The Garden Connect stand was very busy as the company introduced the GardenDeal app: an effective and affordable solution to give your garden centre the loyal customers it needs.
GardenDeal is a generic App available at iOS, Google Play and for Windows Mobile from September 2014. Consumers can download the app free of charge. After downloading they can register themselves and select their local garden centre. The app shows them current coupons available for use at the garden centre. Garden centres can login and add their own coupons to the app. Customers visiting the garden centre will see even more coupons upon arrival.
Founder of Garden Connect Edwin Meijer: “We’re using iBeacons to show customers instore coupons. Retailers can change these coupons any time of the day, so they can play ball and change offers for example if the weather is changing. Instore promotions are very effective to generate more impulsive sales.”
Apart from the coupons, customers visiting the garden centre will get a digital stamp in the app. “Every 5thstamp will generate an extra coupon. Unlike the old fashion stamp cards, we can send out coupons based on the number of visits. Bigger rewards should be given to customers who visit your garden centre more often.” explains Edwin Meijer.
The app combines smartphones and e-mail communication. After visiting the garden centre, customers will be sent an e-mail to say thanks and invited to write a review. If someone hasn’t visited the garden centre for certain periods of time, another e-mail can be sent out. “Is it your customers birthday, then why not send out an e-mail with a special coupon? Our system automates this communication. The e-mail is sent on your customers birthday and the birthday coupon will be visible in the app for just a few days. Garden centres can setup their own e-mail scheme and all e-mails are sent based on the data we automatically retrieve from the customers behavior.”
The GardenDeal app doesn’t require any integration with epos systems. For example: “A voucher of £6 off by post every quarter is outdated and expensive. We’re offering garden centres to communicate instantly with their customers and as frequently as they want. With traditional loyalty schemes you give a reward at the check-out, just a minute before they leave the centre! Using the iBeacons, we can give them a reward whilst they are shopping. With the Garden Deal app you can generate more sales today, keep in touch with your customers and get them back more frequently.”
Costs are based on a monthly charge per user. For 250 users the costs are just £0.12 per user, per a month including an unlimited number of coupons and e-mails. The monthly charge for the iBeacon is £15 which includes free replacements.
In 2015, more iBeacons will become available to add more flexible instore promotion: “Customers who are in the centre for over 30 minutes, but who haven’t visited the restaurant might get thirsty. You have the opportunity to automatically send them a second-coffee-free voucher to get them in your restaurant. We just started this development and there are many opportunities for retailers. Customers aged 50 & older are rapidly adapting new technologies so no doubt smart retailers want to benefit from it as soon as possible. With the use of this revolutionary app, we can also start to attract the next generation of garden centre customers who are already mobile app savvy.”
For more information please go to www.gardendeal.co.uk.
