A Gardening Website To Educate Novices

Gerry Giorgio

GG: Why is it important for growers and the industry to help consumers with our garden products?

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Giorgio: Our research indicates more than 75 percent of gardeners consider themselves between novice and moderately experienced. That is a huge segment of garden center shoppers needing help in selecting and successfully growing the plants they purchase. If gardeners are successful, everyone benefits.

GG: Why did MasterTag decide to build a website at MyGardenInsider.com as a garden resource for consumers?

Giorgio: Throughout our 62-year history, we have been focused on the gardener. The website is another evolution of MasterTag as a gardening resource. The advances in technology, such as QR codes and how information is communicated at the point of sale and elsewhere, were big motivators in our effort with the website. MasterTag is the curator and archivist for an enormous amount of horticultural content.

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MyGardenInsider.com makes it easy for growers to tap into this wealth of information and use it with QR codes to expand on the content they can provide to retailers and shoppers.

GG: How does MyGardenInsider.com serve the goal of engaging consumers in the industry and driving their success?

Giorgio: Shoppers of all kinds now engage in the purchase process well beyond the physical retail store. Websites, social media and video can be accessed from anywhere and are influential in a consumer’s purchasing decision. MyGardenInsider.com is set up to reach all of these channels. Our goal is to meet the shopper on their terms and their schedule. The website gives us all the platform to do this.

GG: How does MyGardenInsider.com appeal to the demographics of consumers using your site?

Giorgio: We have created many elements for gardeners of all demographics and experience levels. There is basic care information, as well as in-depth articles on tackling large gardening projects. We have pages dedicated to topics on the periphery of gardening to provoke new thoughts and ideas. There are articles and links for sustainable gardening and using gardening as a decorating activity. We tried to make it as dimensional as possible by adding an industry insider’s perspective to gardening.

GG: How can the greenhouse industry continue to help gardeners be successful?

Giorgio: The kind of content provided, the channel content is provided through and the point of engagement are critical. It is not sufficient to add a QR code and send a shopper to the same information that’s printed on the tag. Instead, users need to consider how it can be expansive and additive. We must recognize that the value in communicating content to gardeners must match their behavior and needs.

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