Prices & Marketing

It seems most respondents are continuing to raise prices, which is a healthy choice for the industry. This year, 72 percent of those surveyed raised prices, down slightly from last year’s 78 percent. Most increased prices between 1-4 percent, followed closely by a 5-9 percent increase. But nearly 30 percent of those surveyed do not plan to raise prices in 2017. Charlie Hall reminds growers that raising prices is one way to increase profit margins.

“The industry is leaving money on the table in certain categories,” he says.

In terms of marketing, there is some room for improvement. While more than half say they’re using Facebook, 36 percent aren’t using any type of social media platforms. And when asked how they added to their marketing strategy, 31 percent noted “nothing.” One of the more interesting ways that was mentioned to improve marketing was the use of drone photos and videos of production.

Most growers surveyed (84 percent) were confident that the market demand for nursery products will grow in 2017. But let’s expand the use of those social media channels and pay more attention to marketing to improve those odds.