December 2012 Case Studies

PVG’s Retail Corner: Social Media Content for Garden Retailers By Kate Brown

Social media has pushed the boundaries of electronic communication on a personal level. There has been an equally rapid rise in the use of social media as a tool for business-to-consumer and business-to-business marketing. Like many business segments, the question for garden center retail has not been "Should we embrace social media?" but rather "How can we take advantage of social media?"

Recognizing that 'Content is King' in social media, the challenge for businesses and garden retailers, in particular, is two-fold: finding the time to push the necessary steady flow of content out to gardening customers AND how to make sure the content that's being shared is qualitatively engaging and informative.

This challenge was echoed in focus group discussions conducted by Pleasant View Gardens with select garden center retailers in summer of 2011. Apparently retailers knew they should invest in social media but the challenge of time and content was a roadblock to effective implementation. The net effect was that PVG retailers were missing opportunities for marketing.

From these discussions, and consistent with their mission to offer solutions to help customers succeed, Pleasant View envisioned a website resource exclusively available for their retail garden centers. This site would supply retailers with a ready and quality supply of social media content that could be easily downloaded and shared with gardeners across all the popular social media platforms.

For solution, Pleasant View developed the web site known as 'PVG's Retail Corner'- billed as a social media marketing information source. It helps garden centers reach out directly to customers with rich and ready content that builds relationships, communicates directly, and drives sales. Tapping their vast supply of digital content, internally and from Proven Winners^¨ resources, Pleasant View makes a continuous stream of photos, videos, blogs, how-to's, and tips accessible for download and posting through retailers' social platforms. The posted content creates messaging that reflects the retailer's identity. The web resource is a free service for Pleasant View retail customers, enhancing their marketing communications in the cost-free social media environment with timely and relevant information. PVG's Retail Corner was launched in September 2012 and is steadily building a retail customer user base.

To check out PVG’s Retail Corner website, go to http://retailcorner.pwpvg.com/.