Over at Brand Autopsy the author John Moore has been running a series called, “Would you miss...” The latest post covers Pizza hut. Does Pizza Hut provide such a unique experience that if they were gone tomorrow would you miss them? Do the workers at Pizza Hut have such a great working experience that they would have a hard time finding any other work that would be as great? What about the customer experience? Is it so fantastic that people would miss this company if it was gone? John covers other companies as well, including Walgreens, Polaroid, Cost Plus World Market, etc.

I thought about our company, The Golden Gecko Garden Center. Would people miss us if we we're gone tomorrow? If we closed up shop would there be no where else people could go to have the experience they get here? How about your business?

Its an interesting question. If what we are offering can easily be replicated somewhere else why are we still doing what we do? If your plants are brought in from the same places that the local box store gets theirs what makes you so special? Same with the fertilizers and other items for sale in the store. Are the employees so good that the service they provide couldn't easily be found somewhere else? Is the atmosphere at the garden center one of a kind?

This is why I feel its so important to be truly independent, and offer something besides what is being offered everywhere else. Another reason why I have no sympathy for the small or medium sized garden centers that don't offer a completely different experience from the big box competition, and the other garden centers in the area. This is also why I think we are seeing so many small garden centers going out of business. Are they just offering the same old thing or a completely novel and wonderful experience. I think if they we're really offering a unique experience they wouldn't be out of business.

I am going to start asking the question “Would you miss the Golden Gecko if it were gone tomorrow?”. Is our service, plants, people, and gardens really so special that people would be upset if we were gone? If the answer is no, then we are just spinning our wheels. I would like to think that we would be sorely missed, but I am going to take an honest looks today and see if that is really true.