People all around the globe love to observe birds in their natural habitat. The recreational pleasure of bird watching and feeding them has grown tremendously and become a popular way of pastime. Feeding and watching bird behavior are also considered as a mind relaxation therapy. In the USA, 81 million people feed the birds and watch wildlife around their homes. Wild Birds Unlimited is a specialty retail franchise, catering to these nature lovers by offering quality bird food products with expert advice about birds, nature and other backyard creatures.
In an interview with Insights Success, WBU revealed the insights on its offerings and how WBU is improving its customers experience with every purchase of high-quality, fresh bird food.
Below are highlights from the interview:
Give a brief overview of your company and its vision.
Wild Birds Unlimited was founded in 1981 when founder and CEO Jim Carpenter decided to combine his passion for birds and nature with his knowledge of retailing. The first Wild Birds Unlimited franchise was awarded in 1983. Now, with more than 330 locations throughout the US and Canada, Wild Birds Unlimited has gained a loyal following among bird feeding hobbyist and nature lovers. Wild Birds Unlimited franchise store owners are the backyard bird feeding specialists within their local community and a premiere source for quality products, as well as local nature information.
Our retail product mix includes a wide variety of bird food, bird feeders, bird houses, bird baths, books, binoculars and nature-related products and gift items. Our mission is to bring people and nature together and to do it with excellence. Our vision is to bring joy into our customers’ lives, by sharing our passion for birds and knowledge about the hobby of backyard bird feeding. We strive to fulfill our mission and vision every day, in every store with each customer interaction.
What are the cutting-edge products/services offered by Wild Birds Unlimited?
Wild Birds Unlimited is now offering FeederScaping™ Services to our customers. Our Certified Bird Feeding Specialist™ will travel to a customer’s home, evaluate their yard and provide recommendations on the bird food, feeders and accessories that are designed to enhance the customer’s backyard bird feeding experience. Our Specialist will then properly locate and install the bird feeding products selected to create a beautiful bird feeding environment in their yard. Our Specialist will evaluate each customer’s yard and create a plan to enable them to attract the widest variety of attractive songbirds. We bring more joy into our customer’s lives by offering them trusted local advice and Feeder Scaping Services in their own backyard!
What are the special franchisee strengths that make Wild Birds Unlimited unique from its competitors?
Shopping your local WBU with our Certified Bird Feeding Specialists ensures that you are receiving local hobby expertise. They know your local birds, their favorite foods and what bird feeder is best to offer that food in.
Give a detailed description of the Founder/CEO/Management’s contribution over the company and the industry.
Jim Carpenter is the Founder, President and CEO of Wild Birds Unlimited. In 1981, he opened the first WBU location, a 700 square foot retail shop on the north side of Indianapolis, Indiana. By 1983, he began franchising the concept, which has grown to more than 330 locations.
Carpenter has also developed many high quality bird foods including bird seed blends and Jim’s Birdacious® Bark Butter®, the #1 bird food on the market for diversity of bird attraction with 149 species of birds observed dining on it. Bark Butter is a spreadable suet that can be easily smeared on a tree or a Bark Butter Feeder.
Where does Wild Birds Unlimited see itself in the long run and what are its future goals?
It is clear that the next five years will determine the winners and losers in retail, both online and in brick and mortar locations and all combinations of the two. Every retailer will need to be relentless about being customer-centric. The customer will decide who, where, when, and why. So we must understand that meeting the needs, desires and aspirations of our customers is the key to success. Serving the needs of people is the real goal of retail today and it’s how to be successful.
Give us a few testimonials of your clients that accurately highlight Wild Birds Unlimited’s position in the market.
“Frankly, it was my wife’s idea. We recently moved into our home and needed to redo the backyard. My wife suggested a bird feeding station and a butterfly garden,” stated Ken. “I am surprised at how much I enjoy watching the birds. I am very happy with how well the feeding station turned out. Brian, owner of the Jacksonville store, is so professional and very caring about the services provided, to the extent he came back out to ensure the water mister feature was working properly.” Ken Weinstein of Jacksonville, Florida recently purchased a bird feeding station, installed through the Feeder Scaping Services offered at his local Wild Birds Unlimited.
“The best thing about Wild Birds Unlimited that people need to understand, yes it’s true you can buy bird food from anywhere, but it will not be the same quality as from WBU and you will not have the same friendly experience as you will get at WBU. I’ve been feeding birds for years. I’m 47 so you can figure that’s a long time. I’ve always had more birds and more of a variety of birds when I feed them WBU food. Even my neighbors tell me how much they enjoy watching the birds that come to my feeders. They live right across the street and said they could never get birds like me. I tell them it’s all do to WBU!” Very Satisfied Customer, Tulsa, OK.