Relationship Marketing: A Qualitative Case Study of New-Media Marketing Use by Kansas Garden Centers

Scott Stebner,Hikaru Peterson,Lauri Baker,Cheryl Boyer

doi:10.3390/horticulturae3010026

Abstract

A primary factor limiting the expansion of many Kansas garden centers is marketing. Most of these businesses spend the majority of advertising dollars on traditional media (newspaper, radio, etc.). However, new-media tools such as social-media can be an effective method for developing profitable relationships with customers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of garden center stakeholders as they use new-media to market their businesses. Grunig’s Excellency Theory served as the theoretical framework for this study. Results indicate garden center operators prefer to use traditional media channels to market to their customers and asynchronously communicate with their target audiences. Stakeholders often have inaccurate or conflicting views of traditional media and new-media in regard to advertising and tend to approach new-media marketing from a public information or asynchronous viewpoint.

Highlights

IntroductionThe green industry (garden centers, nurseries, landscaping companies, etc.) generates over$200 billion in annual revenue [1] and employs over 450,000 workers [2]
The green industry generates over$200 billion in annual revenue [1] and employs over 450,000 workers [2]
When asked to describe how garden centers market to the public, participant responses yielded two themes: (1) Stakeholders prefer to focus on traditional marketing strategies; (2) stakeholders see some positives to social-media marketing, they are skeptical of its ability to positively impact sales

Summary

Introduction

The green industry (garden centers, nurseries, landscaping companies, etc.) generates over$200 billion in annual revenue [1] and employs over 450,000 workers [2]. The green industry (garden centers, nurseries, landscaping companies, etc.) generates over. The retail garden center industry is highly seasonal and competes with many outside influences that can negatively affect sales, such as poor weather and competition from mass merchandisers [3]. According to Hodges et al [4], mass merchants have acquired almost half the market share from smaller, local garden centers. One factor limiting the expansion of garden centers and nurseries within the Great Plains region is marketing [6]. Family farms that have a yearly revenue not exceeding $50,000 rely heavily on marketing directly to the consumer [8]. Family-owned garden centers are no exception and have traditionally invested the majority of advertising dollars on the Yellow Pages, print media, and direct

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