What You Know Can Be Priceless

by Danny Summers

If you saw John Kennedy's blog message* last week here in GROUPtalk (Delivering an Exceptional Customer Experience - Part 6), and if you followed the link to the full blog story version and watched John share his thoughts, you saw him refer to "Keeping Your Customer." He actually had details relating to each of the 4 letters in the word Keep.

His idea around the first letter "K" was about "Knowing Your Customer." This got me thinking... how much do Garden Centers know about the customer?

And John's words on how a hotel chain's system allows the person checking him in to know details about him and even say, "Welcome Back Mr. Kennedy."

How can we expect a Garden Center to build a closer relationship with a customer without knowing more about them?

How can your team capture any details about a customer so that every team member has that profile information available anytime your Center is serving them?

Does your POS system give you the ability to capture customer profile notes? Can you capture areas or activities of interest? The POS system seems to be the best place to store this level of knowledge.

If you were with us at The Fall Event 2022 in Kansas City, you experienced Darren Abbott with Hallmark and his Emotional Marketing message. Darren confirmed that the truth is... you can't create an emotional connection without knowing your customer.

For me, the ultimate is having a relationship with a company or service and they know your name without providing anything. They just know you. For instance, Karen and I have had the same State Farm Agent for nearly 30 years. We know each other's voice, without any introduction.

OK, I know Caller ID can give you a "leg up" in the phone call recognition sometimes, but knowing a customer's face or voice and being able to say... "Hello, Ms. Smith" can create a relationship that most businesses just can't.

And then knowing more about Ms. Smith, what plants she is interested in, what she collects, and even what gardening activities she enjoys... can be priceless.

Priceless. A simple word when you think about it. The word has been etched into our minds with countless messages about one particular brand... Mastercard. In 2019 Marketing Week wrote in an article...

"In the late 1990s, Mastercard needed a long-term marketing platform to help reboot the brand, which was on a “burning platform” in the US. But while Mastercard knew it was on to a winner with ‘Priceless’, no one foresaw it still being part of the brand’s DNA 22 years later."

You know this tagline by heart...

“There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else there’s __________.”

Click to watch this 27+ year-old message.



For Garden Centers, the relationship you have with your customers can truly be priceless.

Much of John Kennedy's work revolves around creating a company culture with an intended level of service. Part of the culture should be a true desire to know more about every customer that comes through your gates.

What you know can be priceless!

*To see John Kennedy's message referenced above Click Here.