Week 5 Part 1

 I chose the gardening websites to research for this assignment. I did notice some obvious differences between Armstrong Garden Centers' and Myrtle Creek Botanical Gardens and Nursery's websites. Armstrong's site is more generic and corporate looking, while Myrtle Creek is more homey and boutique. Armstrong's plain white background, font choices, layout and use of stock photos seems to appeal to a wide audience, while Myrtle Creek's location-specific photos, whimsical logo and font choices and video on the home page make it seem more personal. Armstrong's seems to be trying to appeal to the everyday gardener, perhaps more of the middle-aged to senior shopper, while Myrtle Creek seems to be targeting an audience with specific values...people who appreciate organic food and off-the-beaten path places. Myrtle seems to be selling not only plants, but experiences. Armstrong's does offer gardening-related classes, but they seem to be targeting people who want assistance with landscaping more than anything else.

 There could definitely be a crossover of customers with these two businesses, but Armstrong's could attract the no-nonsense, let-me-check-this-errand-off-my-list customer who may know nothing about plants and would like to hand off the task to a professional, or who may know everything they need to know and want to accomplish things efficiently. Meanwhile, Myrtle Creek could attract people who don't have or want gardens or plants but just want to spend a pleasant afternoon among them, as well as the avid gardener who wants to squeeze every last drop of joy out of the gardening experience. Myrtle Creek also seems to be targeting young families and women.