The retail world is constantly changing and keeping up with it can be a tremendous challenge. The Michigan State University Extension floriculture team has put together a six-session track with research-based insights from industry experts to help you cut through all the noise and focus your efforts on what is most important: consumer engagement.
Featured speakers
Bridget Behe is a highly acclaimed speaker, researcher and MSU professor who focuses on horticultural marketing. During her two seminars at this year’s Expo, “Art and Science of Pricing” and “The Shopper’s Journey,” she will discuss the nuances of retail pricing as well as her innovative research using eye-tracking technology to gain understanding of consumer choices in the retail garden center.
Ariana Torres is an assistant professor in Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. She is known for her insight into online business marketing through social media and other online advertising approaches. Her two seminars, “Ten Social Media Best Practices to Win More Customers” and “Online Retail Marketing: Seven Approaches to Boost Sales,” will focus on digital communication strategies that can help build brand awareness, attract new customers and maintain engagement with current customers.
Kari Mazzaferro works in the live goods division at Scotts Miracle-Gro where she helps develop creative container combinations using edible and ornamental plants. Come listen to her presentation, “Contemporary Containers: Combining Function and Fab,” where she’ll share the insights gained from working with plant species that don't always play nice in the same container.
Daedre McGrath is the manager of the Annual Trial Gardens at MSU. She directs the entire trialing process for hundreds of new varieties of annuals, perennials and vegetables and evaluates their landscape performance under typical mid-Michigan climatic conditions. Heidi Lindberg is the greenhouse and nursery Extension educator for west Michigan. She’ll highlight some of the plant selections that stood out to her during the 2019 Michigan Garden Plant Tour. Come see the best new plants on the market at “Best Performing Annuals and Perennials.”