The Garden Retailing Train

by Danny Summers

If you have been receiving GROUPtalk for some time now, the image above and the title of this message may seem vaguely familiar, and you are correct. I first used this in August of 2021 with a slightly different title, "The Train of Garden Retailing." At the time, we had already been through the spring seasons of 2020 and 2021. I know you remember what that was like. It was a time of great change for all Garden Centers, adapting to new ways to do many things, in order to serve your growing customer audience.

In the August 2021 message, I began by saying, "At first glance this might appear as a strange combination...Train verses Garden Retailing? But bear with me as I share some thoughts I have had in recent months. This idea came to me as I was talking with prospective Centers who asked about what we do in The Group and why they should consider joining. Basically, "Why The Group?"

The balance of my thoughts in the original message was emphasizing how The Group sharing (in so many ways) can be important for moving your Center forward, in a direction of progress and success. Much was focused on changing Center operations to better meet the increased demands, while under restricted circumstances a portion of the time.

Today, while operations are still a part of the continual improvement processes, "the Train" representing change today is most likely considering your changing customer audience as well as the plants and gardening activity they are drawn to as they develop their "green thumbs."

Obviously, our Centers vary in how much of a shift is going on with each location. But, regardless of the level of change in your customer audience, you are experiencing at least some. Others may be seeing a faster turnover to a new audience.

If you were with us last Thursday for the April GROUPtalk LIVE session, you know much of the conversation was on social platforms to share your Center's messaging. During the session, our guest speakers discussed which social platform(s) you are using to share messaging is dependent on your audience mix.

One question asked by our Retailers was, "Should you tailor your message to the social audience you are focusing on? The consensus was if you are sharing solid educational-type content and see there is interest, use it across all social platforms. The format might be different, but the content is similar. Our guest speakers acknowledged the differences of each platform's audience groups and changes or shifts may be needed to follow the migration of your audience from one platform to another. Something to think about is... how will you know?

The moving Train may also show us where opportunities arise, in products, programs, and services, all leading to a new Train Track covered by The Group Financial Programs.

Obviously, The Group's 12+ eLists are a big part of the normal day-to-day sharing. I often talk about when a Center is not connected they are like "an island unto itself" or a "stranded island." The level of a Center's connectivity helps create knowledge and experience, without having to learn much of it on its own.

If I were to share one sentence to depict this message overall (my version of CliffsNotes) it might be... "The Group is a hyper-sharing community, all moving together to build upon success. Your success!"

If you would like to step back in time to August 2021 and read "The Train of Garden Retailing" simply follow this link. You can easily see where we have been and what you were going through at that time.

I am thankful to be on "The Garden Retailing Train" with YOU – Welcome Aboard!