Actually there is no one nursery industry. The comments from the last post I am participating!, would indicate others see the same thing. The nursery industry has fragmented. There is no one voice of the industry. There are different factions with different ideas on which way to proceed. It's like the restaurant industry. Mc Donald's is a far cry from that little Italian Restaurant down the road. Sure they both sell food. That's about where the similarities end.
I could see getting behind a concerted effort to promote the local, independent, WELL RUN, garden centers. The key is well run. Let's face it, some independent nurseries are not, and I wouldn't want to be involved in a campaign that included them. That is the crux of the problem in any large advertising campaign concerning the nursery industry. The message that drives a person to embrace Scott's/Miracle Gro is not the same message that we have.
What's the solution? I don't know! I do know that the only thing we can do is try to provide the best service, plants, and customer experience we can muster up. If we do it right the customer will spread the word. Right now the means to spread the word is in it's infancy, but it will grow. Sid tells of the new wireless internet 'cloud' caused by the combined effort of interested and organized citizens that is beginning to cover the San Francisco area. In the past few months they say they've connected over 50,000 people to the Internet. Strange and wonderful things are afoot