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Re: Aconitum (color sells)


If you have the customer base there is actually more money in that line than in the "instant" line you are presently selling. Notice the weatherman's qualifier... If you have the customer base.....


And here Gene puts his finger on the nub of the issue. A seminar I recently attended discussed consumer studies showing that 95% of U.S. gardeners will purchase impulse items from garden centres. Only 5% are considered "gardeners" who want *to* garden as compared to the 95% who want *a* garden. (Remember that conversation?) (grin)

Gene is a well-niched nursery selling to the 5% or some of the 5% wannabees. He has a reasonable chance of success in this niche.

When any nursery comes out of that niche, they run right into the big nurseries and/or big retailers. Increasing business size is possible if they find a niche the big guys can't fill economically (like 3 to 5 gallon perennials) but good luck to them if they try to compete in sizes and varieties the big dogs own. It is like trying to compete with Wal-Mart and make a buck selling the same products they do.

>> Remember ... the only reason to be in business is to serve.

Well, maybe. We might disagree here Gene. I guess it depends on your definition of "serve".

My sense of the conversation to those who started this thread is that smaller niche nurseries like Gene's will survive if they are well-niched and hold their focus. But, if they stray from that business focus, larger nurseries and the chains will eat them for lunch. It is all about focus and deciding which *one* of customer service, low pricing and product selection you decide to focus on and use for your survival tool. Again, studies have shown that you can't really thrive by trying to focus on more than one of these things. You can survive perhaps for the next few years but you can't really thrive. You'll see many of your local garden centres trying to compete with the box stores or trying to be grower-retailers go out of business because they are not well niched or well-focussed.

This is the same lesson that writer's have to absorb. Writers are also business people writing for a specific niche market. You can work with your readership or market but trying to "educate" somebody who really doesn't want educating is a fool's game. Find your market niche and write for that niche - be the expert in that niche and and you might very well make money in this business. Run around writing to educate the masses and you'll simply waste your time and focus. If your writing is a hobby - then you can do whatever you want. If you're trying to make money at it, then you have to treat it as a small business with all the attendant problems that small biz (whether nurseries or corner stores) have. This would be equally true of our garden photography cousins.

As for fall gardening - heck imho this morning you're only talking to the 5% here or to a few others who want a fall garden to look good past mums and pansies. Keep talking and doing your thing but know your market. Remember that all the plants you're talking about require that the person "to" garden rather than look at "a" garden.

Perhaps it is the cynic in me (sorry John F for pre-empting the word for this note) :-) operating at full steam this morning (I've just come off the road after visiting garden centers all week) but I'm well into the business planning for setting up my e-publishing venture and I'm doing the research and setting focus areas so that my efforts pay off. I will have to be as focussed in my target market as Gene is in his. Any lack of focus is going to cost me money or "service" :-)

My take on educating the masses about fall gardening. Heck, sell 'em Aconitum in *full bloom* in huge pots. Then they'll buy them. We nursery guys say that "colour sells" for a very good reason. It's the truth. Work that truth and you'll have a market to focus on. LOL!!

Man, I need another cup of coffee to settle me down this morning.

Doug
Douglas Green
e-Publisher   Writer
"Turning Information into Money"
www.simplegiftsfarm.com/clips/clipmaster.html




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