I know not this Grey Barn you speak of but my difference from the larger indies and the chain stores is: much smaller, more intimate (you can and DO talk to the owner), serviceserviceservice - from free advice to hauling larger orders to your car or truck for you, an emphasis on organics (I'm in Fremont - big selling point - I know you're local-ish and you know what I mean) and an emphasis on offbeat varieties that even the big guys don't sell. Also display gardens (working on that) to demo what that 6" perennial does when it gets big and well-vetted referrals for related services like landscape design, installation and maintenance. A "frequent flyer" card for earned discounts. Probably a bunch of other stuff I'm forgetting...the brain's gotten slippery lately. :)
Yep, you get it. Happy to say I'm already there with most of it but I've let two things slide in the frenzy of set-up:
1. My website - Emerald City Gardens, FWIW - remains a mere front page with NO content. I have several more pages with actual content nearly ready, but they're not up yet. I hope to remedy that this week. 2. We have a blog as well but again, I've been disappointed in my ability to update it often (also, I want to figure out how to embed it in my primary website).
So far as loyalty goes, I'm in a wonderful position that way. Our nursery occupies the site of the former Fremont Gardens which built up monumentally AWESOME customer loyalty over its 13 years in business. Four of the five of us, owners and staff, are former FG employees - and we're benefitting greatly from the goodwill and good reputation of our former employer.
What interested me most in your reply, though, was -
Create an online forum for your customers to talk amongst themselves.Hmmmmmmm. This had never occurred to me. Not sure exactly how to
( ... )
It's an interesting idea, thanks. We WILL be hosting special evening hours once a week later in the spring and summer - serving wine and cheese and running special sales just for the opening - kind of like an art walk sort of thing. My former employer did that and it was both profitable and community-building. Again, thank you - I'll explore this further.
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1. My website - Emerald City Gardens, FWIW - remains a mere front page with NO content. I have several more pages with actual content nearly ready, but they're not up yet. I hope to remedy that this week.
2. We have a blog as well but again, I've been disappointed in my ability to update it often (also, I want to figure out how to embed it in my primary website).
So far as loyalty goes, I'm in a wonderful position that way. Our nursery occupies the site of the former Fremont Gardens which built up monumentally AWESOME customer loyalty over its 13 years in business. Four of the five of us, owners and staff, are former FG employees - and we're benefitting greatly from the goodwill and good reputation of our former employer.
What interested me most in your reply, though, was -
Create an online forum for your customers to talk amongst themselves.Hmmmmmmm. This had never occurred to me. Not sure exactly how to ( ... )
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