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Published:4/1/2008

This year’s ANLA Management Clinic offered so many educational topics that it was hard to keep all of your notes on one pad of paper. Learn about some of the exciting tracks and how they can help your business.

One of the best things about the American Nursery and Landscape Association’s (ANLA) Management Clinic is the combination of education, networking and Kentucky Derby pie (www.derbypie.com). ANLA went with a Homecoming theme this year, and with ’50s high school motifs everywhere, you almost expected Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta to start singing “Summer Nights” from Grease.

Sustainability. There were approximately 1,000 attendees at the event, and the talk about the big “S” word—sustainability—was endless. Everyone we spoke to was excited to see all of the educational tracks dedicated to sustainability on the schedule. Topics included green marketing, innovative/creative ways to become sustainable, a message from the Ford Motor Company on its sustainable practices, green landscaping, retailing green products, sustainable water issues, creating sustainable building sites and the state of sustainability for our industry.

Jean Schwab, the GreenScapes program manager at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) put it bluntly during her talk: “Know current EMS [Environmental Management Systems], LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design], GreenScapes and Sustainable Site Initiative requirements and offer those practices and products to your customers.” She explained, “More federal, state and local governments will be specing sustainable and low-impact development techniques. Architects will be requiring a growing list of greener practices and products.” And, she added, homeowners will also be looking for these things.

Profits. The other big focus at Management Clinic centered on profitability issues and basic revenue-driven ideas that can help businesses today and tomorrow. For instance, there were sessions on accounting for small businesses; lean business operations; when to buy, rent or lease; getting business plans implemented; and gaining profits by changing with the times.

Retail Swap Shop. One of my favorite sessions each year is the Retail Swap Shop. It’s a great forum for garden center folks to stand up and share some of the interesting things that have—or haven’t—worked in their stores. Here’s just a taste of some of the good ideas:

•Using Survey Monkey to learn what your customers think about your garden center (what needs improvements, what works, what doesn’t and so on) was one idea on the table. Some stores offered incentives for each survey participant ($5 off any purchase was one example) while others threw participants’ names into a drawing for $50 gift certificates. Most of the retailers who’d tried this idea said it really does work; one garden center got approximately 1,200 responses.

•Another garden center, wanting to be more sustainable, started e-mailing their “Green Bucks” coupons instead of handing out the printed version. Redemption rates went down significantly. Solution: They went back to the printed version and the return rate went back up again. Lesson: Not everything is better in digital form.

•An attendee from the UK talked about a garden center that wanted to focus more on its core customers: women in their mid-30s. So they got customers to nominate friends, family and themselves for the “35 Gift Certificate Program.” When a signed-up female customer turns 35, the garden center mails her a 35-pound (British currency, not weight) gift certificate in the mail. According to the presenter, the program is a hit and they’re on their third year with it.

•Mother’s Day is always a fun time to get kids involved. Every year, a few days before Mother’s Day, one garden center has an event where kids come in with an adult (preferably not mom) and they plant a flower and make a handmade card for mom. It’s a good way to get kids involved in gardening—and an even better way to get the mother to come back and shop.

ANLA’s Management Clinic is a great place to learn, network and have an overall good time. What we covered above was just a small portion of the sessions, activities and networking events. For more information visit www.managementclinic.org.

Catherine Evans is managing editor for Green Profit.