I don’t sell products, I sell successful gardens

Don’t worry about your product mix, its service that sells

In a recent survey, Canadians ranked level of customer service as one of the top four most important factors in deciding where to shop. Reinforce the importance of customer service to your staff and your customers.

I tell people all the time that we are in the service business. We just happen to sell home and garden products.

 Here is a short column that I wrote for all of our staff last week.

If you were to describe our company and the business we’re in, how would you describe Green Village? Are we a garden centre? A landscape company? How would you describe us?

How about none of the above? Really, if you look at our company, no matter what division, we are one thing, and one thing only. Green Village is a service company that happens to be in the garden center and landscape business.

Our purpose each day is to help find solutions that provide enjoyment, relaxation and a sense of pride to our customers. How do we do that? Well we do that by installing amazing landscapes. We do that by helping customers become successful in their gardens. We do that by providing tips and products to beautify their home for Christmas. We do that in many different ways, but it always come down to one thing, providing a service to our customers.

So the next time someone asks “What business is Green Village in?” You can tell then “We’re a service company. We just happen to be in the garden centre & landscape business.”

5 years from now, customers may not remember the products you carry, but they’ll remember the service. Have you defined what your priorities are with your team?