Raise your hand if you think the nursery industry is really good at marketing its products. Now raise the other if you think the big branded-plant programs of the last 10 years have been complete successes.
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If you look like you’re signaling a field goal, lower your arms so that they’re pointing straight out in front of you. Now we can easily slide on the strait jacket and send you to your rubber room.
Because you’re nuts.
Yes, our industry has come a long way since the pre-Flower Carpet rose days. Programs such as Encore azaleas, Endless Summer hydrangeas and Knock Out roses have been big hits.
The marketing folks behind these programs have gotten the message out to the gardening public, creating a buzz and generating pull-through demand necessary for brands to succeed. We’ve grown product in containers with colors that, previously, existed in nature only in bags of Skittles.
We should be proud of ourselves, except for one thing.
A huge portion of our market isn’t getting the message. In fact, the segment of our market that is actually growing is being ignored.
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The problem with these marketing programs is that they don’t target landscapers. This is unfortunate. It’s the equivalent of a big-game hunter ignoring a trophy elk standing in front of him with a “shoot me” sign painted on its chest.
Statistics show a steady decline in consumer gardening sales. At the same time landscape construction and installation continues to grow at a steady pace. It’s obvious why. The
That’s why marketing and branded-plant programs of the future need to also address the commercial side. It could be a win for everybody. The breeder who develops the superior plant makes more royalties. The licensed growers and wholesalers selling these products sell more plants for higher margins. Landscapers can also sell these upscale plants for more money and, by putting them in their designs, differentiate themselves from their competition.
And, most importantly, the end consumer is left with terrific plants that perform better with less maintenance. It’s the perfect solution for today’s time-strapped, Blackberry-toting homeowner.
Hold your horses
So why is the gardening public more aware of these new, branded plants than landscapers? It’s because design/build contractors are busy. They don’t have time to do much research on the latest new products hitting the market. It’s easier -- and less risky -- to stick with what they know and what they’re sure will work.
These branded plants hit a roadblock at the wholesale level. I am approached by nurseries selling the latest and greatest new plants. The problem is, as a distribution center/wholesaler, I can’t stock plants that won’t sell. If my clientele hasn’t heard of a plant, it’s going to sit there.
So the key is education, and this isn’t an easy task. You can create consumer demand for a plant with big, expensive, flashy advertisements. To convince landscapers to try a new plant you need this and more.
Landscapers’ livelihoods depend on the performance of the plants they install. Magazine ads alone won’t get them to try something new.
So it’s an education issue. This is the responsibility of wholesalers like me, growers and the developers of these new plants. Only when we work together can we achieve the true potential of branded-plant programs. And I’m ready to give it a shot.
If it doesn’t work, reserve one of those rubber rooms for me.
“Contractors”
I know there are some that will bristle,
But sales will take off like a missile.
Our profits will grow,
When landscapers know,
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All of a new plant’s bells and whistles.
- Todd Davis
March 2008