In her seminar “Marketing for Growers,” Katie Elzer-Peters encouraged attendees at AmericanHort’s Cultivate’24 convention to think beyond weekly availability lists and start sending engaging emails that motivate buyers.
Elzer-Peters is the founder and CEO of the Garden of Words, a consulting firm specializing in email marketing, SMS marketing, websites and SEO (search engine optimization) for horticulture-based businesses.
“I want you to move beyond just survival mode,” Elzer-Peters challenged her listeners. “I want you guys in the industry to thrive!”
She enumerated a number of things she wanted growers to keep in mind as they market to their customers.
- Make your B2B more like your D2C.
Elzer-Peters warned entrepreneurs to not fall into the trap of thinking that business-to-business (B2B) communications have to be dry and staid.
“B2B can be boring and lack personality. Remember, you’re not selling to a company – you’re selling to people at a company! Use the same voice you’d use in your direct-to-consumer (D2C) messages. Use puns! Corny dad jokes! Work song titles into your headers! You’re looking for a quick win, getting them to click on the message, so reward them with a smile or a chuckle,” she said. “There’s no rule that says you can’t be playful in your business.”
- Focus on the right platforms.
“If you only choose one platform, let it be LinkedIn. It’s the best one for communicating business-to-business. Its newsletter feature is great and can be an excellent way to relay information about your business regularly,” Elzer-Peters said.
She added that growers don’t have to use Instagram, but it is a useful method for quick and short bits of communication. “Insta is really retail, not wholesale. But if you’re going to be at an event like Cultivate, post a slide letting people know!”
She did admit that she didn’t find the results her clients wanted with Facebook or other outlets.
Katie Elzer-Peters
- Make sure your text is laid out the right way.
“Centered text looks pretty, but no one can read it. Make sure that all your text is either left aligned or justified,” Elzer-Peters suggested.
She also recommended using the “hero” format in email communications. The hero email is a template that uses a striking visual element, called a hero image, to grab readers’ attention and direct them to a call to action (usually a clickable button).
The hero image is usually the first thing a subscriber sees in an email. It can be a photograph, illustration, photograph, GIF or video.
“And a few more things: Never underline any text that’s not also a clickable link. That drives people crazy! If you need to emphasize something, use bolded, capitalized and/or italicized text,” she said.
“Make sure that you link all your pics, otherwise it’s just wasted space. And while we’re on that topic, make sure every logo on every communication you email has a clickable link back to your website.
“Are you taking videos with your phone? Make sure you hold horizontally – vertical videos are no good!”
- Know where you’ve started from.
“When you hire someone like me, make sure you establish your baseline. Otherwise, you’ll just have to take their word for it that what they’re doing is working,” Elzer-Peters stated.
She suggested finding three or four key metrics and seeing what results your marketing efforts have on them. “When people ask me how to judge whether or not they’re getting the results they’re after, I ask them ‘How many phone calls are you getting now? How many were you getting before? What about your emails? Social media messages? What’s the before and after look like for your sales? Gross profit?’ Having a few good baseline metrics will really help you know what’s working for you.”
For more information, visit thegardenofwords.com.
by Enrico Villamaino
