Build some buzz

How can a small to mid-sized U.S. company stand out? You’ve got to show people you’re credible, trustworthy, and an expert in the field. Basically, you need to show them you’re awesome. 

That’s right, awesome. And believe it or not being awesome is much easier now. Showing off your awesomeness is an easy way to make a stand and show customers you care.

How? It’s pretty easy really.

First, let’s define awesome.

The Urban Dictionary says: Something Americans use to describe everything. Wikitonary says: Excellent, exciting, and remarkable

I think the Urban Dictionary’s definition is hilarious (another word Americans are using to describe everything lately), so let’s go with excellent, exciting, and remarkable. Those are good things to shoot for in any business plan, right?

Being awesome doesn’t mean you only sell the hottest new plants. It doesn’t mean you only hire hip, young employees. To me, it means you are relevant, current and you know what your customer wants — and that is what inspires.

I started Plants Nouveau in 2005 with a laptop, a few dollars, and lots of industry contacts. I worked for several companies, big and small, and I felt none of them were really doing marketing right. I wanted to do it right. I wanted to stand out. I wanted to make the people (breeders) I was working for proud of my work. I also wanted consumers to notice our plants. I wanted to be awesome!

Minor problem — no budget for marketing. Heck, there wasn’t even a budget to pay myself back then. How could I compete with the big guys with no marketing budget? I couldn’t. But what I could do is make people feel at home, make them feel like I cared and give them the attention they needed.
 

Look beyond your own borders

Plants Nouveau would be the boutique plant introduction company. There are not many new plant introduction companies anyway – but the few that exist are pretty huge, and those are our competition.

So what could we do to stand out?

I decided I would look outside the industry for inspiration, since there wasn’t much to compare us to within the industry. What do other small companies do? Which small companies seemed relevant to me? I looked at companies I admired, like Chipotle and Alchemy Goods. What did they have in common? They started small, they were competing with large companies and they had style.

I love everything about Chipotle. They are taking a share of the big fast food companies by offering inexpensive, quick meals and they have integrity – something the others don’t. One of the first things I noticed about Chipotle was a sign above the counter that read “Food with Integrity.” I immediately knew that would be a goal for my small company. Integrity is such a great word. (Much better than awesome, right?)

What does it mean?

A traditional definition is: Integrity is a personal choice, an uncompromising and predictably consistent commitment to honor moral, ethical, spiritual and artistic values and principles.

That became my mantra and my new favorite word. Integrity. How can your small business maintain integrity? If you have integrity, people will trust you.

Chipotle’s integrity is seen in their food sourcing, advertising, packaging and in their commitment to the environment and non-factory farms. They do a lot of work behind the scenes to portray this through fantastically entertaining, socially acceptable YouTube videos and their website. Most consumers don’t care about this stuff. Most consumers don’t even know these things about Chipotle. But Chipotle does and they will not stray from their beginnings.

That’s commendable.

Alchemy Goods is a company I stumbled upon while living in Baltimore. Always seeking out the recycled and weird, I found a little store in a whacky-cool part of the city that carried these messenger bags, purses and wallets made from recycled bicycle tire tubes and old car seatbelt parts. How cool is that? I loved it and started buying them.

Alchemy Goods is based in Seattle, Wash., but they ship and distribute nationwide. Both their email newsletter and their Facebook page posts are from real people, and they have a personality. You feel like you know them, and if you are like me, you love them and want to be friends with them. They are in your “tribe” and they think like you. They care about their employees, their products and their customers.

So much so, that they ran a promo on Facebook a few weeks ago and offered one of their super hip recycled tire tube key chains (a $12 value) to anyone who shared the post. So many people shared that they ran out of key chains. They compassionately offered a $12 off coupon for anything they sold. People were not happy and they said so, loudly.

Alchemy Goods listened and responded with a personal email to each person asking them if they wanted the key chain or would the coupon suffice. Those who really wanted the keychain were put on the list to receive one down the line once they had more made. It was brilliant, and this is being awesome.

You can be awesome, but you have to let them know a little about you. You have to let them know what your company is about, what you stand for and what you’ll take a stand against. I suggest leaving most politics out of it, but if you are a staunch supporter of no more GM seeds, and because of that you sell only organic, let your customers know. They will appreciate it. As long as it is related to your business philosophy, it’s fine to be a bit controversial. It lets your customers know you are human and that you understand what they want.
 

Awesome traits

Let’s sum up the qualities in the three examples.

• Integrity
• Personality
• Compassion
   

Does your small business have these traits? Do you give customers a glimpse into your personality? I once wrote a blog post that talked about my collection and everyday use of cloth napkins. People remember that to this day, and that post was several years ago. I talk about my family in my blog. It can be a little creepy when a stranger walks up to you and asks how your son did in his lacrosse tournament last weekend, but it helps with small talk and it makes for lasting relationships.

What does Plants Nouveau do to be awesome? We always make a statement at events. Our booths and products are memorable. No standard pop-up booth for us ! Get creative or hire someone who is creative to make your displays. Let the flair and the color shine. Remember, shiny objects stand out from the rest and attract people.

Real people write our blog posts. The blog is in our voices. There’s got to be someone in your organization who can write and has a nice voice to represent your company. Let them be the voice. Let them connect with your customers.

Real people write our website copy. We talk about our gardens and how the plants perform for us. We talk about combinations we love and we let everyone who is interested meet our breeders and the people behind the plants. We keep no secrets.

Real people post for us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Sure, we use scheduled posts if we are travelling or busy, but they are still written (and scheduled) by us. Put some personality into it. People react to pictures and humor. If every post on your Facebook page is “This plant is on sale this week,” or “We’re digging next week,” people will get bored and they will quickly lose interest. That kind of post is fine and even necessary at times, but mix it up. Throw in some personal gardening stories from this weekend. Throw in some recipes you love. Have a photography contest or a give-away. That’s the kind of stuff fans react to.

Have a Pinterest account for your business. If you have pretty pictures, you need a Pinterest account. Pinterest is so incredibly popular right now with women aged 30-65, how can you go wrong? Make the boards fun and inviting, and, when possible, draw them back to your website for more information. This will increase web traffic at an alarming rate.

Most importantly, maintain your integrity, especially as you grow. Follow Chipotle’s example because it is the best. Even now, when they are taking dollars away from fast food giants and opening new locations throughout the U.S., they are sourcing their food from non-factory farms. They’ve given you simple choices, made from simple ingredients in a minimally decorated restaurant. Way to go Chipotle. Way to provide a decent meal and stand up against corporate farming.

Doesn’t that sound like something all small growers and independent garden centers can do? Compete with the big guys by being personal, having integrity and showing compassion.

Doesn’t that sound more fun? Doesn’t that make you awesome?

Be awesome and people will love you. And – even though the Lego Movie song says so, everything is not awesome. But if you are awesome, you and your business will shine.

Angela Treadwell-Palmer and Linda Guy own Plants Nouveau, a new-plant introduction company. The pair travel the world to find cool and novel new plants to bring to the market. www.plantsnouveau.com