CMSE Giving Gardens Case Study

CMSE Giving Gardens came to us in dire need of support in driving new customers to their retail garden at Giving Gardens based on the past performance of the facility. CMSE is an amazing organization that provides jobs to a workforce of disabled adults in the Mid-Missouri area. Their work provides improved quality of life and a sense of purpose for those they employ, so it would be pretty terrible if they ever had to shut down the garden operation. We reviewed their past marketing activities and came up with a unique strategy that we deployed over the course of 2 seasons to bring new life to the Giving Gardens!

One of the hardest aspects of advertising the Giving Gardens was their location. Being located a block away from any major intersections and without any major visible signage, we had to educate people where they were physically located as well as encourage them to support more than just flowers with their purchases. The competition in town was limited to a few nurseries and the local Home and Garden stores. We saw a huge opportunity in educating a highly targeted customer base with deeper pockets and more of a need for flowers for their home garden spaces.

Initially, we knew we had a very limited budget to work with and this was a make or break season for the Giving Gardens. If we weren’t successful, the results may have been eliminating a number of jobs for disabled adults and many would be disappointed to see the garden operation shut down. Instead of building a new website and over extending the creative needs from the start, we produced a high-quality sizzle reel for the Non-Profit Organization and managed a targeted Facebook advertising campaign driving coupon downloads from the more expensive residential areas around Columbia, MO. This allowed us to quickly drive new customers to the store as well as track how the average purchase order value was affected and track how many customers utilized our coupons.

That season, the average order purchase price nearly doubled and overall sales were increased by over 20% from the year prior. This success allowed them to not only stay open but expand more positions in the Giving Gardens as well. The following year we helped further improve this strategy by building a new responsive website. Where some agencies may have started with the website, we wanted to drive new revenue for the lowest cost possible to start in order to help increase cash flow before adding more marketing expenses. We have loved working with the Giving Gardens and each year they help us make our office patio look amazing! If you live in Columbia, MO, be sure to support them this season with your gardening needs.