Instant life...
Consider, if you will, the following scenario: Your customer, a female, awakens to an alarm clock that goes off automatically, exactly at a time that was predetermined the previous evening. She’s still tired when the alarm sounds, so she hits a button on the clock that grants her nine more minutes of restful slumber. And then nine more. When she finally arises, she decides to take a shower. She turns the handle that regulates the water temperature to a certain spot, and instantly the stream flowing from the showerhead is Goldilocks perfect — not too cold, not too hot, just right.
After her shower, she gets dressed and turns on the television — but decides she doesn’t like the program on it. With three pushes of a button, she is transported elsewhere in the world. With three more, she is moved again. The night before, she had programmed her coffee maker to finish percolating at precisely... three, two, one... this second, so she takes a cup out of the cupboard and fills it with her favorite imported java, which she ordered over the Internet in a matter of less than three minutes. Today, after her coffee, she will use keyless entry to unlock her vehicle’s door, then, after backing from her driveway with the aid of a rear-view camera, she will turn on an electronic navigation system that will tell her precisely when and where to turn in order to arrive at your garden center.
From the time this customer woke up, she was gratified — instantly — no less than 11 times. After considering her story, can you afford not to be ready when she wants to shop? Never in the history of "shopping ever" have you been more challenged than you are now to satisfy a customer’s wants and needs. Well, at least, never in history until this time next year, when it will be an even taller hill to climb.
So, how do you do it? Certainly, you have to think like the customer, even if you don’t live that way 24/7. And you have to do your homework. Your customer probably watches HGTV. Watch it, too, just so you’ll know what she’s thinking. When you can’t get to a TV, follow the site’s links to Rebecca’s Garden, which recaps individual episodes, such as the episode on garden center shopping. Don’t stop there, though. Take notes on what is being discussed. I guarantee you that your customer is doing just that — on her BlackBerry!
Perhaps you know the customer we discussed at the top of this page. And perhaps you know how to enhance her shopping experience. By all means, click here to go to our blog to discuss what works and what doesn’t. Also, we invite you to scroll down to check out what’s inside this month’s issue of Garden Center Products & Supplies.
