 Synergy is the secret to this 35-year-old success storyBy Carla Allen
It
began as a small fruit and vegetable stand in 1969, selling produce
from the owner’s farm and several other local growers. Since then, Eric
Jennings and his two sons, Laurie and Wade, have developed Masstown
Market into a thriving multifaceted company that services an estimated
200,000 people annually.
Located at Exit 12 on Hwy 104, 10
minutes west of Truro in Nova Scotia, Masstown Market has undergone
several expansions, with the largest and most recent completed in 2003.
Approximately 70 people are employed, 45 of which are full-time,
year-round. The Market now comprises a large produce section, grocery,
natural pavilion organics, full-serve delicatessen, restaurant, 48
flavour dairy bar, in house bakery, gift shop, and a full-service,
nine-month garden centre. The permanent greenhouse retail area measures
26'x 60'. In addition to this there is the garden centre yard at
70'x50', plus transitional space between gift and produce for items
like bulbs, bulk and packaged seed, bird feed and feeders, etc.
The
Market is open 7 days a week, 360 days a year, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Gerry Hamilton, marketing and promotion manager for Masstown Market,
says the business has a strong local rural following in addition to the
thousands of people who drop in from driving by.
“We have
regulars from Halifax, Moncton, Amherst, New Glasgow, Charlottetown,
Cape Breton, all over Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and many tourists
from Canada, the U.S., and overseas,” he says. The Market offers a
seasonal Visitor Information Centre as well as a Community Access
Program (CAP) site for free community Internet access.
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 Marketing
for the business focuses on ‘consistently projecting an image of
quality, selection, and tremendous value (not low prices).’ Radio
advertising is used only for occasional special event announcements,
holiday messages, employment advertising, and community event support.
Print advertising is used more frequently and ads are placed
consistently in the same places that owners believe to be effective.
These include the local papers: Truro Daily News, Shoreline Journal,
East Coast Gardener & Homes, and travel and festival guides.
“It
is important to rationalize all advertising, and always strive to
project the core values of the business with every insertion,” says
Hamilton.
An interactive web site is also an effective
promotional tool. A large percentage of the marketing budget is spent
on what Hamilton refers to as ‘four walls marketing.’ Money is put to
use in-house with direct customer contact. Examples include: a monthly
colour newsletter, contests and promotions, a Bulb Club with gifts and
prize draws, free fruit for Kids Club, Children’s Garden, Harvest
Festival & Corn Boil, Customer Appreciation Days, Special Shopping
Events, N.S. Apple Days (where samples of 20 different N.S. apple
varieties are available), an annual Citrus Sale Event, interactive
cooking and stir-fry demos & sampling, fundraising events and
barbecues, and more.
“This is where we get the best value for
our marketing dollar – when we actually engage our customers,” says
Hamilton. In the garden centre, the staff (all experienced gardeners)
always try to match the right plant to each customer. “We try to avoid
their having a disappointing plant experience. We offer the highest
quality plant material we can find. We feature new and trend setting
plant ideas. We source from growers in our local area whenever
possible, offering locally grown annuals, perennials, mums,
houseplants, Christmas trees, wreaths, and much more. Our garden centre
slogan is ‘Trusted by Gardeners Everywhere’. We use the slogan in
garden centre-specific advertising, in-store signage, on our
monogrammed Market gardener’s aprons, etc. We also have a good supply
of reference books on hand for customers and staff to consult – for
things like designing water gardens, plant selection for attracting
birds, weed and pest identification, rotating crop information, etc,”
says Hamilton.
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 Visual
stimulation is a specialty of the staff, which builds large seasonal
displays and extends themes throughout the entire store. Plants are
presented in easy-to-find ways, by type, habit, size, location, colour,
or hardiness. Masstown Market has found their niche by distinguishing
themselves with quality, selection, and solid plant knowledge.
“Try
not to compete on price alone. Price shoppers are very fickle, and will
jump to the competition at a moment’s notice. You will win by
attracting a customer that is looking for value. Once in the store, it
is up to you to engage them, and to build them into lasting and loyal
customers,” says Hamilton.
In 1999, the Truro & District
Chamber of Commerce selected Eric as the Business Person of the Year.
The award was a recognition of his significant contribution to the
local business scene and the community at large. Hamilton says the
business has a tremendous synergy that has been built around its
founding principles of quality, selection and service.
“The
Market thrives today in ways perhaps unimaginable in 1969 and is poised
to meet the challenges of its next 35 years,” he says.
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