As the proud owner of a garden nursery, you already know how lovely it is to be able to spend your days outdoors, doing the kind of work that brings you closer to nature while helping customers select the plants that will become a part of their dream garden.
But even though you love what you do, you still need to keep in mind that you are a business person, and as such, you need to make sure that your nursery is able to make enough money to pay yourself and your employees, cover the basic expenses, and even make a profit for all of your hard work.
Whether you are just starting out in this industry or if you are looking for new ideas to improve the way you are running your nursery, these tips can help you encourage your customers to spend more while they are in your shop.
First you need to grab attention
Let the world know what you do
You should have a clear sign set up outside your nursery telling those passing by what it is that you do and how they can support you. You can make your branding big and bold, include a telephone number and an email address, and you can have a clearly marked entry point.
Make your signage bold
Don’t be shy with colour, lights and a fresh coat of paint. You want your signage to be eye catching and really easy to see and read even from a distance.
Make sure people know you are open
With your nursery, it can be helpful to make sure that the entrance is in a place where people can easily see and access it. If your nursery is a part of another shop, you can ensure that people can see you are open by having good signage, like a striking open sign with an arrow pointing to the entrance.
Have accessible parking
You will want to make things as easy as possible for your customers, and so you should consider what kind of parking you have available and how easy it is to access it. Ideally, you will want your parking area to be as close to your entrance as possible, so that you can get plants and other gardening products to your customers’ car without a fuss.
Use social media
Social media is a fantastic tool for so many reasons. Not only is it great for advertising that your nursery is open and where it is located, but it is also a helpful tool for spreading promotional adverts and announcing competitions. To get you going with your social media, consider using paid promotional adverts. Most platforms have these options available and it will give you instant access to your audience.
Then once they are inside, you need to get them to spend
Often it is not enough to just get the customers indoors. How often have you had customers browsing around your store for a while, only to watch them walk right out again without buying a thing?
It could be that they haven’t found what they are looking for, but it could also be that you are not doing enough to get them to buy. Here are some tips to get them spending:
Hold promotions
If every week you could arrange a promotional event or a number of discounts for your clients to enjoy, you could find that your customers spend more because they have more reason to spend.
Make people feel safe
Living in the COVID era has completely changed the way businesses operate. Customers who don’t feel safe in a shop are likely to leave quickly without buying anything, so let it be known that your nursery is safe, and when the pandemic is over, you can continue to make them feel safe by having things like sanitizers available for those who’d like to use it.
Give some attention to your online presence
In this digital age, getting people to support your nursery while in store can start before they enter the shop. When you make sure that people can find you online, read your nursery’s reviews, and browse products and prices, they might be encouraged to spend more.
Click and collect
Another interesting feature to come out of 2020 is the click and collect option, and it can actually encourage people to spend more. When you give people the option to buy online and collect at your nursery, you will have the chance to offer them discounts and promotional items, which could lead to them spending more.
Give a gift with a buy
Buying something and then giving away a free gift is another way to encourage people to spend more. Gifts are always a winner, and since you have a nursery, you can always give away a plant that is easy to propagate, like a succulent.
Play music
Even if your nursery is mostly outdoors, playing some soothing music or something upbeat can make people stay longer which in turn will have them spending more. Just make sure that you don’t play the music too loudly, as that could have the opposite effect.
Provide refreshments
Nurseries are the perfect establishments to add a café onto. Placing a few benches and tables beneath the trees you have growing is a fantastic way to entice customers to stay longer and naturally, the longer they stay, the more they are likely to spend.
Have a rewards programme
Cash back rewards, and special discounts, are always a great way to thank customers for their support, it is also a fantastic way to get your customers to spend more while they are in your nursery. If you are going to run such a programme, make sure that it is worth it for your customers.
Launch a referral programme
Working in much the same way that a rewards programme functions, a referral programme can be used to encourage customers to refer your nursery and in turn they can get a reward such as a discount on their next purchase.
Give customers a place to rest
Walking around a nursery can be tiring, even more so if the customer is pushing plants around. You should make a few spaces in your garden where people can take a break. When you give them a place to sit, they can look around and in doing so, might just find more things to buy.
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