March 2020 - 48

MARKETING
Retail Partners engage and use this model at varying
levels. Many of our retail partners have installed live online
sales kiosks that are used to help consumers choose the
right plant for the right space. The website's exclusive
feature of " Find Your Match " is a specialized database for
providing personalized selections for the consumer, kind of
like a dating service for trees.
Still, some enrolled retailers are just dipping their toes
in the water, learning every day how to engage e-retailing
with us. Bower & Branch moves as slow or as fast as a
partner would like. The greater the in-store online sales,
the more the retailer earns in commissions and the greater
the investment is made into marketing around that
retailer by Bower & Branch.
Digital Services
Bower & Branch has perfected " localized' pay per click
members and partners. Open to all, everyone is invited to
participate and benefit.
" Our vision and passion is to align independents with
mass retailers, " said Don Eaton, founder and current
CEO. " The message of the last 25 to 35 years was wrong
and is still wrong today - competition has changed,
the speed of business has changed, the consumer has
changed and will continue to change. It is time for some
outdated thinking to be silenced and for new and younger
leadership to develop. "
Bower & Branch Retail Partners adopt our ecommerce
solution to reduce inventory, expand selection, increase
value, define market positions and benefit from a national
brand that is capturing online buyers and delivering them
to local retailers and service providers. This solution is
proper for large retailers and small localized retailers.
Partnership Benefits
The Retail Partners enjoy access to expertise in all
product groups, supporting in-store staff by empowering
them to become better sellers and service providers for all
consumer needs.
Altum's Garden Center in Indiana, a four-year member,
reported turning tree Inventory in 2019 six times. What a
remarkable story that has been lived out at Altum's, where
online sales for the Altum's team are a daily occurrence.
In addition to improved turns, this model also is
redefining cash flows. Many times, our garden retail
partners receive commissions before the sale event is
fulfilled, sometimes up to a year in advance.
Bower & Branch Retail Partners must learn to record and
measure online revenue from non-inventory positions -
something that " experienced " accountants may struggle
with. The IGC P&L statement looks very different when the
IGC is also a Bower & Branch partner.
48 | LAWN & GARDEN RETAILER | MARCH 2020
campaigns on behalf of partners, with targeted efforts
on very specific zip codes only near our fully engaged
members.
Partner Retailers are encouraged to share Bower &
Branch emails, social content and to align Bower & Branch
efforts with Buy Online - Pick Up In Store, the true BOPIS
for the IGC.
Focused promotions and online offers are scheduled
through a full year, over five Online Seasons. This year in
January, during our Early Order Promotion, online sales
orders increased over 1,000%!
We also provide direct mail campaigns that align with the
five Online Seasons. Consumers who have purchased are
provided printed catalogs and special promotions and/or
offers not available online. Many of these offers are designed
to require consumers to visit our partners' retail locations.
We have also developed - and continue to develop -
strategic relationships with other national brands like
the National Audubon Society. This brand association will
benefit our partners with exclusive product positions,
advanced knowledge of major consumer-facing programs
to come and many other benefits.
We intend to and will help to re-define the term " garden
center " once again for coming generations of consumers.
Additional Business Impacts
Bower & Branch also offers additional business impacts:
* Real Inventory Control and Increased Turns: Not just digital
purchasing, our systems allow for ample opportunity to
move smaller orders from grower to retailer, well below
typical grower and trucking minimums.
* Guarantee Burdens Removed: Beneficial and Truth
Based Product Sales makes providing referrals and
recommendations from store sales staff a natural
process. Guarantees are handled directly through
Bower & Branch.
* Consumer Facing Program and Model: Our IGC
Partners are not customers, they are partners - we
don't sell to our partners, our only objective is their
success in ecommerce. Everything we produce, build
and support raises consumer awareness, increased
accessibility, and higher value for consumers on
March 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2020
