Virtual value

Most of us do some type of research before we make a big purchase. Large or infrequent purchases vary in time and dollar amount from customer to customer, but for many, horticulture and greenhouse products qualify as either or both. As such, information becomes even more critical to not only the sale of a product, but also the customer’s success with it at home. We know information is essential to success with our products, but how can we get it into the hands of our customers and ultimately, into the hands of consumers?

While it would be nice to have a personal shopper who could answer questions and make recommendations to every garden center shopper, most companies simply can’t afford that much labor. So the savvy grower can help retail customers provide information another way. Three-fourths of the participants in a study about mixed annual plant container preferences said they would be more likely to purchase the container gardens if extensive care information were available (Mason, et al., 2008). In fact, 85 percent of respondents said they would be willing to visit a website to get that information.

That same year, another study showed 78 percent of survey participants had searched for gardening information online at least once in the year prior (Behe et al, 2008). A study conducted in 2011 showed that searching for gardening-related information online increased the likelihood of buying a plant or gardening-related product by 19 percent (Behe et al., 2013). Clearly, online information is an essential part of enhancing the shopping experience, but how can a grower help to deliver this information?

Get in on the action
There are probably several crops that are signature products of a grower. These signature products — or core products — are items that the company has a history of growing well. Retailers may buy these products from a grower first, adding on other sales as a second priority. What’s important to know is that with the sale of these key products comes the opportunity to emerge as the information leader for those products.

For example, one business might be “the” grower for begonia. There are several cultivars of begonia on the market, and the grower is good at producing many of them. Several retailers even feature those begonias in a promotion at some point in the spring. All of this results in an excellent opportunity for the grower to offer information not only to the retailers, but to retailers’ customers as well. The grower might develop some quick response (QR) codes for several of the begonia cultivars. The QR codes work as two-dimensional hyperlinks to a specific website where the retailer or retailer’s customer can get information about the care and culture of that type of begonia. Figure 1 shows a QR code generator, and Figure 2 shows the two-dimensional code generated from the URL of the website shown.

If the product is branded, the grower might work with the brand to customize a website. It is essential that these websites be mobile-ready because many customers are using their smartphones for in-store information searches. If a website isn’t modified to be seen on a mobile device, you may lose customers.

Online information can be posted at the point-of-purchase as well. Customers may be in a bit of a hurry, or they may find the retailer busy on a Saturday in spring. That won’t prevent the customer from wanting some information about a stunning plant they see on the bench. Why not include some signage to highlight “new” products and use a QR code to focus attention on the information that is available after the customer leaves the store? By posting a sign with some identification and ideal location in the landscape (sun versus shade) and a QR code, you can lead the customer online to see what that plant may look like in the landscape and stimulate a sale that might not otherwise happen.

Information about where, how and when to plant can be just the tipping point to encourage a new customer to try a product they find appealing but have no experience with. If the plant is an edible herb or food-producing plant, the information also might include how to harvest and prepare the fruits of their labor. For example, how many customers might be willing to plant a spaghetti squash if they could see some recipes that include how to harvest (or know when it is ripe) and prepare the product?

Distinguish yourself
It would be a luxury for retail operations to have personal assistants for every customer who wanted help; they can’t afford the labor. But a grower can set him/herself apart from competitors by being a reliable source of online information to retail customers. Growers can develop and continually upgrade this information as part of an incentive for retailers to make repeat purchases.

With online information, it is relatively easy to monitor how many people access the information, so growers may even provide that feedback to retail customers.

In an era of hyper-competition, it can be a real challenge to distinguish your business from many others. Consumer information is such an essential element of the shopping process that growers should view this as another service they provide to their retail customers.

Consider identifying several crops for which you might develop online and point-of-purchase support materials for your retail customers this spring. You’ll be a big help — if not a real hero.

Bridget Behe is a frequent contributor to Greenhouse Management and a professor in the department of horticulture at Michigan State University.
 

References: Behe, B.K., C.R. Hall, B.L. Campbell, H. Khachatryan, and J.H. Dennis. 2013 (forthcoming). Smart Phone Use and Online Search and Purchase Behavior of North Americans: Gardening and Non-Gardening Information and Products. HortScience (accepted). Behe, Bridget K., Brittany Harte, and Chengyan Yue. 2008. Consumers’ Gardening-Related Search and Purchase Behavior Online. J. Environmental Horticulture 26(4):210-216. Mason, Shannon, Terri Starman, R.D. Lineberger, and Bridget K. Behe. 2008. Consumer Preferences for Price, Color Harmony and Care Information of Container Gardens. HortScience 43(1):380-384.