This is part 2 of 4 of “OFA Town Meeting 2011” series. Read part one, three and four.
My last post boldly proclaimed that the OFA Town meeting solved “industry woes.” Several people have asked, “Which woes did you solve and what were the solutions?” As you may have guessed, the title had a double meaning: we talked about our woes at the Town Meeting, but the Town Meeting itself epitomizes what is ailing us as an industry. The real woe for our industry was that the Town Meeting was poorly attended.
The happy hour before with the free beer? Packed.
Now I am ready to share some of my thoughts stemming from the content of the Town Meeting. There are three, and I will share each one in a separate post: 1) King of the Hill, 2) Necessity Not a Luxury and 3) Sell Your Soul.
King of the Hill
Why don’t our customers love us any more?
That was the question at the OFA Town Meeting 2011. The best moment came when a member of the audience told us on the panel that we were full of it. He took the microphone and said, “What I’m hearing from the experts up on stage is basically the answer is just ‘marketing.’ But we’ve been hearing that same message for 20 years! It hasn’t worked!”
Do you remember playing the game “king of the hill” when you were a kid? If you’re a business owner, you are still playing that game. Only now, you’re fighting for the consumer’s dollar. It’s a perpetual struggle for attention, perceived value and ultimately the sale. If you take a breather for even a minute you’re guaranteed to slide back down the hill.
You can call this battle for position on the hill “marketing” if you want, or you could call it what it really is: BUSINESS.
By all appearances, most of us in the green industry are not doing too well at climbing the hill. Who’s fault is that? We blame the weather. We blame the economy. We blame our competitors. We even blame the stupid, lazy, fickle American consumer! Maybe it’s time we stopped blaming all the things outside our control and really focused our energy on getting back up the hill. And another thing: at an industry level we should realize that we are all really on the same team–we are the same kid.
Why don’t we have what we want?
It can be discouraging when we’ve been trying our best (we think) for 20 years, and yet that’s no guarantee that some jerk behind us won’t pull us down and we’ll have to start all over again. But that doesn’t mean that we write off “marketing” as a false hope. Marketing is simply asking. We want our customer’s attention. We want their money. We want their LOVE. Why don’t we have what we want?
“You do not have because you do not ask.” Could it be that our customers don’t love us because we haven’t asked them for their love?
Are we loveable?
Perhaps the root of the problem is that we lack confidence that we are worth loving. Maybe we don’t really believe in the value of our product. Consider the price of a plant today compared to 20 years ago…
What is the value of plants? This leads me to the next blog post, a point I’ve been thinking about: “necessity not a luxury.” Coming very soon!
~Art
Rock on, Art. Posted to IGCN as REQUIRED reading
Would you be kind enough to provide informtion about yourself. How long have you owned and run a garden center? How long have you been a grower?
I am not so sure we are the same kid. some of us belief in coexisting, others just want to be left alone, others plain and simple want to kill everyone else. Based on what I know about human nature we have a very daunting task before us to convince everyone for the greater good they must put themselves second.
don’t lump everyone together. We are one of the highest priced retailers in our market. We are able to get that price because we create value inthe customers eye.
Thanks for your comment, Ed! Are we the “same kid?” The closer you look, the more detail you will see. Most consumers sees us from very far away.
Glad that you’re getting high prices, and thanks for reading. ~Art
Hi Art,
Forgive me for commenting on this blog entry after so much time as passed. I sometimes read your blog but somehow missed this entry (found my way to it after reading a recent blog entry). You mention: “He took the microphone and said, “What I’m hearing from the experts up on stage is basically the answer is just ‘marketing.’ But we’ve been hearing that same message for 20 years! It hasn’t worked!”
I realized you are most likely referring to my husband’s comment. I left the meeting right before he stood up to say this, but he told me about the rest of the meeting and the comment he made later that evening. I think, perhaps, the point was somewhat missed. So, to clarify, I believe he was referring to, not marketing per se, but throwing out the idea that maybe it is not just marketing (which is what he interpreted the discussion thus far to be mainly about) but that we need to look at the products we sell and decide what, if any, are even relavent to the consumer anymore. Are we selling compact discs when the rest of the world has moved on to MP4’s, so to speak? I believe he felt during the meeting that there was not a lot of talk about are we even offering the consumer what they really need and want anymore? I know, that is very general and I am sure he, nor I, really have a good answer but that is why he threw it out there, though perhaps stated in such a way that the point was missed.
I hope this year’s town meeting is well attended & productive!
All the best to you! Ab.
Great comment, Amanda. Your husband asked a great question. Thanks!