Your Customers Aren’t Necessarily Broke: Why Perceived Value Matters in Garden Center Marketing
If I see one more garden center Facebook post that is just a slightly crooked cellphone picture of a flower, the name of the flower and the price, I’m going to lose it.
“Hydrangeas are here! $39.”
Okay. And?
Why should I want one? Where should I put it? What will it do for my yard? Will it come back next year? Is it going to solve a problem? Is it easy to take care of?
Why should I get in my car, drive to your garden center and spend $39 on it?
Because right now, your customers are thinking harder before they open their wallets. Your marketing has to work harder too.
Consumer Confidence Is Down and Customers Are Paying Attention
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell to 89.4 in August, its lowest point in seven months. Consumers reported growing pessimism about future business conditions, the labor market and inflation, according to Reuters’ coverage of the August report.
Maybe you’re feeling some of that inside your own household. You’re standing in a store, looking at something you technically could buy, but pausing to ask whether you really want to spend the money.
Your customers are doing the same thing.
They’re thinking over the landscape proposal.
They’re looking at the patio furniture.
They’re considering whether the family should spend Saturday afternoon at your fall festival.
And they’re asking:
“Is this worth it?”
That doesn’t mean your customers are broke and don’t want to spend money anymore. It means that — especially in certain economies and zeitgeists — the vague and flavourless marketing is even less effective than usual (and vague marketing doesn’t work well to begin with anyways).
Your Customers Do Not Experience Your Costs
This is where I see a lot of horticulture businesses getting stuck.
You know what it cost to produce what you’re selling.
You know how many hours went into growing the plant, in maintaining the flower field. You know what you spent on the land, fertilizer, irrigation, equipment, insurance and staffing.
But your customer does not experience your costs, they just experience what they receive.
Let’s use an unnamed agritourism farm as an example.
A family of four pays $12 per person to visit a flower festival. They walk through the field, take a few pictures, see a food truck and perhaps buy lunch separately.
Then Gary goes home and leaves a nasty review:
“We paid $12 per person, and all there was to do was walk through a flower field and buy food. Why did we have to pay for this?”
The farmer reads that review and thinks, “What the hell?” because that field did not magically appear. The farmer put a ton of work, money and risk into creating it. The admission price makes sense from the farmer’s perspective, but Gary is not calculating the farm’s production costs, of course!
He’s asking whether the outing was worth $48 to his family.
Was there enough to do? Did the kids have fun? Did they get a great family photo? How long did they stay? Did they understand what admission included before they arrived?
Both perspectives can be understandable.
The problem is the gap between what the business knows it created and what the customer believes they received.
Marketing has to close that gap.
Perceived Value Does Not Mean Discounting Everything
When customers become cautious, many businesses break an ankle running toward the 20%-off sign.
Buy one, get one.
Flash sale.
End-of-season discount.
Discounts can occasionally serve a real purpose. But discounting is not the same thing as communicating value.
Constant discounts can actually make the problem worse because they train customers to wait. If shoppers know your garden center holds the same BOGO sale every year, they may stop buying before the sale. You’ve just taught customers that the original price is optional.
Value clarity is different: it helps people understand the specific benefit attached to the price.
So Instead of: “Beautiful fall plants are here!”
Try: “Plant these three perennials for fall color that returns every year and is also an important late-season food source for pollinators.”
Instead of:
“Landscape design consultations are available.”
Try:
“Create the master plan now so you don’t pay to redo the same area four different times.”
Instead of:
“Fall festival tickets are $20.”
Explain exactly what the customer’s $20 includes.
Is there live music? Can guests pick flowers? Are children’s activities included? Is food included or sold separately? How long does the average family stay?
You are not trying to inflate the offer. You’re making the value visible.
Garden Center Marketing Has to Move Beyond the Single Plant
Garden centers have to stop expecting a picture of a shrub and a price to do all the selling.
That post hands every strategic decision back to the customer.
The customer has to determine:
Why they need the plant.
Where it should go.
Whether it will work in their yard.
What to plant with it.
How difficult it is to maintain.
Whether it is worth the money.
That is too much work to hand the consumer! Especially when they’re cautious about spending.
Sell the outcome.
Instead of posting one perennial for $14.99, show three perennials planted together to create late-season color and support pollinators.
Instead of posting, “Pansies are in,” create a $75 front-porch refresh and show the entire combination.
Instead of photographing a random shrub sitting in the sales yard, show customers how that shrub can soften the corner of a house, hide a utility box or create privacy around a patio.
The plant is still the product, but now the plant has a job.
I’ve written before about why customers may not be spending more at your garden center. Perceived value is a major piece of that larger sales problem: if customers cannot see the difference between your offer and a cheaper alternative, price becomes the only comparison they know how to make.
Landscapers Should Sell the Result, not Just the Service
A “landscape design consultation” sounds like an expense. But a “master plan that prevents a homeowner from wasting thousands of dollars redoing the same area” sounds like a smart financial decision.
That is the same service, communicated differently.
When you’re selling patio pavers or hardscaping, you’re actually selling the place where a family can eat outside, invite friends over and use more of the property they’re already paying for.
Landscape lighting is not simply another upgrade. It can make the property safer, extend the number of hours the family can spend outside and completely change the feeling of the home after dark.
Do not stop at naming the service!!!
Explain the OUTCOME of buying it!!!!
What expensive mistake can the customer avoid? What daily frustration will disappear? How will the customer use the property differently?
If financing or phased installation is available, explain that too. A customer may be able to move forward once they understand that the project can be completed without absorbing the entire cost at once.
People want to buy the result.
Your marketing needs to show them that result.
Agritourism Businesses Have to Market the Entire Outing
Agritourism businesses should never assume that the attraction automatically communicates enough value. You may have a stunning pumpkin patch, sunflower field or lavender farm. But families are weighing much more than the admission price. They have to also think about the cost of gas, the effort of getting their kids in the car, thinking about food, parking, weather, how much the day will cost…
Don’t just sell admission. Sell the outing.
Tell people what an afternoon at your farm will actually look and feel like.
Clear expectations are part of perceived value… and they can protect your reviews.
Sometimes a customer is disappointed because the event they attended was completely different from the one they imagined in their head.
Run the “Is This Worth It?” Marketing Audit
Look at your last 10 social media posts.
Then look at your website, current event pages and most recent newsletter.
For every offer, ask:
What does the customer actually get?
What specific problem does this solve?
What outcome does it create?
How long will the benefit last?
Why is this worth purchasing now?
What could make the customer afraid of wasting money?
Have we provided enough proof for the customer to feel confident?
If the only things you have communicated are the product and the price, you are not done!
I went to college for creative writing, and one of the things we heard repeatedly was: Show, don’t tell.
That applies beautifully to horticulture marketing.
If you sell plants, show people what they can do with them.
If you sell landscape services, show the finished space and the life that happens there.
If you sell patio products, show the patio being used.
If you sell an experience, help customers picture the complete experience.
Show the field. Show the before and after. Show previous guests enjoying the event. Answer the questions customers are already asking.
People Are Still Spending But They Need Better Reasons
This is us telling you that getting VERY SPECIFIC in your marketing will pay off. Instead of saying a bland “Come see us” or “fall color is here” (yawn) you need to get specific about the benefits here. Because none of those statements explains why the purchase is worth making.
You know how much work went into growing the plant, designing the landscape or preparing your farm for visitors. Your customer cannot see that.
Your job is to translate what you created into value they can recognize…. so stop posting the shrub and expecting people to come buy it … Show them what the shrub will do!
Frequently Asked Questions About Perceived Value Marketing
How can a garden center increase perceived value?
Show plants solving real customer problems. Demonstrate where they belong, what to plant with them, how long they will perform and what the finished result can look like. Staff knowledge, plant quality and design guidance should all be visible parts of the offer.
Should garden centers discount when consumer confidence falls?
Not automatically. Strategic promotions can generate traffic, but constant discounting can train customers to wait for sales. First make sure customers understand the quality, expertise, longevity and practical benefits attached to the regular price.
How can an agritourism farm justify its ticket price?
Explain exactly what admission includes and help families imagine the entire outing. Show activities, timing, photo opportunities, food options and anything that costs extra. The experience should meet the expectations created by the marketing.
How should landscapers communicate value?
Connect each service to its result. Explain how a professional design can prevent expensive mistakes, how improvements make the property more useful and how phased projects or financing may make the investment more manageable.
Is Your Marketing Making the Value Clear?
If customers know what you sell but don’t understand why it is worth buying, MM can help.
Explore our horticulture marketing case studies or contact McCusker’s Marketing to talk about creating clearer, more strategic marketing for your garden center, landscape company or agritourism business.