2013 CIOPORA Chronicle

Marketing
Innovation is not
a one way road:
only extremely
seldom an act of a
product creation
also generates a
new consumer
for it. More often,
the success of
innovation strongly
depends on the
keen perception of
needs of an already
existent customer
group.
by Kindal Marin
Contemporary
marketing solutions for
horticultural businesses
In our age of the WEB 2.0, new
Internet-based marketing channels
allow every player on the
market to have an ear for their target
consumer and not to wonder in
the dark. I am the Director of Marketing
at Bell Nursery (Elkridge,
Maryland), and a marketing
specialist with more than 15 years’
experience in projects including
public relations and social media. I
would like to share my expertise on
all things old and new in marketing
for horticultural businesses.
Traditional
communication
Not all that long ago businesses
of all types had limited avenues of
communication with consumers.
Advertising and public relations,
including media relations, sponsorships
and promotions, were the
two main options. Those with
large budgets are the advertisers of
yesterday and today. We know their
symbols, sing their scores and buy
their products.
Public relations is typically less
expensive, and allows companies
to tell a story. But still, we were
several messengers away from the
consumer, and like the game of
telephone, the farther you get from
the consumer, the less the message
resonates. Meanwhile, significant
monthly public relations retainers
or project fees are often unaffordable
and offer little, if any return on
investment.
Social media
Enter social media. At this point if
you’re not on social media, you’re
already a dinosaur. Get there, fast.
Beyond being the fastest growing
communications medium, it is
the ideal outlet for our industry
to speak most directly to the
Bell is known for its meticulous attention to detail to make sure
each and every final product reflects the highest standard of quality.
consumer, to tell our unique stories,
to be the real thing in a culture that
yearns for everything “green”. It is
a place we can educate people on
the value of our products, and show
them how to be successful stewards
of the plants we nurture with tender
pride.
According to social marketing
coach, consultant, and global
keynote speaker for mainstream
business, Jeff Korhan, in New Media
and Small Business Marketing,
more than 70% of adults are online
using social media. The internet is
their leading source of information
for making buying decisions. Social
media is your opportunity to influence
those decisions directly.
Facebook is by far the most
popular social networking site in
the world. For several years before
our nursery revamped its web site,
Facebook was our primary means
of online marketing. It’s easy and
it’s free. The hard part is putting up
meaningful content that will attract
and keep people following and
interacting with your page.
Youtube.com is a service that
allows you to upload videos free of
charge to the internet. These videos
can be informational, instructional,
news or announcements – whatever
you dream up. You can say
whatever you want, to whatever
audience you want to say it to.
Pinterest.com took off a couple of
years ago as an online wish list and
scrapbook combined. Pictures are
“pinned” and shared around. Have
something new and innovative?
Share it. Ideas, products, care tips,
the sky is the limit. We call this one
“picture perfect” for our industry.
Content
Sounds super easy, right? The
challenge is content. What are you
going to share that other people
want to share? What is meaningful,
interesting, or otherwise irresistible?
It’s not hard, but it does take time
and consideration. How much?
How often? When? What? The
same questions apply no matter
which social media outlet you’re
using.
At Bell, we use photography to
share the joy of our plants at every
stage - from plugs to the store shelf.
We are a wholesale grower of
annuals and perennials, as well
as distributor of trees, shrubs and
16 www.FloraCultureInternational.com | CIOPORA Chronicle April 2013