This is part 3 of 4 of “OFA Town Meeting 2011” series. Read part one, two and four.
“Our product is not just a luxury. It is a necessity!”
This statement from a member of the audience at the 2011 OFA Town Meeting drew applause. It’s becoming a sort of industry mantra. I have heard it many times this year. Everyone’s saying it. After the Town Meeting, I was honored to receive a Horticulture Industry Leadership Award from GIE Media and Syngenta, and as I walked up to accept the plaque, this was said about me, “[Art] believes that our industry is not doing its job in getting the word out about the incredible value that we provide…and that we’re not just ornamental, but a necessity.”
I don’t think I’ve ever actually said that, and even if I did, I now retract the statement. Perhaps we are a necessity, but that should not be our rallying cry. And I don’t think we should be scared or ashamed of being a luxury.
Consider necessities. Your mortgage is a necessity. Taxes are a necessity. Using the bathroom is a necessity. You buy necessities at Wal-Mart. Where’s the allure in necessities? Where’s the excitement? The market is brutal to necessities, commoditizing and driving them to the lowest common denominator.
Perhaps we would all sell more stuff if the stuff we sold was universally perceived as necessary to survival, but would it be any fun? Would it be profitable? Would it be worth doing? Is that the future we are dreaming of?
Who are we talking to?
I understand a little botany and ecology. Of course, plants are necessary. But is that the key to making the world fall in love with us? I didn’t win my wife’s heart by explaining to her that our species needed to reproduce–that procreation was a necessity–so she had better do her duty. No! I told her that I was madly in love with her and that all I wanted to do was to serve her and make her happy for the rest of our lives.
I think it’s a fine thing for us in the industry to start with a base foundation of knowledge that plants are essential. But why do we need to tell each other this? Do we lack faith in our purpose, or value? Do we really lack that much confidence?
I guess this would be an OK message for elected officials, architects and city planners and such. Let’s preach away at those folks. But is this really the basis for our message–our story–our value proposition–to the world? Buy our stuff because you have to?
Is gardening a chore?
Who likes chores? I take little delight in necessary things; in fact, I avoid them whenever I can. Do we want to make gardening a chore or an escape? A drudgery or a lifestyle? A necessity or a luxury?
There are human basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing. Let’s take clothing, for example, and assume that just as everyone in the world wants to appear attractive in their dress, they also would like to have a nice looking yard. So, if you were to start a business selling clothing, would you want to have your slogan be: “Pants: Don’t leave home without them?” Or would you find that it might be a more profitable tactic to make fashionable clothes that targeted consumers would fall in love with and pay a premium for because they made them feel extra-good about themselves?
Afraid of luxury.
Are we eager to reposition ourselves in the mind of the consumer away from the “luxury good” category because we think we can’t compete with the other luxury goods and services out there? Perhaps we are unwilling to go up against smartphones, big screen TV’s, vacations, furniture, clothing…you name it. If you don’t think we are a legitimate luxury product that consumers should spend their discretionary funds on, well, that might be a big clue to our problem right there.
Ashamed of luxury.
Maybe we are uncomfortable with the “luxury” label because we don’t think its legitimate. Maybe we are a conservative industry of frugal minded folk who don’t live very fancy and think that those who do are pretty irresponsible. Maybe we drink Folgers instead of Starbucks. Maybe we go to SuperCuts instead of the salon. Maybe we drive Fords instead of Cadillacs. Maybe we’re just cheap.
But there is no shame in the luxury that plants offer. In fact, that is one of the key things that will differentiate us from the other luxury items. We offer 100% guilt-free, soul-restoring luxury. Who else can say that?
~Art
PS: Joe Baer, a panelist at the OFA Town Meeting, wrote this blog post in preparation for the event. Here’s an excerpt:
Shoppers are looking for an experience to connect with. Give LOVE and receive LOVE. Give your customers an experience to LOVE. Give them more WOW, ENERGY, CREATIVITY, SUPPORT, EXPERIENCE and ENCOURAGEMENT!
Besides, what’s is there not to love about you? Your industry creates beauty. It creates happiness and it honors our loved ones, celebrates our accomplishments and helps us create safe havens where we can rest, relax and enjoy life with our family and friends. You make us happy. You make our yards look better. You put smiles on our faces. You make our gardens more beautiful and more abundant. You empower us to nurture the earth and eachother. It’s your job to ignite creativity, passion and love through flowers and plants. By selling the right products, tools, supplies, offering tips, education and encouragement you are providing the things to make our lives more comfortable and more rewarding. That is LOVE.
That’s a far cry from staking a claim as a “necessity” in the customer’s mind. Interesting that this is a perspective from a genuine industry-outsider.
I am rapidly falling in love with you, Art!! What a clear and reasoned voice you wield. I will do everything I can to get folks to listen, read, pay attention, and reread.
Good question. I think part of the answer is what people think of the word “luxury”. To some it signifies over the top, and an unnecessary expense at a time when we can least afford it. To others it represents the little extras that make life enjoyable. So the term itself could hamper, or help your biz depending on how you present “luxury”. To some Starbucks is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. Folgers can be a luxury to someone who can’t afford a “cup of Joe”.
Joe Baer say’s, “Give them more WOW, ENERGY, CREATIVITY, SUPPORT, EXPERIENCE and ENCOURAGEMENT!” That can be applied to both luxury items and necessities. It’s in the presentation. Provide the above no matter what avenue you go, necessity or luxury and you should be successful.
You’re so right Art. People will do more out of inspiration than they do out of basic need. After all, we see how much they buy from need already don’t we?
“A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.” – unknown
This quote appears in Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People. He also says something to the effect of, you’ll gather more flies to honey than to vinegar.
As much as many in our industry insist that we should be proud that gardening is “real work” (lest we disappoint people who try and find out and may give up), the main point is that we should inspire them to want to have beautiful gardens around them for one or more of the good reasons there are whether they toil for their own, hire it done, or choose to live where it is provided for them above the basic “required for life” level.
Cars and trucks are good examples of how an industry has romanced and inspired OUR customers to put more value on the upgrade bells and whistles on their car than they invest in better landscapes and food. The auto industry didn’t get together and put money into a “got cars?” promotion. They compete to build a product people like better and are willing to pay MORE for.
People have the money to spend more on plants. It’s not their fault they aren’t inspired enough to do that instead of buying cars with fancy upgrades.
My peers–the 30-something women out there–spend countless hours and lots o’ money on scrapbooking, crocheting, knitting, crafting, etc. Why isn’t gardening part of this mix? Why am I among the few women Facebooking about what’s going on in my garden? I’m doing what I can to spread the gardening gospel. Though, at times, I feel like the lone voice in the wilderness.