Ian's Bits & Bobs: The Blog

FamilyTree_HelperSigns

Helping Customers Succeed – The First Time

I know most people are up to their neck in spring and don’t have time to read my ramblings, let alone hold meetings to implement new ideas. But I wanted to record what I am seeing out there just in case some readers were able to use it to help their customers succeed – the first time. The industry is changing because the customer is changing, as my analysis of this year’s National Garden Survey data shows.

Walk any type of garden store (I’ve seen 12 in the last few days) and watch shoppers, especially the younger novices. You can see confusion bordering on panic on some customers’ faces as they read every bottle or plant label, asking each other “what’s the difference between these two?” They have bought into the concept of outdoor fun with the kids or healthy home-grown food but matching the dream with reality is another matter.  “Fear of failure” is the main drawback to increased garden spending at times like this.

So, keeping it brief for Mother’s Day weekend, here are some questions/queries to use for your training or critiques in the next few days:

  • Do displays/signs assure first-timers (e.g., ‘Easiest succulent we carry!’)
  • Is wording simple and encouraging, or botanical and fear-inducing?
  • Are there simple bundles such as “Perennial Success Kit” or “Fresh Potatoes Without Digging”?
  • Are the top 15-20 selling plants accompanied by their essential tie-in products and how-to info?
  • Are guarantee signs positive and pro-customer, or defensive and pro-company?
  • Is there an information desk? Is it always staffed by happy, competent people?
  • Are customer success stories and reviews shared online or on site?
  • Are online how-to videos promoted at the point of purchase for customers to access as they shop?
  • Is there help line/website reference or at home consultancy available for after purchase questions?

How much money from the customer’s “Fear of Failure” is being left on your table for another year?

Let us all know how this questionnaire played out!

Photo by Ian, taken at Family Tree (KS)

May 5, 2016 5 Comments
GrowYourOwnSalsa_cropped

Let’s Sell Emotional Values!

The phrase “The Value Proposition” is marketing-speak for “In return for your money (or effort or time etc.), you get this” and is worth more than an academic glance. Just look how the “Mad Men” in advertising have used that simple premise to help us all to part with our money for decades:

–          Concerned about that daunting list of side effects in a medication ad? (Sure, but just the idea of not sneezing every five minutes in spring makes it that a deal you can accept.)

–          Excited to turn over all your home TV and internet to one giant cable company? (No but you DO like the idea of watching whatever you want, when you want.)

These types of ads carefully craft a message of emotional benefits (the outcomes of the purchase), while the garden industry mostly still features the technical details. From propagator/manufacturer to retailer we see garden product ads, signs, labels or training manuals that are heavy on product functions (“Spreader-sticker” anyone?).

We see “Takes partial shade” instead of “Fill that bare spot under a tree” or “soaker hose” rather than “Waters gently like Mother Nature”. Maybe THAT’S why Americans spend more per household on Pizza than on gardening!

Marketers realized years ago that consumers spend more easily on emotional benefits than on functional ones. That’s why people drive miles to save gas money, so they can spend it at their favorite restaurant!

With competition from the smartest marketers on the planet, the lawn & garden business should spice-up the (sometimes necessary) technical language with words that suggest the product benefit (outcomes!) in simple emotional terms. We have highly marketable products with infinite emotions from excitement and joy, through pride and accomplishment, to solace and peace. We have things that taste great, clean the air, increase property values, reduce utility bills, create privacy, enrich lives and save the planet. But we still talk or merchandise to the public in technical or hobbyists terms. Just look at what “Mad Men” do with soap, drugs or insurance and think of what you could do with gardening!

So instead of “quick grower, 6ft by 5ft, $99” how about “Hide the neighbors for under $100”? Or for “3 months continuous feeding” substitute “Feed and forget” (with a 90 day reminder to buy more).

Train to Think Like the Customer

Team training should focus on the end result, not the process, as employees make the emotional value proposition: emphasizing the cool style of succulents or the fun of a child measuring a sunflower.

In training meetings I have found employees so anxious to tell the customer every single fact, they miss the essential motivator – the emotions of the end result. Stressing “things they need to know” means that emotional values like the fragrance of lilac or tasting that first tomato are missed. I even heard one experienced manager telling a customer “I think you’ll find it worth the effort” when she balked at digging a big hole for a shrub!

So let’s see more emotional values from the entire supply chain:

  • Let’s read about “A green lawn for 90% less than a lawn-care service” (money-saving is a MAJOR emotional benefit!)
  • Let’s see plant labels spelling out nostalgia like “Grandma’s Lilac” or the fragrance of Old Roses
  • Let’s suggest the environmental satisfaction of creating a Monarch haven
  • Let’s see POP with “Basil on your balcony” for apartment dwellers and “Hops made easy” for home-brewers.
  • Let’s hear employees talking of “Relaxing sounds of wind chimes” or a fountain that “Hides the sound of the dog next door”!
  • Let’s see displays that call out “Best herb for grilling steak” in the myriad of herb choices.
  • Let’s focus on those emotions that entice consumers to save on gas and spend it in this industry!

… and finally, let me know what you come up with: happy propositioning!

Photo by Ian, on the road somewhere

Apr 27, 2016 6 Comments
AutoMall_Generic

Has Your Retail Kept Up With The Rest Of The World?

It’s good to know that some things are just like they used to be. In an era of the rapid, irreversible change that the digital world has brought us, there are some things in life upon which one can depend. Don’t you sometimes wonder if there are some aspects of shopping which, despite our fears that the “on-line” world would have completely turned things upside down, have remained as they were, solid, dependable and seemingly un-fazed by 2015….?

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you (ta daa!): the auto mall!

Yes. For those who worried about car salespeople becoming an endangered species, fear not. They are still very common in auto malls (and with what looks like a good crop of youngsters coming through too.)

Yes, they still operate under that same assumption that everyone wants to “deal”. Still spouting that rapid-fire of features jargon from brake horse power (eh?) to bluetooth. Still the total lack of interest in the customers’ situation, needs or even current vehicles. Still that same derisory offer on your pride-and-joy trade-in. Still that disrespect for the competition. Still that testosterone-infused showroom with high fives, private jokes and the all-knowing, all-powerful “finance guy”. (Gosh, we even spotted one in a blue shirt with a white collar – memories of Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street”!)

After two (long) days we changed our mind and invested in our current fleet instead, realizing why we keep our cars a long time. Replacing a car is such an unenjoyable experience. We were prepared to spend as much in one afternoon as many of those people make in months – which in itself is an interesting observation – yet we felt like pawns in a game. Their game.

So the auto industry failed to relate to us and make the sale, but it did get me thinking about how retail home and garden teams are keeping up with the times. I would be interested to hear from readers as to how you and your companies have modernized the sales process to reflect today’s consumer lifestyles.

First Impressions Are Now Digital and Increasingly Mobile

  • Is your website mobile-friendly? (or does it feature impossible to navigate crowded screen pages?)
  • Do you offer any on-line Q&A (in real-time) and problem solving?
  • Are there mobile-friendly how-to videos of solutions to at least the top twenty garden questions?
  • Are in-store classes filmed and filed as a library for loyalty club members?
  • Can customers bring their garden pics to be put on a big screen for discussion and suggestions?
  • Are garden/landscape designers available in retail at weekends (not a given at all)?
  • Is there a “fast-track” for on-line order pick up and pay?
  • Can customers never shop on-site and still spend lots of money easily and happily?
  • Does your company offer personal shoppers, coaches, or in-home consultations?
  • Is there a VIP program for “spendy” loyalty club members (credit card on file) to avoid register lines?
  • Has the inventory been expanded to fulfill one-stop-shopping for most common garden projects?

But The Local Garden Center Is a People Business

  • Does your retail team put the customer before a task? (50 years and counting on that one!)
  • Has your company adopted a strategy of “It’s Showtime!” between say 10am and 4pm?
  • Are there separate teams for receiving/maintenance/merchandising and for one-on-one selling?
  • Does everyone on the team recognize shoppers’ time value and do their best to get them in and out?
  • Does your team’s Product Knowledge relate to Gen X and Gen Y needs and inspire them to buy?
  • Does your layout encourage “Silent Selling” through merchandising, signage, product groupings and solutions?
  • Do your company image and facilities (and team!?) look/feel/smell/sound different to 1995 or even 2005?
  • How has your overall shopping experience improved since the advent of smart phones in 2007?

It Better Be Better!

The shopping experience has to be better than “good” in the days of Yelp to at least avoid a bad review and it makes no difference whether the product is a $40,000 car or a $40 shrub. Hopefully your store doesn’t create an unsatisfying experience like ours at the auto mall. The final judgement about the shopping experience (and consequently the company’s brand value) comes from the customer’s reflection: “Was the end result worth the process and cost?”

Let’s start a dialogue here, I’d love to know how many checks (or ticks for the Brits) your company scores on these questions, and where you see opportunities for improvement. Thanks!

 

 

Oct 5, 2015 8 Comments
SorryNotSorry

#SorryNotSorry

Recently I felt I had reason to complain (who, me?) to a museum that was closed on a Tuesday (the only day I was in town), given the 2000 miles distance and tight business travel. Afterwards, I emailed them suggesting that to take a day off in the summer tourist season was to lose credibility with people (like me) who had long supported their cause. If retailers, airlines and hotels can run every day of the week why do museums (and some Nature Reserves – equally irritating) need a day off to attend to the facilities?

I thought my protest had value. Their response said that they understood my disappointment – good start – but then proceeded to patronizingly justify their action with details about all their operational needs.

A few years ago, when given a two door rental car instead of the four door car I had reserved and paid for, I was told by the agent, “You don’t understand my problem, Mr Baldwin”. He was right: not only did I not understand his problem, I really didn’t care. I was trying to imagine the week ahead with a 2 door car.

Customers don’t care about your problems unless and until you show genuine interest in theirs.

Defending the company against customers!

Have you ever noticed that when they receive a complaint from a customer, the overwhelming majority of retail employees go into “defense” mode immediately? They may deny the situation (“I don’t think we would have told you that”), blame other factors (all the growers’ plants are stressed this year”) or suggest the customer to be at least partly responsible (“well, the label says ‘Shade’”). In one quick sentence you may hear DDJJ: Denial, Defensiveness, Justification or Judgementalism – all over a $20 hanging basket!

It is so easy to slip into the habit and I can be guilty as charged, so I have to have my own “validation” app switched on from dawn until dusk myself.

Empathy, not sympathy

Validation does NOT mean you agree with what the customer says or asks for. Often there may be a wide gap, but it does mean that you respect the customer and recognize that they have value. Empathy is the word, not sympathy.

Validation is such a powerful tool for any sales/service organization for two reasons:

1)  because recognition of the customer’s reason to be unhappy is essential for any possible rescue of the situation

2) because almost no one does it. (I have had finger-wagging lectures from airline staff for showing up late at a gate and brazen denial from hotel salespeople even though I was paying their wage with mine.)

So, why validate?  First, it recognizes the customer’s disappointment or failure to get results or for wasting their time or money.  Secondly, until the customers feel that their situation or problem has value they are absolutely not listening to anything you might say to correct the situation. (Until they know they are going to get a replacement hanging basket any advice on proper watering is totally lost.)

Customers often return to a store upset and tense. They are using their valuable time to correct something they think is wrong or to achieve what they originally paid for.  There’s lots of research showing that “complainers” don’t really want to go and shop elsewhere, they just want their failure-to-achieve recognized, given value.

Saying, “Oh no! Those are beautiful plants, I can see why you are upset, let’s get you another one” (empathy & resolution) instead of “Did you water it?” (suspicion & blame) will go a long way to reducing that tension. The sooner you can defuse the tension, the higher the likelihood that you will retain future sales from a frustrated customer.

Finally, unlike many items consumers buy every day, garden retailing deals with emotions and aspirations, so the validation must be genuine.  “Oh you are right, that IS a misleading sign, I didn’t see that but I’ll change that right now, thanks so much for pointing that out”. There’s nothing worse to a disgruntled customer than insincere sincerity.

Consistently training your staff on how to sincerely validate customer complaints instead of slipping into “DDJJ” will pay dividends in customer satisfaction and retention in the long term.

Have a wonderful day!

Photo credit:  Ryan McGuire

Jul 23, 2015 23 Comments
HotandDry

Displays are People Too!

This year I have already worked with or looked at over 20 Local Garden Centers (LGCs) helping teams get ready for what promises to be (weather permitting) a very strong year as the economy slowly picks up.

All garden retail channels will be trying to tempt, engage, inspire and sell to the public within the next few weeks. We have all heard of the new demographics emerging in the Do it Yourself gardening business: younger customers are tempted but terrified, intrigued but intimidated.

Merchandising has a new role!

The fear of failure is high and not easily overcome, despite strong interest in the end result (like a stylish planter of succulents or luscious home-grown tomatoes.) The traditional response from LGCs is to say that they have lots of knowledgeable staff anxious to help the newbies succeed. In fact LGCs argue that this is their unique, distinguishing competitive feature compared to the bigger and usually cheaper big-box retailers whose model is essentially one of self-service.

But in the crazy spring season, everywhere is self-service … or at least self-start. No retailer has enough staff to hand-hold every customer, even if that was what the consumer wanted. Increasingly it is actually not what a lot of customers want, at least until they pluck up enough confidence to engage in a conversation with the “experts” who work there.

This is where merchandising – better called “Silent Selling” – comes in. As consumers change from hobbyist to project shopper, Merchandising’s role becomes one of a salesperson: displays can and should validate needs, show options, recommend solutions and close the sale!

In fact a perfect display can attract, hold attention, inform, inspire, answer fears and doubts, suggest/show end-result and make the sale in a few seconds and eight square feet!  As a very minimum, displays must give a customer a feeling of relevance while boosting their confidence.

Reflecting the changing customer

Of course for 40 years, most garden retailers were selling to consumers who knew what to buy (or at least were willing to learn by trial and error.) More and more consumers today don’t know what they don’t know, as you can see from the “deer in the headlights” look when they enter your store or greenhouse. To those people a stunning display of perfect plants will make them feel even less confident.

Silent Selling can sell the project, not just the product

Merchandising has a new role to sell the complete project without a word being said, but from what I have seen in the last few weeks, we have a long way to go. In fact, the current fixation with building inch-perfect “photo-shoot” displays contradicts that new role. Everywhere I go I see products being used to decorate end-caps, around fountains, in front of doors, around table legs – decoration everywhere — but displays helping customer relate and buy, nowhere! These decorative displays are often very attractive but do not offer solutions or suggest projects making them hard to relate to the typical home space. They also shout “don’t even think about touching me!”

The overwhelming majority of merchandising in LGCs today makes customers look around with that inevitable question, “Excuse me, do you work here?” Displays should boost productivity by, if nothing else, engaging shoppers with an idea that helps focus their questions until a staff member is finally able to get to them.

Displays should answer questions (not create unnecessary questions) 

Let’s see the suggested products bundled together in volume, easily shoppable displays with themes such as “Hide the neighbors for under $200”, “Plants for busy people”, “Feed your lawn for 3 cents per square foot per week”,  “Home Grown Tomatoes made easy”, “Grow your own Pesto” or “Save the Monarchs”.

So, let’s give this challenge to retail teams this year as they design, build, stock and work on sharing their knowledge and helping customers to buy:

1.       Is this display meant to simulate the end result? If so (and if you don’t want the impact to be lost as people shop it), where do shoppers find the product/kit/bundle to do the job?

2.       Is this meant to be a grab-and-go display that sells itself and consequently does it say, “Shop me, ruin me, that’s OK”?

3.       Does this display answer questions and build customers’ confidence until we can get to them?

Now it’s time to put those displays to work: Happy Silent Selling!

Feb 27, 2015 15 Comments

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