Back in June, NewPro announced a photo contest featuring planter installations of items you purchased from NewPro. The winning photo would be used in NewPro marketing materials and our online sites. As a thank-you, we said the customer who submitted the winning photo would receive a credit to their NewPro account.

We received a lot of great photos with real artistic flair! Five customers sent in entries that stood out from the rest and made it difficult for us to choose just one, so our selection committee decided to award each finalist a prize. Congratulations to Kevin Kelly of Kelly Mac Interiorscapes, Brenda Walters of Guaranteed Green Dallas, Brian Alger of the Plant Lady Plus, and Susie Halstead of A New Leaf, Inc. — your photos may appear on the newprocontainers.com website with reference to you and your company.

One of the five finalists, Caprice Aerts of Artscape, submitted several photos that were outstanding. The image we selected as the actual contest winner (see below) features the Lechuza Quadro (14-inch).

The Contest Winner! Submitted by: Caprice Aerts, Artscape

Considering all of the great images that flowed into our inbox, we plan to organize another contest within the next month. We will be searching for environmental shots of the new Quadrangle rectangular planter, Vista or Gainey containers and our flat or River Rockafiller top dressing.
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Do you spend more time going after new customers or trying to keep those who currently enjoy your Interiorscape services? Here are six easy questions to ask that can allow you to deploy low-cost strategies that remind customers of your value.

1. How much is each customer worth?
A great way to inspire an increase in sales to existing customers is to see how much your biggest and/or best customers have contributed to your bottom line.

2. Of the services I offer – what’s most important to my customers?
The best way to find out is to get on the phone or schedule a meeting with a handful of your best customers and simply ask what is the most important service you offer on which they rely. Make sure to listen not just to WHAT you provide, but HOW you provide it.

3. Are my employees involved in communicating with customers?
Interiorscaping can be a very visible service if you and your employees engage with your client when you stop by for a service visit. Remind them of what you do and why you do it by just checking in and having a conversation.
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“Why can’t I ever get a handle on figuring out freight costs when it comes to containers?”

“Why am I getting charged a 30 lbs rate for an item that only weighs 10 lbs?”

“Why does it cost three times more to ship a 20-inch pot than it does a 16-inch pot?”

These are frustrating questions Interiorscapers find themselves asking when ordering decorative containers. It is not uncommon to miscalculate the freight from a wholesaler, include that miscalculation in a bid and discover the wholesaler charged you far more for freight than expected. Unlocking the freight conundrum is linked to one concept used by all major freight companies like FedEx and UPS: dimensional weight.

Understanding dimensional weight is important when trying to order containers since Interiorscapers must also determine their mark-up. By charging only by actual weight the lightweight, low density packages that contain plastic decorative containers becomes unprofitable for freight carriers to deliver. Why? A package containing a large but lightweight item takes up a lot of space in a delivery vehicle relative to its weight. So a vehicle filled with 20 large, lightweight packages means less profitability for a freight company than a truck filled with 100 boxes of smaller, heavier items.

Understanding the formula
 carriers use to determine dimensional weight is straightforward: length times width times height then divide that amount by 194. FedEx includes a calculator that can be viewed by clicking HERE. In NewPro’s case, FedEx uses this number for boxes that are 17in x 17in x 17in and larger to determine the cost of shipping an item. For boxes under this size, the shipper charges by actual, or gross, weight. (more…)

Interiorscapers and Plantscapers know the value of living plants in office environments – in a world of office cubicle mazes and glass and concrete entryways, living things provide fresh air and a lively, colorful environment.

Now a study by an Australian university scientifically supports how you make a living. According to the Greening the Great Indoors For Human Health and Wellbeing report, “clear reductions in feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, anger, fatigue, confusion and overall negativity among study participants with plants in their offices,” are evident. A “comparison group” with no plants showed a trend towards increased stress in human test subjects.

The report, recently released by researchers from the University of Technology Sydney, found that “indoor plants can be marketed for their demonstrated benefits to staff wellbeing, which research shows are also associated with improved work performance.”

The study’s author, Prof. Margaret Burchett, says having indoor plants fulfills a basic human need. “We evolved in a parkland setting, we have gone into high-rise buildings for work where we have alienated ourselves from our contact with nature,” Burchett said. “It is hard-wired into our heads that we need contact with nature to feel at home.” (more…)

Interiorscapers rely heavily on rectangular planters. So, naturally, they come in all shapes, sizes and colors, right? They don’t.

Fred Scott, NewPro’s vice president and a 20-year industry veteran, listened to specific design ideas from Interiorscapers across the country who needed a rectangular planter that “had some design thinking go into it.”

Fred took suggestions from Interiorscapers and designed the Quadrangle Rectangular Planter that features rounded corners and a tapered base. It’s made from a poly material that resists smudges and scratches and comes in five colors (black, espresso, charcoal, silver and pearl beige). “But there are two features that make it unlike any other rectangle planter out there,” Fred said. “Its dimensions allow it to house three of the taller six inch grow pots, and the ability to securely mount it with brackets.”

Interiorscapers may place Neanthe Bellas in the Quadrangle and install it in a busy conference room. Aglaonema or ZZ plants also work well in Quadrangles that are placed in a window ledge or on the top of a cubicle. “The Quadrangles are going to be used on top of petitions in an office where floor room is limited. They are a great way to provide plants in areas that a floor plant would be in the way of traffic,” said longtime NewPro customer Meg Goodwin of Botanical Environments, Inc. “I’ll be planting six-inch Golden Pothos in them. The Quadrangles are pleasing to the eye with the curved corners.”
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