This 'n' Data

Do you have an appointment?
The 2010 National Lawn & Garden Show, the unique, appointment-driven conference that ensures buyers and vendors quality face-time to hammer out deals, will take place June 15-17 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Colorado Springs.

Like its predecessors, the 16th annual NLGS features guaranteed, pre-set appointments between qualified, decision-making buyers and manufacturers. As a result, every lead is genuine; every appointment is a new opportunity to find products and services that can set a garden center apart from the competition.

“We’re excited because we have more buyers coming to the event that haven’t been to [the NLGS] before,” said NLGS founder and president Bob Mikulas. “And our vendor numbers are consistent with the numbers we’ve had in the past – including a lot of new companies.”

The format works like this:

• Buyers select the product categories they are interested in, which determines the sellers they can choose to see.
• Appointments are scheduled in advance by a proprietary automated appointment program based on matching product categories, so the buyers and sellers will only see companies that have selected their respective product categories.
• Appointment schedules are distributed to buyers and sellers at the event.
• Buyers are assigned conference tables, while sellers follow their schedule and move from table to table.
• Each appointment is 10 minutes in length, and voice prompts over the PA system keep the appointments running smoothly.
• If a buyer and a seller wish to meet longer, “Bonus Time” is set aside each day to facilitate a second (or third) meeting.

To help vendors further woo the buyers, an exclusive POP area that features new products is set up at the show for “any time” browsing by the garden center operators.

To register, or for more information, visit www.nlgshow.com.

Read the book
Want to know what gardeners think? That’s a rhetorical question, of course. The rhetorical answer to it, at least according to the National Gardening Association, is “What Gardeners Think,” a consumer-market research study from NGA that is a “must read” for industry players.

The unique report offers important information about the types of gardeners in America, their attitudes, and what motivates them.

From the master gardener to the novice, the study reveals the latest notions about gardening. The study provides detailed, factual data that will help leaders in the lawn and garden market make sound strategic marketing decisions.

Here’s another rhetorical question: Do you want to be a leader in the lawn and garden market that makes sound strategic marketing decisions? Visit www.gardenresearch.com.