Becoming The Experience Maker

by Danny Summers

I did not come up with the title of this message myself. Becoming the Experience Maker is the title of Dan Gingiss' new book, which is the 2nd edition of his award-winning book, The Experience Maker, originally published in 2022. Dan says...

"In today’s competitive retail environment, Garden Centers can no longer rely on price or product alone to stand out – customers have more choices than ever. So, how can your business cultivate long-term loyalty and turn shoppers into passionate advocates? The answer is Customer Experience."

Dan will be our keynote speaker at The Fall Event 2025 as he presents:

A Remarkable Experience Is Your Biggest Competitive Advantage

And if you are with us at The Fall Event 2025, you will not only see Dan's powerful message, but you will also receive a copy of his new book.

Back in early spring I received a call from a veteran Garden Center Owner, telling me he had just attended an outdoor living presentation and heard the best message in decades. He said he not only got so much from the presentation itself, but he also had actionable things to put into practice at his Garden Center the following week.

The speaker was Dan Gingiss. That same week, I connected with Dan, and everything fell into place. I am so excited that Dan will be with us in Raleigh. [Thank You – Tom Hebel]

Dan says, "Today, you need to create a culture of Experience Makers that are WISER than the competition. Experience Makers are focused on the customer with everything they do, creating customer experiences that are WISER:

The WISER methodology is like a secret recipe for customer experience success, except it’s not secret, and you don’t need a Michelin-star chef to pull it off. It’s a simple, proven framework to turn every employee into an Experience Maker."

Dan's message is the perfect one for our Centers at this time. Here's why...

In 2020, Ken Gronbach, in "Profiting from the Demographic Shifts Ahead", told us how the big population shift was coming and how Millennials would become our largest audience and how they will be very dedicated consumers of plants and gardening products. Ken's book, Upside, provided a huge amount of information.

In 2021, Florence Williams, in "The Nature Fix", revealed how her life experiences brought her to the point of understanding that became the basis for writing her book – The Nature Fix. Her work to develop her book, The Nature Fix, took her around the world looking for the science behind our need for nature in our lives. I believe it should be at the heart of every Garden Retailer's story... Why we need nature in our lives.

In 2022, Darren Abbott, Senior Vice President of Global Product Development and Consumer Experience, Hallmark Cards, in "The Power of Emotional Marketing", said "Every decision we make is rooted in emotion. These emotions influence our customers’ purchasing decisions and the actions they take in our garden centers, the way they react to our ads, our websites, and emails. Weaving emotion into your marketing can be the secret to success. Hallmark is in the business of connecting people through human emotion and the spectrum of human emotion is part of their currency. You are sharing the extremely important benefits of having a relationship with plants, flowers, and gardening (and your Center). So who better to ask for advice on the subject of emotional marketing?"

In 2023, Maggie Nichols, CEO of Eureka! Ranch, in "Keys to Innovation Success", shared her wealth of practical knowledge and hard data that motivated us to think more creatively and innovatively about the growth of your business. She walked us through how to create a culture for your team that is the framework for Innovation Engineering Eureka! Ranch does for big companies every week.

In 2024, Katie Tamony, Monrovia's Chief Marketing Officer, in "The Evolving Customer", said "The Evolving Customer… is more interested in gardening, but has many more choices in where to get information and shop. What do you offer that your competitor can’t? They are more self guided, and looking to make smart choices. And they value experience and service and the value of their time."

Now, in 2025, it's the right time to focus on the Customer Experience!

I hope you will be with us. It's time to GET REGISTERED, grab your seat, your hotel reservations, and make your travel plans. All the details are HERE.

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!