How to Have a Profitable Summer

As greenhouse growers, we want a profitable summer, but we know that business slows way down during the off-season. We typically see summer and fall being more about planning and cleaning out. However, there are some tips on how to increase off-season sales. 

What You Should Be Selling for a Profitable Summer

With the summer heat, you should focus on selling heat-tolerant plants like Lantana and Purslane and houseplants like Plectranthus, Foliage, and Succulents. One important step is to let your customers know what you have available. Summer provides an excellent opportunity to sell yourself. Revamp your website and online presence through social media. You don’t have to spend money to make your website look nice, and you don’t have to spend money to market yourself. We have lots of tips here on our website for marketing yourself on social media for free. Keep an eye on our blog section for an upcoming blog on what your website should communicate to your customers.

Host Indoor Workshops and Events

Bringing your customers into your space is an excellent way to showcase what you do and generate word of mouth. Host planting parties and mini-workshops for a range of ages. There will be mothers searching for summer activities to do with their kids, and gardeners will want to get out of the heat and learn more about the plants they love. Make sure you post your events on social media to reach a broader audience. When you post publicly on your Facebook page or share a story on your Instagram account, people can share these posts with their friends who may not be following your page.

Here are a few tips for hosting an indoor workshop or event:

1. Keep it small: If you haven’t hosted one before or if you have a smaller shop space, keep the number of attendees for each event limited. You can be more hands-on with a smaller group, and it’s much less overwhelming.
2. Host each event multiple times: Share all the dates you’ll be hosting your workshop so everyone who wants to can find a date to attend. If you sell out of an event and they miss it, or their schedule is busy for the summer, having multiple event dates will assist.
3. Try different things: You may not know what works for your particular community until you try multiple things. Host an event focused on kids and another focused on experienced gardeners. Focus on indoor herb gardens and then concentrate on outdoor landscape plants. Keep careful notes so you know what your customer base is interested in during this time of year.
4. Offer a Groupon to help generate interest.

Share Discounts and Sales Regularly

With inflation this year, purse strings have tightened, and sales could decrease across all industries. One way to catch people’s attention during this time is to offer deals or discounts regularly. If you have room in your pricing, pick a certain day of the week to discount your plants and market this day strongly. Make posts about “Discount Tuesdays, where select items are 25% off.” If you discount your older items that need to move every week, customers will be drawn to your store’s page or space weekly to see what’s on sale this time.

Online commerce sites typically recommend dropping prices on the weekends. When payday hits, people are ready to spend money, and a sale entices them to spend it with you. It may take some trial and error to find the best time of the week to offer discounts, but you could see an increase in sales because of it.

In conclusion

Summer is a great time of year to try new things and see what works for you. Take this opportunity to be strategic with your business. You’ll eventually find the right combination of activities to create a profitable summer. But while you’re trialing new things, remember to prepare for the upcoming season. Here is a blog on a summer checklist for greenhouses.