When there are orders to dispatch, customers to serve, plants to pot and staff to manage, marketing can easily become something that gets done when there's time left over. For smaller nursery businesses, finding extra money for advertising isn't necessarily an attractive option either.
Fortunately, some of the most useful ways to promote a nursery don't require much spending. They require a little planning, an understanding of who you are trying to reach and better use of what already happens within the business.
Not every nursery needs more social media followers. Some need more customers walking through the gate, while others would benefit far more from a handful of new wholesale accounts.
For a retail garden centre, the priority might be attracting local customers during quieter weekdays or encouraging repeat visits. For a production nursery, it could be getting stock in front of landscape contractors, expanding relationships with independent retailers or increasing orders from existing buyers.
These are different objectives and should influence where marketing effort goes.
A retailer with a fresh delivery of flowering perennials might share photographs and planting suggestions on Facebook. A wholesale grower with several thousand plants approaching saleable size may get better results by contacting a small number of buyers who regularly purchase that type of stock.
Neither activity is particularly expensive. What matters is reaching people who have a reason to buy.
Most nurseries have more marketing material available than they realise.
Walk through a production nursery on any given morning and there's likely to be something worth showing customers. A crop coming into flower, young plants developing in propagation, or a particularly uniform batch being prepared for dispatch.
These everyday activities can tell customers quite a lot about the business.
For growers, a photograph of a crop accompanied by its botanical name, pot size, expected availability and suitable applications gives buyers information they can actually use. It may also provide retailers with material to promote those plants to their own customers.
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Retail garden centres have similar opportunities. Seasonal displays, new stock arrivals, staff recommendations and answers to common gardening questions all provide reasons for customers to engage with the business. Consider how often staff explain the same things to customers. Which screening plants grow well in large pots? What can be planted in a hot, exposed position? How should a newly purchased citrus tree be cared for? Those conversations are a useful starting point for future content. |
The difficulty is usually finding time to capture it. Rather than organising elaborate photo shoots, get into the habit of taking a few photographs during normal nursery operations. A clear photograph and a short explanation written by someone who knows the plants can be more useful than an expensive promotional campaign.
Marketing isn't always about getting more attention. Sometimes it's about removing the small frustrations that prevent an enquiry from becoming a sale.
Think about the information a potential customer needs before contacting your business.
For retail nurseries, accurate opening hours, location details, contact information and recent photographs are a good starting point. An updated Google Business Profile can help local customers find this information.
Wholesale buyers have different priorities.
If a landscape contractor is sourcing plants for a project, they may need to know available pot sizes, quantities, delivery arrangements and minimum order requirements before deciding whether to make contact.
An outdated availability list or website that makes basic information difficult to find can mean unnecessary emails and missed enquiries.
Keeping stock information current may not feel like marketing, but it can have a direct impact on sales.
There is a tendency to focus marketing efforts on finding new customers, even when existing customers may offer the most immediate opportunities.
For production growers, regular communication with buyers can help secure orders before stock is ready for dispatch.
If a popular line will be available in three weeks, let relevant customers know. If you have excess stock approaching saleable size, consider which retailers or landscape customers might have a use for it.
The information doesn't need to be packaged into a complicated newsletter. A straightforward availability update with clear photographs, quantities and ordering details may be enough.
Retailers can keep customers interested through seasonal planting advice, updates on new arrivals and useful information about what is performing well in local gardens.
Where marketing emails are used, businesses need to meet Australian spam law requirements, including obtaining appropriate consent and providing an unsubscribe option.
Personal relationships also deserve attention. Trade Days, industry events and supplier conversations offer opportunities to meet buyers directly, particularly for production nurseries where trust and reliable supply are important purchasing considerations.
A conversation with a potential customer is far more valuable when it's followed by something relevant. That might be an availability list, information about a particular crop or confirmation of when stock will be ready.
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It's easy to spend time looking at social media engagement without considering whether that activity is generating enquiries or sales. A post attracting hundreds of likes might be encouraging, but an availability email that results in several substantial orders could be considerably more valuable. Ask customers how they heard about your nursery. Keep a record of enquiries following Trade Days, email campaigns or social media activity. Notice which products attract interest and whether that interest leads to purchases. |
You don't need sophisticated reporting software. Even a simple monthly review can show which activities deserve your time.
For a busy nursery, marketing needs to earn its place alongside everything else competing for attention.
If a short email sent to regular buyers on Tuesday helps secure orders for the following fortnight, that's a worthwhile result. It doesn't need thousands of views to prove its value.