What can your flower shop learn from Starbucks?  It’s simple: Every single customer interaction must be a positive one! Is it possible?  Absolutely!  You need to make it a point to handle all customers even your dissatisfied customers with excellent customer service!

To achieve stellar customer service, your flower shop needs to begin with a set of company policies and procedures that are used by each and every staff member.  These policies should handle everyday customer interaction as well as how to handle dissatisfied customers.

Training Flower Shop Employees with Starbucks’ LATTE

Looking for a method on how to make dissatisfied customers, life-long customers?  Look to Starbucks Latte method. Starbucks trains it’s employees with one easy-to-remember word “Latte.” Every flower shop or retail business can benefit from these principles to solve customer problems:

image via pixabay.com

L = Listen – Listen to the customer

A = Acknowledge – their complaint. This underlines that you understand their issue and helps the customer to clarify

T = Take action – by solving the problem

T = Thank them – “Every complaint helps us do better”

E = Explain – why the problem occurred

8 Tips – Building Your Flower Shop Customer Service Policies

You don’t have to start from scratch building your customer service policies. Here are eight proven strategies to use in your flower shop:

image via google.com

1. Smile, smile, smile…
Every customer interaction should start with a smile and employees always polite and professional be it in person, over the phone, in an email or on social media.

2. Greet in-person flower shop customers pleasantly and quickly.
Make sure everyone that enters is greeted with a smile and a hello.  That means everyone, have you ever been in a store and the customers before you and after you are greeted by the staff and you are just ignored? It doesn’t make a good impression about the store, does it? Only positive experiences at your flower shop!

3. Anticipate florist customer needs constantly.
Go the extra mile with foreseeing what customers need before they even know they need it!

Examples include:

• If they’ve ordered a large balloon bouquet, offer to bag it for transport and recommend a larger vehicle.
• If they are carrying out vased flowers, offer a box to help keep vase upright in the car.
• Set expectations of how frequently they’ll need to add water to their vase or plant.  Make sure all of your employees use the same information.
• Supply flower food packets for free when needed.
• Do they need assistance to their car?

4. Build a rapport with each customer.
Use a florist point of sale that will allow you to take internal notes on your customers to help you remember them and anticipate their needs. Did they just have a new baby, grandbaby or retire the last time they were in? Write it down in your POS and then ask about it the next time you talk. You just made a life-long customer!  Make it a shop commitment to remember each customer by name and build a connection.

5. Say Thank you!
Nothing is more like music to a customer’s ear than a heartfelt thank you.  When customers feel appreciated by your store staff, they will appreciate your store.

6. Employees should address complaints politely and to the best of their ability.
Remember the Starbucks LATTE method above! What tools do each staff member have authorization to use at their discretion to make it right for the customer? This will vary widely on the scenario. It might possibly be offering a free replacement, offering an upgrade on their next order, etc.

7. Encourage employees to call you in to help with a customer anytime they feel overwhelmed.
Dissatisfied customers can be very challenging and frazzled employees can make the situation worse.  The worst scenario would be for things to escalate out of control and it costs you a customer and possibly an employee.  Try to always be there for support and know when to step in to alleviate the problem.  Maybe have a code word that employees can say when calling for you that will help you know that they have a difficult situation.

8. Be available to your flower shop customers.
Of course, you might not always be available to remedy every customer complaint or listen to their feedback at the moment it happens.  Give your staff permission to give customers your direct line or email.  Respond to any complaint or situation within 24 hours.  Take the information and feedback as a way to improve your business.  A customer who takes the time to contact you is a customer who is worth keeping and will sing your praises if the situation is handled correctly.

Customers have a lot of different places to purchase flowers, make your customer service one of the reasons they come back to you!

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here!

Tried of customers bringing in wilting plants because they didn’t take care of them? Flower Power, a new gadget from Parrot, might be the answer. In a pot or in the ground, the Parrot Flower Power monitors and analyzes the four parameters essential to the plant’s health – water, light, fertilizer and temperature.

For indoor and outdoor plants, the $60 Bluetooth-connected device aims to turn a black thumb green by sending daily push notifications about the plant’s health. The small sensor can provide up-to-the-minute reports that can ensure the plant is getting exactly the right amount of sunlight, water and even fertilizer.

The Flower Power measures roughly eight inches long, with most of the hardware taking the form of a thin, spiked sensor that lives underground. The top section looks like a sprout with two branches, the longest of which houses a sunlight sensor to measure how much light your plant is getting each day. There’s also a temperature sensor in both the top and bottom of the device, allowing you to track the temperature in both the soil and the surrounding air. As for power, the device runs on a single AAA battery that lives inside the smaller branch.

With a database of over 7,000 plants you can look up your plant’s factsheet to view photos, find out about its origins, basic needs and many practical tips.  Once the plant is selected, Flower Power is designed for you to receive push notifications on your phone when your plant is in need of something.

What do you think?  Is this the future?

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here!

“A picture is worth a thousand online sales” is the new twist on an old saying.  And if you are showcasing your flower designs online, having high-quality pictures is an important sales tool for your website. Striking flower design photos can make or break a sale. Here are some tips on getting professional photography for your flower shop.

images via Taylor Mathis

Why great photos are so important to your florist website

If you’ve been taking photographs of your flower designs yourself and thinking they’re “good enough,” then you are definitely leaving money on the table. Nothing says amateur like a blurry, poorly-lit photograph. You want your customers to be excited to order your original flower designs and trust that you run a professional shop. If your images are inferior, maybe your flowers and shop is too.

That’s why hiring a professional photographer to provide crisp, clean, enticing design images gives you the aura of professionalism you need to stand out from the crowd. Put yourself in your potential customers’ shoes. One site has great, appealing flower designs and another looks like they were taken with a cell phone. Which flower shop are you going to trust with your order?

Three points to remember when hiring a photographer for your flower designs

1. Go local – starting with wedding photographers!  You may be able to trade free/low-cost photography with nearby wedding photographers in exchange for bridal referrals. Also, your photographer needs to be in your area for shooting the designs fresh, particularly since you may want more sessions in future.

Also check out different websites for photographer’s information including Craigslist, Professional Photographers Association, Photographers.com, Elance or Outsource. Ideally you want a photographer that is experienced in taking product design shots.  Just because the photographer you know takes beautiful wedding photographs, it doesn’t mean they are good at capturing the best shots of your still flower designs for your website.

images via google.com

2. Always ask to see a portfolio. A professional photographer will always have a portfolio of their recent photos.  Be sure to take a moment to look through each one carefully.  Look at the portfolios as a way to get a feel of how they shot the products and if that is the look you are striving for with your designs.  Make sure the photographer understands your needs and wants.  They should ask lots and lots of questions and understand exactly what you are looking for, how many shots you need and where you are going to use these shots, is it only on the website or in print as well.

3. Discuss Budget Upfront.   Explain exactly what you are looking for, how many shots you want, what your brand and audience is as well as what you would like to convey in each shot.  If you are both on the same page before the shoot, there will be no surprises to the photographer on what is expected and no surprises to you on the increase in cost because of changes.  Tell the photographer your budget before shooting so everyone is in agreement!  You should be able to get what you need with a rough budget of $200 – $500.

Great photography is not a cost item; it’s a profit center for your flower shop!

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here!

What are your top flowers in your cooler week in and week out?  The ones you always go to that work for your everyday designs, bouquets and funeral work?   Here is a list of our choices, see if we match.  If not, tell us in the comments below what your top 10 flowers are!

all images in blog are via google.com

Top 10 Flowers = Less Stress in your Flower Shop

Why have your own “Top 10” flower list? It helps with planning. By ordering in advance, you can save money by saving on last-minute delivery charges and the chance of sub-par “that’s all we have in stock” flower quality. Talk to your supplier about signing up for a standing order program.  There are many different types of standing order plans available so talk about the one that would work best for your flower shop.

When you keep a stock of 10 types of flowers in your cooler each week, you definitely cut down on your stress level.  No longer do you need to worry about having the flowers in stock when you receive those last-minute orders or funeral work.  You have the flowers and are ready to design!

Top 10 Flowers For Your Flower Shop

Here is our list of the top 10 most important flowers to have in your shop from least to most important.

10. Carnations, add fragrance they have a spicy beautiful scent. Yes they might be “old-fashion” but when placed correctly in an arrangement they look beautiful, are long lasting and add softness to the design. Try and keep the staple colors in stock including red, white and pink. There are so many different colors of carnations that you might want to try some seasonal varieties as well.  Don’t forget the mini-carnations, another ideal long lasting flower that adds interest to designs.

9. Casablanca Lilies can really make an impact on any design and work well with roses. Best part is you only need a few to make a statement! White is a great color to keep on hand.

8. Football Mums can be a great inexpensive way to add drama to funeral work. These large pillow-like flowers bring a punch to any piece. Keep white in stock for all occasions.

7. Alstroemerias are inexpensive and work great as a filler. Keep a seasonal mix on hand to bring color and longevity to your design work. Try not to get white Alstromerias, they show the wear and tear of travel easily.

6. Kermit “Button” Chrysanthemums in green brings a bit of WOW easily to any design. A long lasting flower to have on hand and use them often to add color and dimension to any arrangement.

5. Matsumoto Asters are another perfect POP of color flower for all arrangements. Bring in some hot pink and purple to complement and excite your weekly designs.

4. Snapdragons – These blooms add dimension to any arrangement. Wonderful color variations and add height to all your arrangements for a pleasing to the symmetrical design. Provide cool color and balance other mid-sized flowers

3. Daisies give you some great color and mass inexpensively. Vary the color with the season is fun but white and yellow are a must year round!

2. Gerberas are a favorite with customers and an excellent addition to your designs. By adding Gerberas, you increase the price point. Red and pink are perennial favorites.

1. Roses are a staple in a flower shop. 40 and 50 centimeter size can be purchased at reasonable prices at most times. Having them in the standard colors of red, white and pink will please anyone and they will class-up any design or bouquet.

Plus 2 – The Two Best Filler Flowers for your Flower Shop

Wax Flower in white or pink is the best filler flower of all time. The look brings freshness and life to heavy designs.

Caspia or Limonium when added can totally change the feel to a more high-end design. Keep some on hand for variety.

Well, that’s our list of the top 10 flowers each flower shop needs in their cooler.  What do you think?  Do you agree?

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here!

It’s officially Summer Time and you deserve a chance to sit back and relax. But don’t relax TOO much because there is a lot to do at your flower shop before the summer is over.

1. Your Flower Shop.

Walk outside your flower shop and then enter again through the front door. Now take a serious look around. What do you honestly see? What can you do to make it better, more inviting? Do your shop walls need a new coat of paint? Need more lighting? Cooler needs to be updated or cleaned? How about giving all your flower buckets a good scrubbing? What is the one thing you said all last winter that you were going to do in your flower shop when the summer came around? Make a point to do it now!  Giving your shop a redo or summer clean will invigorate your staff, customers and yourself!!!

2. Your Florist Website.

More and more customers are getting their first impression of your flower shop through your store’s florist website. Take a moment to look at it through their eyes. Or ask someone who will be honest with you to take a look and see what they think.  What kind of shop does it depict? Is it the kind of flower shop you want to be?

Summer is a great time to rejuvenate a stale flora website. If you haven’t added new designs in a while, do it now. How about getting a new look with a change to your site’s template? Changing your Floranext website template is an easy way to give your site an entirely new look!

Check your florist website on a mobile phone. How does it look? Your website needs to be mobile ready as more and more customers search via mobile devices.

3. Your Florist Social Presence.

These lazy days of summer are the ideal time to review your flower shop social media appearance. When was the last time you looked over your business pages on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. up to date? Do you have new and unique content you can upload now? If you haven’t touched your business page in awhile, now is the time to add a new cover and profile photo and review your information. Is your business phone, hours and directions correct? You would be amazed at how many companies do not have the correct information.  Though it might be slower in summer, you still want to keep up your social media presence so don’t stop posting and sharing!

4. Your Flower Shop Marketing.

Summer is the time to do something completely different so brainstorm with your staff and come up with ideas that will get your customers talking. How about a fun contest? It could be a way to get people into your flower shop or you could do it all on social media with posting pictures and commenting and more. Is there a festival or fair in your town that you could help with? They will love you for it and it will get your flower shop’s name out to the public.

5. Use the summer to your advantage.

How about having a sidewalk sale or in-store farmer’s market? Check your sources for locally grown flowers and promote them in-store and via your social media and email marketing. Locally grown is all the buzz and the perfect way to get people into your florist shop!

Don’t keep your flowers inside. Summer is the time to bring your flowers outside to your customers.

This is a great idea from a florist in Belfast Ireland who put this picture up across their social media saying “The weather looked nice and dry today so we thought we would put some of the flowers on show outside. Here we have 2 types of Delphiniums, one a gorgeous two-tone blue and the other a lovely purple shade and plenty of bright yellow sunflowers! I will put up photos later of the arrangements that these wonderful flowers are made into” What a great idea to showcase your flowers and get people to come back and see what designs you post!

Summer is the time for regrouping and revitalizing your floral shop, your staff and yourself.

What do you plan to do this summer?

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here!

A solid social media strategy is crucial to your flower shop business plan. You know you need to post frequently but it just takes sooooooo long to post and to find out what your floral competitors are posting that often it just doesn’t get done.

Here are two different platforms that we think will help you increase productivity as well as decrease your time spent on social media.

Let the Owl help you streamline your flower shop social media… 

If you’re looking to streamline your plan, HootSuite is a free tool that you will want to check out. HootSuite lets you easily manage and post your shop’s news to multiple social network accounts from one unified dashboard. It will also provide comprehensive reporting options so that you can track the value and effectiveness of your social efforts. For example, in the analysis, you can find out how many followers clicked your recent tweet, helping you decide which tweets are the most popular with your twitter followers. HootSuite also gives you the option of scheduling tweets and post ahead of time so that your shop can stay active online. Try creating posts at the start of your day and scheduling them to go live throughout. This will help you stay consistent online without pulling you away from running your flower business. HootSuite does have a pro edition which gives you more features but the free edition should work great for your shop needs.

Perch yourself on your floral competitor’s window…

Won’t it be great to know what your floral competitors are saying on social media?  But trolling all the sites can be such a time drain! To check on what your florist competitors are saying, let Perch do it! Perch is an award-winning free mobile app that tracks Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Foursquare, Groupon and Living Social and gives you what your competitors have posted plus reviews from sites like Yelp and Google.

Perch easily spots companies like yours with location-aware technology, and lets you decide which floral shops you would like to see more of their postings and reviews.

You can receive an email report daily or weekly or just go to your Perch app and see what your floral rivals are up to. It’s a very handy tool.

Give these two social media platforms a try, they can help make it easier in your day-to-day flower shop business management.

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here!

Floranext Floral Websites now feature enhanced SEO, gorgeous new theme options and a streamlined checkout.

1. Enhanced SEO

The heading tags of Floranext websites are now easily customized. Your florist website headers are much more than a cosmetic change. Search engines, like Google and Bing, scan a website’s heading tags to assess the subject of the website to determine if it’s a good match for the terms searched. These new header fields will help make your floral website come up in search results when potential customers are searching.

2. New Narcissus, Peony, and Orchid Themes

Give your florist website a fresh new look with a click of a button! Floranext’s three new elegant and stunning themes offer an easy update to your website when you’re ready for something new and different.

3. Improved Checkout

Website checkout is now faster and easier than ever for your customers. In our new two-column format, the shopping cart summary with product photos will appear on the right as customers fill in the order details in the center column- making a clean, simple and efficient floral website checkout experience. Also, including an option to place an order for Pickup!

Be sure to take advantage of these changes and keep an eye out for more to come as we continually develop new products and features based on your feedback.

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here!

You’re in the midst of designing a gorgeous wedding bouquet and you think “This is beautiful; I would love to take a photo of this design and put it on my flower website so other brides can see my work.” If your next thought is ”no, that’s too hard to do.” then read on. Getting nice wedding flower photos are as easy as one, two, three!

ONE – The Prep Work For Flower Photos

Have a designated place to take photos always available. If you have to stop everything and move items around to take the photo of your flowers, you won’t. And don’t even think about holding the bouquet at arm’s length and photographing it, it won’t work!

Keep this area clean and ready to use in a moment’s notice. The designated area should be draped in a lightly colored background cloth. Dove grey is an excellent choice. One reason to use dove grey is that flowers aren’t found in this color so each flower will be seen distinctly and not fade into the background color. This color also makes it easy to cut out the background in a photo editing program. If dove grey isn’t available, white fabric or even white poster board will work. Remember to keep the cloth clean and pressed. You will be amazed at how the camera will pick up on even the littlest wrinkle. Another easy idea is to use white paper or even table runners as the background.  The main idea is to have an uncluttered background so your flower bouquets are the spotlight.  You can event construct a light box to use for your flower photos. It can be as simple as a white project board (think science project) put together as a contained box.  Search for easy light box instructions on the computer.

Invest in a tripod. You can take the photos without a tripod but often your hands aren’t as steady as you think and the pictures turn out blurry.  Experiment and see.

Add lights. Natural sunlight from the back is often a good option when available.  If not, purchasing a few additional inexpensive clamp-on lights for use above and on the sides of the design will eliminate shadows and dark holes. It is best to use daylight balanced compact fluorescent bulbs to keep the flower colors true. Remember to turn-off your automatic flash on your camera, it will be too bright and will wash out the colors at that close of range. You need to try a few shoots to see what works best.

Need a camera. Before investing in a new camera, check your camera on your Android or IPhone or even your tablet or IPad.  These cameras are often excellent for taking shots of your designs.  Even an inexpensive “point and shoot” camera will work fine for florist website pictures.

TWO – The Flower Design

Make certain the flower design will look as good in photos as in person. Often time the design looks beautiful in person but just not the same in photos for your florist website. When taking the flower photos, remember to position the camera to take the most important part of the design, the flowers. This might mean angling the design or moving the camera around to get the right shot.

Too light or dark colored flowers can be lost in the design. Dark flowers can end up looking like dark holes and white or light flowers can all be lumped into one white glowing blob. Move the lights around to help alleviate this problem.

Take a photo that is true to the design. If the design is an all-around flower arrangement, don’t move all the flowers to one side to make it look larger than it is.

THREE – The Results for Your Florist Website

Put the best on your florist website. Your florist website is the first place consumers go to see what type of flowers you design. Do not put up anything that you are not proud of!

Your website photos should be easy to change and changed often for best results. Picasa, a free photo editing program from Google offers a large selection of editing tools including cropping, adding text and adjusting lighting and background.

It’s wedding season and you don’t want to miss out on taking photos of your best flower work. These photos are a great tool for use on your florist website and social media!  So get shooting and show everyone what you can design!

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here!