The Most Dangerous Sentence in Garden Marketing

The most dangerous sentence in garden marketing

What could possibly be so dangerous about “it appeals to all gardeners”? For many garden brands, this is such an easy trap to fall into, because the instinct is: the more people you appeal to, the bigger the opportunity.

So why does it feel like the safe option? Home and garden brands often have much smaller teams than their colleagues in FMCG. They don’t have the time, the budgets or the data. There’s a feeling around the business that they can’t afford to make the wrong decision. And there’s an innate fear of missing out; surely a bigger audience increases the chance of a sale, not diminishes it?

Other sectors tolerate a bit of trial and error. In garden brands, there’s often a feeling you only get one shot. “We don’t have the budgets to do this more than once – we have to get it right first time!” And so, they take the risk out of the equation and plump for the seemingly safe option. They spread their bets and hope for the best.

This broad appeal waters down any messaging, it becomes conservative and generic. There’s nothing that rocks the boat or stands out from other brands in the category. Your product is seen as a “me too”, and probably inferior to the market leader. So shoppers default to what they recognise, or they choose on price.

If you’re wondering, this is what this looks like in practice: bland pack messages that on the face of it may be true, but don’t distinguish you from the competition, claims such as “feeds and strengthens” or “for healthier plants”. You look at the other products you’re competing with and make a list of the things you “must” include on your pack. You use a similar colour palette and imagery to the rest of the category, your product shots feel like they “fit in”.

Nothing you do says to a customer “this is for you”.

You don’t stand out, you don’t resonate, and you end up competing on price, not preference.

The real cost of trying to please everyone

The fear is real. I get it. What I’m describing here can feel counterintuitive: you’ve probably heard it yourself “let’s make sure we don’t alienate anyone” or “we’ve got a list of features, we need to see them all on pack”.

But without checks in place, you’ll find that your product messaging has just a long feature list, where “everything is important”, instead of prioritised benefits that speak to the customer. You’ll find yourself using generic claims and safe language, or even worse, technical language that has come straight from R&D; sure, the underlying message may need to be included, but it’s your job to turn the technobabble into something more human.

Take a moment to picture your product on the shelf in a garden centre. The fixture is full; it’s a packed category with several competing products to choose from. Each pack has a similar vibe, packaging formats, colour ways, imagery and messaging claims. A shopper is browsing the shelves. They have a rough idea what they need, but they’re not reading each pack. The broad claims on each pack blur into one homogeneous group, nothing seems better than anything else. You’ll either go for the market leader, the brand you’ve heard of or purchase on price.

Now let’s take that scenario one-step further: your shopper only has a small garden and is aware of the limitations they must work with. Think about the internal dialogue that’s going on in their mind while they’re browsing: “I’ve only got a patio; I need something that works in pots” or “I don’t want a big bag that I can’t store anywhere” or “I need quick, visible results – we’ve got guests coming to stay in a couple of weeks.” It’s these types of insight that help focus your communications.

And this is what it costs you, commercially. You’re never the preferred choice; you haven’t built that rapport with your customers where they naturally gravitate towards you. Compared to other products in your category, you end up being chosen less often, unless your product is on a deal. So, your growth flat lines, any marketing campaigns you create feel like you’re spending budget without seeing any return.

Apple is a good reminder that focus can create momentum. PageMaker launched on the Macintosh in 1985 and helped drive graphic designers to the Mac, alongside tools like the LaserWriter that fuelled desktop publishing. I remember using QuarkXPress desktop publishing software on the original Macintosh II on my graphic design course back in 1988. Apple wasn’t “only for creatives”, but it shows how winning a bullseye first can give you the right to broaden.

By focusing on your bullseye, it doesn’t mean that you’re excluding sales; instead, you’re positioning yourself to become the obvious choice for a particular group of people.

How focus makes you the obvious choice

Talking to people in sales, I’ve seen the involuntary twitch, when it’s mentioned that we’re going to be focusing on a particular group. People hear focus and they assume you’re turning customers away. But it’s really not like that.

When you identify your bullseye, everything has a direction. The messaging and creative you design are specifically aimed at someone, where you know the message will land.  You’re not excluding other people from buying your product, if other customers identify with your message, even if you believe they sit outside your bullseye, that’s great! Think of it like an archery target. You’re aiming at the bullseye, but you’ll still catch plenty of people around the edges.

Let’s look at an example: let’s say you’ve identified a bullseye of small-space gardeners and we’re going to imagine we’re presenting a compost product. Our key selling point for this product is that it is compressed and dehydrated to create mini cubes of compost for easy storage (light weight and taking up much less room than a normal bag of compost) and can be rehydrated as required.

When you commit to a bullseye audience, the pack stops trying to say everything. The hierarchy changes first: Compact compost for small-space gardens. Then the product cues do some of the heavy lifting: A smaller, box-like format (a fraction of the size of a conventional compost bag), easy to carry, easy to store, in recyclable packaging. The claims become specific, not generic: brilliant in pots on balconies and patios, lightweight, no faff. Even the tone shifts, speaking to time-poor, urban gardeners who want good results without lugging a huge bag home.

You can see that this messaging isn’t for “all gardeners” instead we’re talking directly to our bullseye. When they’re in store, looking for the right compost for their situation, this messaging will resonate and make it the easy choice.

We’re hitting their pain points: “I have nowhere to store a big bag of compost.” “I don’t have a car; how will I get the compost home?” “I don’t have a big garden; I only need compost for the few pots I’ve got on my balcony.” This direct alignment creates clear reasons to believe and stronger recall.

When a product aligns with its bullseye, the advantage isn’t only that initial sale, but you’re far more likely to see repeat purchases too. The customer feels that this product is specifically for them, it gives them a reason to choose you again. They’ll also recommend the product to their friends and family who may also fall into the bullseye target.

And the commercial reality of all of this, means that you’re more likely to sell more without having to rely on special offers or undercutting the market to make the sale. It gives you a route to growth that isn’t just ‘more discount’. And it helps retail buyers too, because it becomes easier to understand what role your product plays in the range.

I have a little test that you can employ to see if you’ve got your bullseye and messaging aligned, I call it the ‘guess what’ test. You want your customer to be able to finish this sentence: I bought [your product] and guess what…

That ‘guess what’ is not luck. You’ve engineered it. It’s the thing people remember and repeat because it’s genuinely different, and it resonates with them.

So, what about everyone else? What about all those people who you’re not connecting with who won’t buy your product? It’s fine if some people choose a different product. The point is to be the obvious choice for the people you’re best placed to win. Have the confidence to say: we’re not for everyone, we’re for [your bullseye]. That can be really powerful.

We’ve been on a bit of a journey and I’m hoping by now that you can see how targeting your bullseye rather than limiting your sales, it can unlock growth you’ve been struggling to find. But how do you choose your bullseye without guessing?

Choosing your bullseye without guesswork

You’re probably thinking: “We’re not FMCG, we don’t have access to shopper insights or brand tracking, how can we possibly choose our bullseye without guessing?” That’s a perfectly rational question to ask, but don’t panic, there’s a simple way to narrow your focus and choose your audience.

Here’s an approach you can use to move you from “for all gardeners” to a targeted audience that gives you a great foundation from which to build. I’m going to introduce you to a set of simple questions that you can use to define, test and refine your bullseye.

1. What are they trying to achieve? “I want a balcony that’s full of life and colour.”
2. What gets in the way? Storage, weight, mess, confidence, time, cost, no car.
3. What are they doing instead? Making do with a familiar brand, searching online (Google/social), or doing nothing.
4. What would make them switch? A clearer promise, proof, reassurance, ease, design, or format.
5. What phrases would they use? “I’ve got nowhere to store a massive bag.” / “I only need a little bit.”
6. What do you want them to feel about your brand? “This is made for my situation.”

If your answers still sound like they could apply to any gardener buying any product, you haven’t found a bullseye yet. If they sound specific enough to write something that would speak directly to them, then you’re on the right track.

Here are a couple of further sanity checks you can perform that will help ensure that you’re on the right track. The first I’m calling the “say no” test. To put it simply if your bullseye doesn’t help you say no to something, it isn’t focused enough. Here’s how it would play out:

Our focused bullseye might be something like this: Small-space gardeners who grow in pots and need easy storage and transport.

You can see that we can say no to: Big, bulky pack formats and claims such as “perfect for beds and borders.” Basically, anything that implies you would need a shed, a wheelbarrow or a car.

But what if our bullseye was too broad and not focused enough such as: “Urban gardeners.” It fails because “Urban” could mean anything from houseplants to community allotments.

You can’t say no to claims about lawns or veg-growing claims. You can’t even say no to a big-bag format – our bullseye is just too vague. So, you end up keeping everything “just in case”.

The second test I’m calling the “five-second fixture” test. In reality this is the whole ballgame. Picture your product on a shelf in a crowded garden centre fixture, would your bullseye spot it and would the messaging speak directly to them? Or does it just blur into the rest of the category?

You’ve identified and tested your bullseye and you’re comfortable that it’s passed the sanity checks. Next you aim to get buy-in from the rest of the business. But the first thing that your MD or sales say to you is: “we can’t afford to alienate anyone” or “surely we need to include all our Key Selling Points?”

Naturally there will be some things that can be universal, for example quality and trust can have broad appeal, but they shouldn’t be what you build your messaging around. Your ‘reason to choose’ must be bullseye specific.

One practical trick is to create a “not for us” list. This isn’t a public manifesto, and it’s not you being arrogant, but it will stop the dreaded decision-making by committee. For example, if your bullseye is small-space gardeners, you’re not trying to win the bulk-buyer who wants the biggest bag for the lowest price. You’re not trying to be the most technical compost in the category. Having that written down makes it easier to stay focused when someone inevitably says, “Can we include this as well?”

I’d suggest that having 3 short lists could be helpful: Not for us (your audience e.g. people with large gardens who buy bulk compost). Not trying to be (product features e.g. a professional grade product). And not promising (benefit claims e.g. ideal for beds and borders). It doesn’t mean these people won’t buy your product, but it does mean you’re not trying to contort your message to please them.

If you’re unsure about going “all in” on your bullseye, or colleagues remain unconvinced, you could put your chosen audience to the test. Potentially the easiest way to do this would be to create some bullseye-specific POS to be used at the fixture. This is a low-risk trial that won’t require new packaging or a full campaign. Your POS (it could be a header board, a wobbler (or barker), or a shelf talker) should speak directly to your bullseye, addressing their primary pain point with a clear product promise. If the test sees longer dwell time, more questions from shoppers or an uplift in sales, then you’re onto something.

Depending on your product and current circumstances, you might find that a paid social ad might work too, but the POS catches the shopper at fixture, so is probably a more immediate test.