Age is Just a Number
by Robert Hendrickson
I got back from a trip to Farm and Home to purchase seed potatoes and onion sets when it hit me… I’m now one of those guys other people talk about when they say… “Don’t old-timers always plant potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day?” When did this happen? Why wasn’t I notified when passing from rock guy who listens to Hendrix with the lights out to some “old-timer potato planter” expected to wear bib overalls and listen to country music? That’ll never happen. ZZTopp is as country as I can handle.
I admit I did buy seed potatoes in preparation for Saint Pat’s Day, even though there’s six inches of mud on top of a foot of frozen ground in the garden. And I do drive an old pick-up truck. But it’s currently undergoing a heart transplant, yanking out the lumbering six-cylinder in favor of a beefed-up Mustang engine some “young guy” couldn’t handle and ran off the road.
Old guys don’t do that... do they?
But lately when I look in the mirror, the guy I expect to see isn’t there. Someone who looks like my dad is peering back. Then I remember when he was one of those “old-timers who always plant potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day” and just smile.
So here’s a suggestion as you plan your marketing messages for 2019. Take advice from my friend David Wolfe, the author of what I consider one of the best business books ever written… “Ageless Marketing”. Ignore demographics. Forget all the weary industry chatter about generational differences and how you have to market differently in order to reach your “target customer base” of future gardeners.
Like I told people at one of the last Louisville Clinics when the only way for me to get on stage was to have Novalis strong-arm the association in exchange for their sponsorship...
“It doesn’t matter how your marketing message gets delivered. It’s the words you choose to use that makes all the difference. The heart is 18” from the brain so set your sights a little lower. Speak to people’s heart and their feet will follow.”
It’s an old company that began back in the ‘30’s but they understand what many seem to think is a “new” approach to marketing. Telling your story. Take a look at the first few pages of their “old-fashioned marketing” magazine:
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Words in support of the importance of story and a great looking ad any garden center would be proud to run. [To download a PDF of the ad CLICK HERE.]
Robert
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Give Robert a call or email!
Robert Hendrickson
Cell: 443-255-8282
Email: CLICK HERE
Robert Hendrickson is founder and a service provider for The Garden Center Group and our "guru" for how to best tell your story.
REMEMBER: Your interaction (by phone and email) with Group Service Providers such as Robert Hendrickson, Steve Bailey, Sid Raisch, Jean Seawright and John Kennedy are included in your retainer!
