Cha-ching! (7-1)

Every garden center would love to bond with its community. Green View in Peoria, Ill., not only does that, it proudly touts every affiliation its management team -- and its staff -- has with significant neighborhood groups.

On the Green View website, a page is dedicatedto civic, philanthropic and professional causes to which company personnel donate time and money. The list numbers in the dozens and serves to remind customers that Green View is THEIR community garden center in many ways.

Sometimes we get bashful about tooting our own horn, but, as Green View shows, when the honk has beneficial ramifications, you should play a symphony. Certainly, "Cha-ching!" isn't the driving force for this kind of marketing, but it just as certainly is a benefit.

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