Cross
Fertilization continued...
Wait Till
Next Year
Attendees might
have to wait, but the organizers are already mapping out next year’s
tour, making sure to avoid any wrong turns from this year and share
the lessons learned by all.
"Having
the same tour over and over again will become boring to our current
and newly acquired customers," Kovach says. "Our largest
challenge is to continue to make the tour interesting to the customers
and profitable to the nurseries."
Kovach is spearheading
the creation of a Web site for Plant Tour Days, to better promote
and facilitate registrations for next year’s event. The group is
working with hotels, airlines and car rental companies to secure
group rates.
They’ve also
reviewed slides taken during the event, since no one got to see
how the other operations gussied up and showcased fresh product.
Growers are poring over the post-survey comments, from both participants
and attendees, taking note of what the customers liked (lots of
fresh product, scheduling freedom and yummy snacks) and what they
would have liked more of (travel information, time, detailed maps
and schedules).
A new guide
is in the works, with better maps and a cross-referenced index to
help attendees find products by plant type, grower and area.
The participants
are discussing standards to ensure that the quality and convenience
of the event isn’t sacrificed when more growers join. For example,
since visitors come from all over the country (at least 55 percent
were from out of state), participating growers must have adequate
shipping procedures in place.
Individual nurseries
owners are working on their "If I could do it all over again"
resolutions. Hammer wants to create a small pack for the customer
to take home with an actual topiary. Scullin has visions of a more
focused event at The Paul Ecke Ranch to buttress the entire tour,
perhaps focusing on its renowned Christmas product. "The idea
would be to do it outside open house hours and really target existing
customers.
"Your customers
are here, you better make the most of it," he says.
-
Floral Management, October 200
Amanda
Temple is the managing editor of Floral Management. Email: atemple@safnow.org
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