Our newly formed garden center social media panel
TECH TALK
will help you take your tech knowledge to the next level —
✳
and learn through their experience how to incorporate it into your business.
Twitter and Facebook and iPhones…Oh, My!
After nearly 80 years in business, Pemberton Farms & Garden Center has really taken a leap in to the 21st century and
added a heavy social media element to its marketing and promotion efforts. Adding a mobile device to the mix only
made things easier.
By Mark Saidnawey
S
tarted in 1930, Pem- Get Your Name Out There
berton Farms & Garden The only challenge is getting
Center is a third-gen- people to know we’re out there and
eration family business to follow us. We have placed signs
located in the heart of throughout our store inviting people
Cambridge, Mass. Brothers Tom and to follow us on both Facebook and
Mark Saidnawey operate a gourmet Twitter highlighting that they will
food store, full-service garden center receive special offers, on-line and
and online gift basket business. in-store promotional discount codes
Since the downturn in the economy, and updates on upcoming events.
we’ve had to reduce our promotional We have signs on all the entrance
spending. We slashed our marketing and exit doors, at the checkout sta-
budget by 40 percent from the pre- tions, on the deli counter and a
vious year. Areas like newspaper, large sign at our outdoor garden
“Almost everyone has a Facebook account.
It has become such a great way to make
our customers feel like part of our family.”
weekly fl yers and radio were the fi rst to center kiosk. There are also links
go. Since then, we have continued to on our website inviting customers
look for inexpensive alternative ways to follow us on both Facebook and
to promote our business. The most Twitter as well.
successful has been through the free Our customer base is wide because
social networking of Facebook and of the draw of both a gourmet food
Twitter. These are easy to use, fun and store and a garden center. I have
a great way to connect with the com- found that most of the people that
munity, friends and customers both do end up following us on Facebook
new and old. We are using them to and Twitter are people aged 25 to 50,
promote both our retail stores and on- and almost 65 percent are women.
line business to great success! Between parents who just want to
monitor their kids and cus-
tomers who have their own
the panelists
pages, almost everyone that
walks through the door is
Calloway’s Nursery
Dallas/Forth Worth North Haven Gardens Pemberton Farms
and Houston, Texas Dallas, Texas & Garden Center
mytexasgarden.com nhg.com Cambridge, Mass.
pembertonfarms.com
Kimberly Bird Leslie Finical Halleck
Mark Saidnawey
18 Lawn & Garden Retailer January 2010
www.lgrmag.com
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