to be privately owned and family-directed. And the Power of Connection is at the heart of Hallmark as well. One of their stated purposes is:

Create a more Emotionally Connected world and make a genuine difference in every life, every day.

Hallmark has created an industry of offering ways for people to send emotion-filled messages through their greeting cards. But there's much more to share in the Hallmark story.

If you can create an Emotional Relationship with your Guests, they will be more connected to you, your team, your product and services, and everything that is your company (Tom Kegley would call that "Your Brand"). They will visit your Center more often, buy more of what you have to offer, and even be your very best new Guest Lead Generator! In typing this paragraph it brought to mind one of our original Sears Roebuck training principles... It is much easier to keep a current customer happy than it is to find new ones. If you do any searches on this subject today you will quickly see estimates of 5x more effort and costs to find new ones. This means the Power of Connection for you and your Guests should be one of your most important goals.

This is why I believe one topic at The Fall Event 2022 is so important for your Center. I am excited to introduce you to Darren Abbott, Senior Vice President of Global Product Development and Consumer Experience at Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Darren will be our keynote on Tuesday, September 20th, with The Power of Emotional Marketing. Today, Darren leads one of the world's largest and most renowned creative, product development and consumer experience teams, including more than 700 artists, designers, stylists, writers, photographers, marketers, data scientists, merchants, and other creative and product professionals. This will prove to be an exciting and beneficial experience as we learn how to leverage The Power of Emotional Marketing in your Center! The following is a video created  a few years ago as the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) honored Darren as an AIGA Fellow:

 

We hope to see you in Kansas City, September 19-22, 2022 where we'll be exploring Beyond the Boundaries of Garden Retailing. The Fall Event is all about sharing, learning, and growing. No matter how long you’ve been in retail or what position you hold in your company, there’s still something to learn. It's a Can't-Miss event! For program details, registration, and hotel information CLICK HERE. And watch for more program details of The Fall Event 2022 each week.

Sharing is at the heart of The Group and your ideas are very important. If you have any trouble logging into The Group WebSystem, please let me know. Are you and your staff all subscribed to our eLists such as GroupEs, Retail-Grower, Retail-Landscape, Owners-Only, and a number of others? Need help subscribing? Let me know so I can show you how you can sign up.
Thanks for sharing!

Danny Summers
[email protected]
Tel: 678-909-7770
Cell: 678-761-7145

REMEMBER: Your interaction (by phone and email) with Group Service Providers such as Tim Quebedeaux, Sid Raisch, John Kennedy, Jean Seawright, and of course Danny Summers are included in your retainer!

 

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