Cha-ching (1-17)

The successful garden center has many faces, but one constant that seems to define all the great retail operations is their ability to brand themselves as something different/better/necessary. Passiglia's Nursery & Garden Center in Wildwood, Mo., lets customers know just what they're getting in every marketing effort -- from those at the store proper to the virtual tour available on the company website.

"Passiglia's is your source for the outdoors!" is the company motto and mantra, and everything about the store reinforces that message. It has plants for the outdoors (of course), decorative items for the outdoors, landscape design services for the outdoors and a showcase location that shows -- every day -- just how good the outdoors can be.

By branding the outdoors, the store transforms to something beyond a garden retailer, just as it morphs into the aforementioned different/better/necessary. That's a trifecta of identifying factors that not only attracts customers but that encourages them to invest in the store's products and services once they pay a visit. 

That investment? We like to call it "Cha-ching!"

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