Want to weatherproof your business? Growers and retailers have found that supplying landscapers with plant material is a great way to guarantee sales rain or shine. But don’t make the mistake of treating landscape customers like an afterthought; they have special needs, which if ignored, could crash the relationship.
Here are five golden pieces of advice to keep this valuable customer segment happy:
The cracking bud rules. Consumers may love benches in full bloom, but as a general rule, landscapers are looking for 25% bloom upon delivery or pickup. Similarly, a root-bound plant isn’t going to perform well in the ground. (i.e. Don’t throw your leftover, nearly gone-by flats in the landscape yard.)

Availability is everything. Don’t sacrifice reserved landscape orders when the spring rush hits and you’re trying to fill another shipment. While a garden center might not mind if you’re seven flats short on an order of white impatiens, your first and last impression with a landscaper is your availability.  Shortchange him or her on an order for a scheduled installation and you could be fired (and no, 10 trays of pink impatiens won’t suffice as a substitution).
Keep it simple. Build customer loyalty by making a landscaper’s life easier. Consider your container selection—be it plantable pots, flats or recyclable containers—and how easy they are to handle and dispose of. Likewise, tags present a considerable hassle for landscapers, especially if every pot has a label in it.

Provide information. What’s true for consumers is also true for landscapers in terms of information needed. Help them out with sun, shade and color selections. Be their plant guru for site issues such as pH and nutrition. If you’re in a drought-sensitive area, work together on plant selection and water-wise education.

Touch base with your landscape customers at the end of their season. Ask them what worked and what didn’t and why. Ask them about preferred varieties. Ask them about their renewal contracts, the timing, and when they can make the majority of their ordering decisions for the next season. Follow up in the coming months to solidify orders.

For more information and resources, visit www.balllandscape.com

In-House Landscaping
Wholesale nursery, Hesse Horticulture, in California, has been looking at ways to diversify. They’ve moved their production into larger flowering potted plants, especially 10- and 12-in. hanging baskets; and now they’re adding a landscape service.

While it’s common for garden centers to have a landscaping division, how does a wholesale grower create cross promotion marketing opportunities?

Join forces. Owner Peter Hesse had the advantage of his 27-year-old son, Fletcher, a licensed landscape contractor, joining his business in July. While business has been good, they’ve tapped into a young landscape designer, Jackie King, who was working on her own.  “She is dynamic in sales and gets the jobs and leads. So we are working on merging our businesses,” says Peter. He hopes to develop a synergy with the wholesale nursery and her landscape skills and her network.

Hit the streets (or farmers’ market). While Hesse Horticulture may not have a storefront to
promote landscaping ser-vices, the farmer’s market is proving to be a positive cross promotion alternative. When Jackie took Hesse’s plants to the local farmers’ market, not only did she come home with cash sales, but she’d also picked up several landscaping leads.