Know your customer, Know your market

Back then garden centre customers were gardeners – they had come from gardening parents, they gardened themselves, grew fruit and vegetables, sowed seeds, enjoyed the work and time that gardening took up, and were interested in gardening as a hobby.

So where are they today? 

Two things have changed.

 First, they have got older, and in many cases passed away!

Secondly, we have experienced some of the most dramatic shifts in retailing and the use of leisure time over the past 10-15 years.

Customers have fragmented into groups based on age, income and lifestyle. Those old customers are now part of a group we call “knowledgeable / keen gardeners”. They represent about 15% of garden customers and they are declining in number. Many garden retailers have focused on them as their target customer, and sadly many have failed and closed as a result.

Lifestylers are generally in the 35 – 55 age bracket, often have double incomes, are fashion and trend conscious, know what they like, want it now, but have little or no gardening knowledge.

Beginners fall into the 20 – 35 age bracket. They are starting out with new homes and new babies, they are new to gardening, have less disposable income, and again no gardening knowledge.

Together these two groups make up about 60% of garden retail customers.

So why is this important?

Well, once we know who our target customers are, we can start to think about how to attract them to our business. In other words, what products will they look for and expect, what price will they be prepared to pay, what sort of environment will they like to shop in, what language will they understand (not technical or horticultural), how can we best communicate to them, what are the things that drive them as consumers?

This segmentation of customers has coincided with some real changes in the retail environment. Customers now have more choice, shops are open longer, more enjoyable leisure activities are available, consumers have less free time, resulting in a big shift to D.I.F.M. ( Do It For Me), retailers have become more sophisticated.

But have garden retailers risen to the challenge?

Some have, and are succeeding very well. Sadly, too many haven’t and they are finding things tough.

We must become more professional as retailers.

Look at what is happening in the high streets and in the malls.

No longer is it acceptable to display product on unwanted cable reels from the local electric company, on pallets covered with artificial grass stacked on concrete blocks.

No longer is it acceptable to have muddy paths and customer trolleys that are hard to move! Just as other retailers have done, garden retailers must keep up with the market and move to modern purpose built fixtures and fittings which are easy to shop, appeal to modern customers, and drive sales.

In my local area a new gas station was built about seven years ago. Within five years it had been completely demolished and rebuilt. Why? Because they were reacting to meet the changes in the market and customer’s changing expectations –coffee, food to go, milk and sundry grocery items, newspapers and magazines. How many gas stations today sell spark plugs, fan belts and oil?

The market has changed.

Are you ready to change and adapt to an ever changing market? Are you ready to meet your customer’s expectations? Do you know who your customers are?