Staying Relevant in the Greenhouse & Garden Center Industry

Whether you produce, roses, or tomatoes, manufacture greenhouses, or cupcakes, we are all part of a changing economy. We all depend on staying relevant to our customer, keeping our costs in check, and investing wisely. And investing wisely means not only capital equipment, greenhouse structures, technology advances, and land for greenhouses, but also investing in the people who make your greenhouse business work.

Staying Relevant as a Growing Greenhouse Company:

Talk to millennials, learn what there are thinking as they are the customers of the future and future of your business. But don’t neglect the take into consideration the baby boomer generation as they are the customers of today. We are now in a digital age where all brands need to be marketing, targeting and building relationships with all generations. Millennials in particular engage more with digital media through sharing and connecting spending over 8 hours a day engaging with digital media across devices. This is the best way to connect and communicate with your customers and we should be thinking about more ways to do so.

Take technology use further to your advantage. Whether through a tablet or smartphone, learn about apps for your industry. There are so many apps out there a few can be found here. Encourage employees to try something new and to involve the team in assessing the results for success.

Staying Relevant as a Wholesale Nursery Grower:

Make sure to watch trends in gardening, new construction and rooftop growing. Following our blog is a great starting point on tips for improving your greenhouse structures and planning your future projects. Joining a Landscapers Association is another great resource for news, training and more.

When it comes to structures consider investing in in more than Coldframes. Most of our wholesale nursery growers also use wider Freestanding Greenhouses for added flexibility and height, and many have been moving to growing in Gutter Connected Poly greenhouses as well. Don’t neglect handling and shipping either! Did you know a Widespan greenhouses can be designed for an ideal shipping bay?

Staying Relevant as a Potted Plant Grower or a Cut Flower Grower:

Trends, trends, trends! Watch out for these in interior design and outdoor design too. See our previous article on floriculture trends for the year for some tips. Similar to nursery growers joining Greenhouse and Florist Associations open up a great resource for news, training, events and more. Be a part of the community!

Moving on to structures consider investing in greenhouse automation, better benching and more ventilation. Newer greenhouse designs like the Reverse Gutter Vent or the Open Roof work best for certain types of crop. Get in contact with us and find out the possibilities.

Staying Relevant as a Greenhouse Food Grower:

There will always be the new best thing to try in food whether is a particular vegetable or fruit or herb that shoots to stardom as the superfood of today. Before it was kale and goji berries, today it’s pitaya and.. pickled fermented vegetables. Who knows what will be next! So keep an eye out on trends in cooking, restaurant styles, and consumer grocery purchases and join Greenhouse Associations, and Food & Consumer Products Associations for more tips and resources.

Don’t forget to invest into branding your products.

Other great investments include picking automation, and packing automation, and use greenhouses for boiler rooms and shipping warehouses. Build greenhouses with higher gutters and more ventilation.

Staying Relevant as a Garden Center:

Communication is key, be sure to make yourself approachable to your customers and your garden center staff. Invest in e-commerce, facebook, twitter and other forms of social connection with your customers. 30% of millennials say twitter is one of their preferred networks and it is easy to get short messages out to call attention to events or special offers. So don't be shy, see what works for your business. See our article on 10 Digital Marketing Tips for Garden Centers for more ideas.

Lastly, build your Garden Center for the best customer experience. This includes floor planning (remember a wider greenhouse allows more flexibility for larger displays and also seasonally changing your layout), and higher gutters for a more natural environments. Use POS Systems that will track the data and provide you with reports on what is selling, and who is buying.

I hope this article has provided some perspective on how all businesses, though somewhat unique, are all responsible for the same end game. We must provide for the customer today and anticipate changes that tomorrow’s customer will want to see.