Break the Ice with Customers
Pond product retailers use overwintering seminars and products to secure loyalty and increase profits.
By Patricia Morris Buckley
 By the time Jack Frost nips at their noses, many pond owners may have forgotten their summertime obsession. Savvy pond product retailers recognize a hobbyists’ forgetfulness as an opportunity to secure customer loyalty and increase profits.
Overwintering products usually are not big-ticket items,
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| To demystify overwintering for pond owners, pond product retailers use seminars and products. (Courtesy of Aquascape Inc.) | with an aeration pump running about $200, said Inga Thurston, store manager at the Virginia Water Gardens in Fredericksburg, Va. Even with other pond products tacked on, it is not a very expensive process, she said.
The value of pushing overwintering products is happy customers — those who look to retailers as experts, Thurston said. In this case, knowledge is power as well as profitable well beyond a seasonal product line.
Despite the fairly simple process, overwintering can mystify pond owners, especially when they are new to the hobby, said Jennifer Zuri, marketing communications manager for Aquascape Inc. in St. Charles, Ill. Fishless winter ponds rarely need attention, but keeping pond fish alive during the colder months requires forethought and specific products, she said. It is all about keeping pond fish healthy as they hibernate.
“A lot of people consider their fish like pets,” said Sue Cruz, the aeration sales manager for Vertex Water Features in Pompano Beach, Fla. “In a harsh winter like last year, a lot of fish are killed.”
Pond fish owners with lost livestock during the icy season often learn this lesson the hard way. Pond product retailers said imparting this wisdom to new hobbyist customers is always a challenge because pond fish owners often do not think about it.
Seminars offer a non-threatening way to invite customers to learn. Many experts recommended offering overwintering seminars to help new and established pond hobbyists. It also provides an opportunity to introduce the pond products that help with the overwintering process.
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| Keeping ponds clear of debris helps maintain pond health for a promising spring. (Courtesy of EasyPro Pond Products) | Nets keep leaves from entering the water, and fine nets can be dragged through the pond to clear surface debris. A vacuum can clear sludge from the pond bottom. Pond salt helps keep pond fish healthy when at their most vulnerable, and cold bacteria can slowly break down debris before it takes over a pond. Heaters and de-icers create a hole in the ice for gas exchange and aeration pumps agitate the water for maximum oxygenation.
These pond products have changed little over the years, said Jeff Krenner, owner of Paradise Ponds & Waterfalls in Atlanta. According to Zuri, however, pond product manufacturers have improved existing products, including increased energy efficiency and durability.
The best means of imparting the value overwintering ponds and of the appropriate products is a knowledgeable staff, Cruz said. They must find out what each customer needs.
“You need to talk to customers,” said Hanna Sparks, treasurer of Pond World Distribution in Ft. Collins, Colo. “When you talk to people, it’s a pretty easy sell.”
Rick Smith, director of sales for EasyPro Pond Products in Grant, Mich., said: “Keep it simple.”
“Too many times the sales team wants to unload everything they know on a customer,” Smith said. “Provide the customer with a winterization guide that outlines the steps and their benefits. This usually leads to tie-in sales.”
Keeping up with new technology can be a Herculean task, but it can increase sales and retain customer loyalty, Zuri said. Every Friday Aquascape Inc. releases a brief YouTube video on pond care. Zuri advises retailers to run the videos in their stores.
“It’s an easy way for retailers to educate their customers,” she said. “We also put the Web address on the packaging linked to a video on how to install the product.”
Facebook represents another way for pond product retailers to keep in touch with their customers’ concerns and give them advice, Zuri said.
“Facebook allows us to be in front of customers 24/7, when it’s more convenient to them,” she said. “When they ask questions, they get an answer within 24 hours.”
Maintain a seasonal section where pond customers look every time they enter the store, Zuri said.
“It’s about keeping like things together. You wouldn’t put peanut butter on one side of the store and jelly on the other,” she said. “Signage is really critical. I can’t stress that enough.”
Smith recommends that retailers bundle items.
“Winterization product sales dramatically increase when ‘bundling’ principals are utilized in advertising and end-cap displays,” he said. “Adding the sale of a cleaning system or de-icer or aerations system quickly increases gross profit dollars versus just selling some leaf netting.”
Thurston said she regularly discounts seasonal products.
“It lets the customer know what product they need and that we’re going to give them a better deal,” she said. “That’s why they come to us.”
That kind of loyalty is perhaps the best sale when it comes to overwintering supplies, according to Thurston and Zuri. It will continue to turn profits.
“When it starts getting cold, it’s natural that pond owners start to move on,” Krenner said. “It’s your job to make sure they don’t forget their ponds. If they wait until spring to think about it, their fish probably won’t make it.”
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Break the Ice with Customers
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