According to German research, 50% of homeowners have fun in the garden, 25% feel they have to garden and 25% hate their garden.

The role of the retailer is to create more fun opportunities for the fun lovers and to convert the other 50% into fun lovers.

This means you have to be an innovator. Keep doing what you have always done and we will not change the paradigm. But, it is easy to say become an innovator, but how do you put this into practice?

Firstly, you need to listen to your consumers. I would recommend you listen to at least two groups. Firstly, talk to your existing customers, the ones having fun and ask them how you can enhance their experience. This can be done via questionnaires, newsletters or simply talking to customers one to one.

The other 50% may need to be invited into what the Germans call a Customer Parliament. This is where a group of people are invited to an open forum to discuss ideas and solutions. I have been involved with customer parliaments or focus groups with numerous businesses.

I have found the best formula is to set a time frame for the meeting, for example, thirty minutes, and then keep to that time frame; we should respect peoples