Here are some statistics that might make anyone who operates a small business sit up and take notice.

• The average household spent $347 on lawn and garden last year. Sure, that may seem like a drop in the bucket when compared to the $335 billion in home improvement sales expected this year. But if you’re a small business owner that’s probably something to leave to the big guys like Home Depot. That smaller amount is what will mean big sales for your small business.
• And that per household expenditure on lawn and garden adds up. It translates to a total of $29.5 billion this season alone. Does your small lawn and garden supply business have a strategy in place to get your share? Lawn and garden marketing is an important place to begin.

A report on home and garden insights for digital marketers prepared by Bing Ads gives an overview and some interesting trends to watch.

As it happens, March 21 is considered the Spring Black Friday.

Mega-retailers like Home Depot and Walmart may have popularized the event as a way to collect some of those lawn and garden dollars. But there’s no reason small lawn and garden businesses can’t do the same with a bit of research.

Here are a few ways to do that:

• Pay attention to the food gardening trend. Over the past five years spending on food gardening has seen a growth of 43 percent up to $3.5 billion today. One in thee households are growing food. (Some of your customers are sure to be among them.) Millennials are the fastest growing segment here at about 63 percent. So think about targeting these all important customers in your marketing.
• And don’t forget this interesting demographic. Young men between the ages of 18 and 34 are spending about $100 more than the average gardener. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. This is also the group likely to be doing much of the grilling and other outdoor activities. Have you stocked products and created marketing appropriate to attract their interest? How about a sale on grilling equipment and supplies or some online marketing directed at this group?
• This trend should also keep your marketing efforts buzzing. It turns out the harvesting and attracting of bees continues to trend. Do you have all the supplies necessary to keep your friendly neighborhood beekeeper satisfied? And how about some marketing to attract these bee enthusiasts as well?
• How about those apps and other mobile technology? If you thought they weren’t important to customers of lawn and garden products, think again. It turns out garden apps and other mobile technology are being adopted by home gardeners just like they are by everyone else. So do your homework and figure out how to address this trend

If you plan to market online to target lawn and garden enthusiasts this month, Bing has some further recommendations. The Microsoft ad service insists its platform is the most cost effective and impactful in the space.

First, Bing says its cost-per-click for home and garden businesses has decreased by 9 percent in the past year. Over the same year, Bing claims cost-per-click for home and garden businesses for its chief rival Google has increased by 37 percent.

But more than that, Bing claims the Yahoo Bing audience is more likely to be influential in the home and garden community.

Will you be using online marketing for your small home and garden business this year?

Image: Bing Ads

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