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Email Marketing & Newsletters for Garden Centers

What is email marketing for garden centers? 

Our friends at Mailchimp hit the nail on the head: “Email marketing is a powerful marketing channel that uses email to promote your business’s products or services.”

By using email marketing, garden centers are:

  • Making customers aware of their latest products and offerings

  • Keeping customers engaged

  • Incentivize customer loyalty

  • Boosting sales by providing promotions and offers to people’s inboxes

Email marketing is the most cost-effective form of marketing out there, and by not leveraging email, garden centers are leaving money on the table.

What matters for email marketing in 2023 for Garden Centers?

In 2023, Garden Centers who run email campaigns should focus on three things:

Mobile Optimization

A huge percentage of your customers are on their phones. If you’re not on their phone, you’re not going to reach them. This means you need to make sure all your content — including emails — are formatted and optimized for mobile devices.

Personalization

When we “segment” an email list, we break your customers into groups based off interest, skill level, purchase history, etc. It’s essential that we make sure we are providing customers with content that resonates personally with them, so they don’t delete your emails and unsubscribe because it doesn’t “speak” to what they need.

Exclusivity

Why should someone join your email list? Often the reason is simple: they can get cheaper plants if they sign up for your newsletter and take advantage of sales that they would otherwise miss.

The Importance of Email Marketing for Garden Centers 

If your garden center doesn’t have a consistent newsletter, you are leaving money on the table. Not only are newsletters the most cost-effective form of marketing, but simply put, they work. They boost sales by helping you communicate to your customers directly and personally.

Here are some of our favorite reasons to ramp up your email newsletter strategy today:

  • For every dollar spent on email marketing, you’ll see a $36 return on investment. (Litmus)

  • According to Content Marketing Institute, 31% of B2B marketers say that sending email newsletters is the best way to nurture leads.

And finally, the data you receive from your email marketing (click through rates, open rates, etc) provide valuable insight on what your customers value and what they want from you.

McCusker’s Marketing for Garden Centers

Email marketing can be a challenge for independent, family-owned garden centers, which is why we are here to help.

For years, we have provided Garden Centers with high-quality marketing that tells their story and connects with their customers.

Contact McCusker’s Marketing about your Garden Center’s email marketing needs today!

Frequently Asked Questions about Email Marketing

  • There are several ways to grow an email list: Ensure there’s an easy way for people to sign up on your website and clearly state the benefits of WHY someone should sign up for your newsletter. Next, share all about your newsletter on social media and other marketing platforms. And finally, we typically build a “lead magnet”, high-quality content (often a booklet or guide) that people can get for free in exchange for their email.

    Don’t forget to gather email addresses at checkout, too!

  • This is a bad idea. First of all, it’s not legal. Second of all, you won’t even be emailing the right folks, because you can’t buy a list of customers. (You’ll also get penalized for spam.)

  • For email discounts that are exclusive to email recipients, insert a dynamic coupon barcode into the email that the cashier can simply scan like any other item.

  • There are tons of great email marketing platforms out there. We use Mailchimp, but are happy to operate with whatever platform you’ve chosen. Whichever one you choose, make sure you can set up automation, segment email lists by audience type, and receive data and analytics.

  • You’ll send out more emails during the busy season for sure. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t send emails when times are slow. By sending emails in the slow season, you’re staying top of mind for your customers and retaining their loyalty, so they come back when the time is right.

  • The possibilities are endless! This is what we typically include in our client’s emails to customers:

    • Helpful content - video and blog content

    • Weekly or monthly specials

    • Timely gardening tips and reminders

    • Info about any upcoming events