Key #1 in Marketing to Younger Buyers

As mentioned in my last post, the first of three keys to marketing gardening products to younger buyers is to emphasize the end results.

What do I mean? Don’t sell patio furniture; sell an outdoor relaxation area. Don’t sell trellises; sell privacy. Don’t sell the time-consuming, steep-learning-curve hobby of gardening; sell higher property values through landscaping.

For a prime example of selling the end product, take a page from Ikea. Who would think that you could use emotion and word pictures to sell inexpensive prefab furniture, but they do it masterfully. Their photos of comfortably stylish rooms are enhanced by copy that sets the scene, like this:

Dining Room: Pass the salt. Pass the crayons. Take your seat at the table. Your every-purpose surface. The pace to come together every day. For long meals, long laughs or just a long sip of coffee.

Bedroom. Go ahead and tell the world, “Do not disturb.” It’s your room. With a bed made comfortable for peaceful nights and refreshing mornings. A wardrobe organized for calm beginnings and space to give your skit a twirl.

Children’s Ikea: Giggle., Swing. Play! That’s how children learn and develop. And your home is the most important playground. Free to imagine, pretend. And have fun.

Get the idea? 

If you think this discussion of Ikea’s marketing isn’t all that applicable to you, beware. Ikea is starting to test market their own garden centers in Europe, so they could be your direct competition before you know it.

2 Comments

  1. L
    Posted January 23, 2009 at 5:02 pm | Permalink

    I look forward to carrying home my plants flat-packed, and assembling them when I get home.

    (Ha ha.)

    Seriously though, I’ve been reading a lot about Urban Outfitters’ new Garden Center brand, Terrain. It too is aimed at a younger audience.

    http://www.psfk.com/2008/05/urban-outfitters-opens-garden-center-in-philadelphia.html

    • Posted January 26, 2009 at 12:48 pm | Permalink

      Yes, there was a lot of buzz when Terrain first opened last May, but I haven’t heard a whole lot since. Have you?


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  1. [...] Our last two blog posts discussed two of the three keys to marketing to Gen X and Gen Y buyers: emphasize end results and simplify the shopping experience. Today’s post deals with the third: build on small [...]

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