Garden business owners know that a solid business plan is essential for success.

Business plans are how you communicate your vision when breaking into the field, and it's also the blueprint for maintaining success after you've gotten there.

But how can you measure success, and how do you know when you've reached it?

Any good garden business wants to answer these questions, but most of them ask a bit too late.

The best measurement strategies begin before your garden business even gets off the ground.

Keep reading to learn how to plan for your garden business' success with measurement metrics in mind.

Return on investment (ROI) is the ultimate goal of public relations for garden businesses. Everyone wants to see tangible results. 

PR firms gather data to demonstrate their ROI using many variables. Measuring PR's effects can often be quantified with hard data. Sometimes, however, it cannot.

Gardening public relations is all about getting the word out about your product or service. Green PR pros are always looking for great people to help them do this.

Bloggers are one of the newest and most powerful media outlets, especially since they have such devout readers. However, measuring the public relations success of a blog hit can be tricky.

How do we deduce how influential specific bloggers are? It's not an exact science, but there are a few tricks.

Keep reading to learn 3 creative ways your gardening business can measure blogger influence. 

Quantifying public relations provides valuable insight into the effectiveness of specific PR strategies, campaigns and tactics.

There are many ways to analyze the same set of data.

For example, looking at PR measurements and analytics through the lens of sports statistics develops an interesting, new perspective. 

Keep reading to learn how you can use sports to better understand the impact of public relations on your gardening business.

Paperless billing practices, community recycling programs, and post-consumer paper products have saved countless trees.

That's something to get excited about!

We're not out of the proverbial woods yet, though. Over 4 million urban trees are lost each year, according to a study published in Urban Forestry & Urban Greening.

Revitalizing the tree canopy is important since trees provide a TON of benefits. Green consumers are in-tune to this, which makes planting trees a hot 2014 gardening trend.

Your gardening business can (and should) be the perfect place for garden customers to get started.

Keep reading to learn 3 ways you can capitalize on this scorching hot garden trend in 2014!

Public relations pros are always looking for ways to prove the effectiveness of their strategies.

There are a number of ways to do this, but because businesses are chiefly concerned with the bottom line, finding ways to measure the monetary impact of gardening PR efforts is typically most effective.

However, assigning dollar values with measurement metrics can be complicated.

Communicating positive results is great, but the way those numbers are calculated is just as important!        

Keep reading to learn how to take the complex issue of measuring gardening communication success and make it a bit simpler.

There are many ways we can keep our bodies in shape: riding a bike, gardening, and swimming are all great ways to keep our bodies healthy.

But how can we keep our mind fresh?

Think gardens - calming indoor landscapes that feature houseplants, lawns, or natural sounds - are a garden trend for 2014, and not just because of their beauty. Indoor greenery has proven to boost the overall health of everyone who enjoys them!

Keep reading to learn 3 ways to market the positive energy of think gardens and jump-start your garden business this spring.

This year, as the winter months give way to spring blooms (finally!), you might notice something different about the customers your garden business serves --and it may surprise you!

Men, specifically those between the ages of 18-34, are emerging as a new target market in the gardening industry.

In fact, one study in 2013 found men in this demographic spend $100 more than the average gardener on lawn and garden supplies. In the upcoming months, as men become more invested in their gardens, your marketing materials need to reflect this growing trend.

Read on to learn simple, yet powerful ways your garden business can expand their reach to men this season.