The great thing about our green industry is our willingness to share ideas – ones that worked and some that haven’t.

It’s even better when someone takes a winning strategy and makes it better.  Well, when Sunrise Marketing first introduced the We Plan, You Plant (WP,YP) program we just took an existing good idea and polished it up with a professional presentation package.

Retailers have been doing a form of WP,YP for years, but often it was a photocopy of a questionnaire someone made up years ago. We created a customized workbook designed to help customers collect information about their project. The concept is as simple as it is sophisticated.

Improving On A Good Thing

Well, Rice’s Nursery in North Canton, Ohio, took a good thing and made it better. They combined the We Plan, You Plant program with EARTHSCAPES software in order to provide an even better customer experience.

The consumer who uses the garden center design service is a Do-It-Yourself project oriented person. They most often have a burgeoning interest in gardening or perhaps they are simply looking at the most economical means to give their landscape a makeover. With the guidance of the expert garden center staff, the consumer is confident and has a clear understanding of how to carry out the new landscape plans once they return home. The homeowner walks out with a visual map (the photo rendered design) that makes sense to them.

How It Works

The We Plan You Plant strategy is initiated when a customer brings in a digital photo. Thirty minutes later, Steve Maddox (garden center manager at Rice’s), creates instant curb appeal right before the homeowner’s eyes. The happy homeowner leaves with satisfaction and the urge to share this personal and “way cool service” with all of their friends. 

“The ‘We Plan, You Plant’ service is greatly increasing in popularity,” Maddox says. “We promote the garden center design service in every piece of literature that we send out.”

The design software service is growing so much that Maddox says he needs another designer to keep up with all of the requests for the photo-rendered designs. During the season, he has five to six design appointments scheduled per week. It is not unusual to get an additional five to six walk-ins on Saturday. 

The whole design process only takes 20 to 30 minutes sitting with the client.  Once he’s finished, he will hand over the design to the sales staff and they will help the customer with the purchase of the plant material.

“It is unbelievable, but all of my clients that ask for a photo design always turn into a sale,” Maddox says. “The photo designs typically sell for $500-$1,000 worth of plants. Rice’s does not charge for the design service and the customers are excited to move along with our guidance and purchase the plant material at garden center.”

The moral to the story is to watch for solid ideas (a photocopy of a questionnaire), look for a better way to do it (WP,YP), then partner with others to enhance the idea (EARTHSCAPES software). It may be a progression, but staying open to enhancing existing ideas can add profit to the bottom line.