Feeding or Leading? A new approach to 'GYO'

nthonycurnow.com

Feeding or Leading? A new approach to ‘grow your own’.

I am forever looking at ways in which other retailers do their thing, to ascertain new retail models and understand the way retailers of varying goods and services sell these to the consumer. A lot can be learnt through every day retail experiences.

When it comes to ‘grow your own’, I believe we are feeding the market trend by offering what people want, but are we leading it? Media has a strong position in guiding the public with the ‘grow your own’ trend. This is being marketed relatively well to the consumer, which is why we have seen a surge in this area.

Each time I visit Ikea, I walk away with a new idea – my latest of these is that relating to demonstration. While some retailers have installed 'no dig' gardens, and others have constructed entire veggie plots, I wonder how it is that you link this in with your sales.

Demonstration gardens are important in setting the scene of your garden centre, but unless they walk away from the store having been sold the package, the consumer will be as misguided as the moment they stepped into the store. Education is very important in this role. So what am I proposing is the following:
1. Keep the display vegetable patch simple - sow/plant in rows, or ensure that the patch is clearly defined and each plant is identifiable.
2. Point of sale needs to be simple too and most importantly, linked in with your stock lines. In doing so you might create a 'planting map' - this would be similar to the Ikea model rooms where each item is labelled and can be picked up in the self service area. Take a photo of the punnet of vegetables and include on the POS - you need to educate the newer gardeners by creating the link between what a seedling looks like compared to a full size plant. My housemate recently planted 4 capsicums and a tomato in one 12 inch pot - my point exactly.
3. If you are hoping to make this as self-serviceable as possible, remember that you need to provide the customer with the resources to link between demonstration and a sale- i.e. a pencil and piece of paper, or a physical planting plan to take away.
4. Have appropriate stock on hand at all times, don't demonstrate something you can't offer - disappointment is nearly as negative as a poor salesperson.
5. Encourage interactivity - offer picked vegetables for free and utilise taste as a sensual sales point while also allowing children to pick your veggie patch - remember never use negative signage like 'not for sale' or 'do not pick'.

Growing your own is undoubtedly the biggest trend to hit the retail market in decades, and it is up to you to foster this new found interest in people. You want them to walk away with knowledge and the products to succeed in their ventures, so as to ensure they return - negative experiences are scarring.

So when you come to selling the ‘grow your own’ trend, make it simple and educational, as not all consumers can assemble their own productive patch with no instructions.