Nowadays, everything from food, movies, and even flowers are available as a subscription service, in fact, according to Global Banking and Finance Review, 70% of business leaders say subscription business models will be key to their prospects in the years ahead. So if you haven’t already put into action a subscription service for flowers – what are you waiting for? 

What are Flower Subscriptions?

Subscription flowers, or floral subscriptions, include a variety of services where customers can have flowers delivered to a place of their choice schedule. Depending on the service, customers may choose bouquets that are sent or receive a random bouquet of seasonal flowers.

Some services also allow flowers to be sent on specific dates or on holidays (eg. Mother’s Day or Anniversaries). While it’s common for customers to send flowers to mark a special occasion, the general reason floral subscriptions are gaining traction today is a growing appreciation for having everyday flowers nearby.

Who is Offering Subscription Flowers?

It should be noted that not only are florists offering subscription services but cut flower specialists too. Floral subscriptions are a growing market and can also help with your inventory.

These advance orders let you plan ahead and place orders for unique flowers and stock only what’s needed while cutting down on waste. You can even use surplus flowers from other orders as part of the bouquets, managing your waste even more. Floranext website customers can add Floral Subscriptions to their website. To get started with Floral Subscriptions, Click Here!

Benefits Of Floral Subscriptions

As a bonus, flower subscription services may allow you to provide better flowers to the customer as well. Using seasonal blooms keeps your bouquets of higher quality, which your customers will definitely appreciate.

It keeps business coming

If you have a steady number of people who automatically order flowers every month – or week! – you have a constant business stream. This could help you even in the off seasons when weddings aren’t happening. 

It’s a chance to stay in customers’ minds

When you’re connecting with a customer regularly, you’re going to stay top of mind for them as a flower provider. Even if it’s a small vase of flowers every month, you’re going to continue to build a connection with your customers, and when they have a larger need for flowers, you’re the first one they think of. 

Show off what you can do in different seasons

Often, people looking for florists are usually doing so in popular seasons. When you can deliver flowers to customers every month, they get to see what you do for different seasons. From Easter to Christmas, and even Halloween, having a subscription service is the best way to show off your unique talent. 

Best Practices for Subscription Services

When it comes to developing a subscription service, you should know what the best practices are. Here are some ideas for creating a flower subscription your customers will love. 

Make it digitally accessible

It’s easier to sign up for and manage a digital subscription for everyone involved. If your subscription service is easily accessible, more people are likely to use it. 

Offer subscription tiers

People love options as much as they love flowers. By offering multiple options for sizes of bouquets or potted plants, your customers will have more to choose from, making it more appealing for them. 

There are so many advantages to floral subscriptions that it may feel like you’re missing out on an entire industry not riding the trend. If that describes you, try offering a subscription plan and see how they work! Want to add floral subscriptions to your website, Try Floranext Floral Subscriptions today! 

Florists, are you offering floral subscriptions to customers? What are some things that work or didn’t work for you? Please share your comments down below!

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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.

Florists, If you haven’t already figured out that you should be on TikTok and Instagram, this might be what finally sways you to the social media giants. These two social media platforms are giving Google a run for its money. 

Since Instagram and TikTok have switched the mainstream consumption of social media of quick video viewing, Google search and maps are being heavily impacted by a growing preference for social media and videos. 

How is Google being affected? 

According to Senior Vice President Prabhakar Raghavan, who heads the Google’s Knowledge & Information organization, has recently reported at a conference that Instagram and TikTok are heavily impacting Google search. 

At the conference it was noted that younger users were now often turning to apps like Instagram and TikTok instead of Google Search or Maps for discovery purposes. Based on research, 40% of younger users, aged 18-24, are searching for a specific place, like where to get lunch or where to shop, they go straight to TikTok and Instagram. 

“We keep learning, over and over again, that new internet users don’t have the expectations and the mindset that we have become accustomed to.” Raghavan said, “the queries they ask are completely different.”

Google has taken the initiative in updating Google search and maps to stay ahead of the change. Google Maps is incorporating augmented reality to help users position themselves in their environment by seeing a blue flashing icon. Google search is now including TikTok and Instagram links in google search and they are currently in development of combining images and text as it imagines a future where users could hold up their phone and search based on what they see.

What does this mean for florists?

The answer is pretty simple – to thrive as a florist, you need to have a presence on social media. You don’t have to go viral or even immediately start making high-quality TikToks quite yet – luckily for the floral industry, the audience we’re looking for does generally find your business through Google searches.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be getting ahead of the curve. Considering vamping up your social media posts doesn’t hurt, and it doesn’t have to be too hard. 

What should you be posting on social media?

With social media content covering across different subjects, we recommend on focusing what you do best, being a florist. One of the top trending searches on TikTok is florist videos showing just their day to day activities. Here are some key-points when developing your social media. 

What makes your flower shop unique?

If you’re posting on social media, you should show off your skills. Consistently posting content that shows floral arrangements, wedding decor you’ve done, and other special projects you’ve been a part of is important in growing your business.

Relatable content

Yes, you should be posting flowers – but you should also be posting relatable content. Content that your customers can relate to is what will draw them in and consider you for their next event or floral need. TikTok’s portraying a “day in the life of a flower shop owner,” and videos that show your business behind the scenes will resonate. 

Showing off your local business

Make sure your social media, whether it’s Instagram or TikTok, should highlight where your business is. The algorithms of social media platforms take the location of users into account, so you must make sure that your town is represented in your posts and in your profile information. 

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It’s not time to panic yet – Google isn’t going anywhere. But in a competitive industry like ours, it’s important to always consider ways you can grow and reach more customers. 

Are you on TikTok or Instagram? Tell us about your strategies and tag us in some posts! 

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Floranext offers great florist software, florist POS, florist websites and florist wedding proposal software. Our florist technology products are built by florists, for florists. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

The busy season is almost upon florists again yet many may not even know it. We’re not talking about the Christmas through Mother’s Day that keeps us busy in the spring – this is autumn! The season that sends many potential customers rushing to big box stores, hardware stores, and even greenhouses when they should be rushing to your flower shop. This is an important three-month decorating season that florists have much to offer to. Below are some tips to make sure you’re taking advantage of the autumn sales that should be yours. 

Flower Shops Offer More

Many people think of florists as a spot for gifts, special occasions, and indoor arrangements, but flower shops offer so much more. Florists offer unique inventory that your customers won’t find in a generic home improvement shop. Your customers need to understand that your shop offers hand-crafted specialty items that will stand out from the cookie-cutter décor that many settle for.

Wreaths, table top gardens, entry pieces, and centerpieces are just a few of the opportunities that florists have to show off their craft and give your customers stunning new looks to experiment with. Don’t be afraid to emphasize that your local-owned flower shop is the place for your customers to shop. Shopping locally and shopping small is very popular at the moment with Millennials and Gen Z (Small Business Saturday is just around the corner!).

Stock Your Flower Shop

Fall occupies a special place in many people’s hearts as their favorite season, so be sure to stock something special for them! In addition to all of the materials needed for the items above, don’t be afraid to compete for outdoor space! Stock your floral shop with fall products:

• Hay bales
• Corn stalks
• Potted Mums
• Dried Flowers
• Bundled Birch Branches
• Scarecrows
• Pumpkins, mini pumpkins and gourds
• Indian corn
• Fall door wreaths and more! 

There’s no reason to lose out to franchised hardware store for sales your shop could easily make or stock up on.

Show Off Your Flower Shop

Let potential customers know that your flower shop should be their one stop shop for fall decorating before they even pull into the parking lot. An eye-catching outdoor display in front of your flower shop will show people that you have exciting fall décor to offer. A fall window will give you a chance to show off your technical skills and draw in passersby.

Of course, now days your digital storefront has nearly as much impact as your actual storefront. On your website, be sure to show off your fall product category with new banners and products. If you’re already active on social media, now is a good time to begin teasing your customers with shots of new inventory as well as new fall designs.

Another way to go about this is to show off the fall items you have in stock each week or 2 on your website or favorite social media platforms. Your customers will appreciate the inside look at your business with these “What’s Fresh this Week” style posts. Shops that have been diligent in collecting customer emails will have an extra step up with the ability to send out email marketing and maybe even a coupon to promote decorating services and fall products.

Making The Most Of Fall

Given all the advantages of shopping with a florist for fall décor, it’s surprising how many flower shops are missing out. Following the steps above will help ensure your business is capturing as much fall business as possible over the three month season. How does your shop rank? Let us know what creative ideas you’ve put in place to keep customers coming back to you as their one-stop-fall-shop.

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Floranext offers great florist software, florist POS, florist websites and florist wedding proposal software. Our florist technology products are built by florists, for florists. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

Floranext would like to say thank you to all the respondents who participated in our annual wedding floral survey. As always, this questionnaire provided us with illuminating results that allowed us to learn about current trends that florists should be aware of.

If you’re just starting out or trying to grow your floral business, you are probably setting your sights on weddings as your main business source. But how do your marketing efforts stack up against successful florists?

We polled a group of successful flower shop owners on their marketing efforts for weddings in 2022. The majority already have marketing strategies implemented to attract more couples who are getting married. 

Here’s everything we learned from them that might be helpful as you grow your business.

Key Floral Trends – Wedding Floral 2022

Here are the top key floral trends of wedding florals:

Stay active on social media 

According to a survey we recently conducted, almost 72% of florists said they use social media as one of their strategies for marketing their services, specifically for weddings. 

The more popular social media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook used to be the primary spot for florists to go – but Tik Tok is becoming a hot spot for flower arrangement videos and floral professionals.

Target for fall weddings

Summer has been the prime-time wedding season for decades, with winter and spring always coming in last. But the enticing colors of fall are causing “peak wedding season” to shift. 

40% of florists noted fall as their most active season for weddings, compared to summer, which only 36% of florists named as their busiest time of year. 

Spreading the word all the time

69% of florists said having a good reputation and referral trend is how they get business for weddings. 

There is so much power in relying on previously satisfied customers giving your name to their friends who are getting married next. Some even specifically noted that they successfully use referral programs. Others mentioned they get most of their business through being a preferred vendor for venues.

Most florists don’t spend big on wedding marketing

With social media offering low-cost advertising options and many florists relying on referrals and word of mouth, it’s very possible to keep your marketing costs down all year long. 

84% of florists indicated that they don’t spend more than $3,000 on marketing for weddings per year, while only 8% spent more than $5,000. Moreover, the majority spent under $1,000. 

Florist Wedding Floral Survey Results 

Thank you for reading the Floranext Wedding Floral Survey for 2022. We are committed to bringing flower shops the best information and tips to run their floral business. Click here to learn more about our florist software and how you can upgrade your florist website or floral point of sale. 

Survey based on data from 137 florists (75% in the United States, 8% in Canada, 17% International). 

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Floranext offers great florist software, florist POS, florist websites and florist wedding proposal software. Our florist technology products are built by florists, for florists. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

Believe it or not, we’ve entered the last half of 2022. As fast as time went on this year, the second half will go just as quickly. For florists, the first few months and the last few months of the year can be hectic. With holidays just around the corner, you will want a plan to generate more business and beat the competition. 

Here are some tips you should consider when thinking ahead to the rest of 2022 and the start of 2023. 

Evaluate what worked and what didn’t in early 2022

It’s important to look back on a few things to see what worked and  what could be improved.

Marketing – What marketing strategies worked. Think about successful campaigns or events you put on. Consider how you can bring that into the 2022 holiday season and whether any season promotions or events you did this year could be successful for next year.

Finance Review – This would also be a good time to get a grasp on your profit and loss so far for the year. Make any notes about what you may do differently next year.

Employees – Take a look at previous sales numbers and employees to see if you need to hire or increase or decrease hours for the remainder of the year. Summer is also a great time to review policies, procedures and other training. 

Flowers, Products, & Supplies – Review previous sales to determine what flowers, products, and supplies are needed for the end and beginning of the year and what did not sell well or what you can do without. 

Yearly Plan – Its always a good idea to have a yearly plan in place, always take notes on items that worked, didn’t work, and any new potential ideas for the following year. 

Stay active on social media

One of the best things you can do for your flower business year-round is to stay consistent on social media. Post new arrangements or seasonal flowers, talk about events you’ve been to recently, take a video of a “day in the life of a flower shop owner” – anything that shows that you’re keeping busy will keep you on the minds of prospective customers. 

If you haven’t already, try singing up for additional social media platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok! 

Continue to build relationships with current customers

Whether on social media or by sending promotional emails, you should continue to nurture relationships with the customers you’ve already worked with. This can be done simply by sending frequent reminders that you’re there – just an email or a social media post will do! For returning customers, you could also offer loyalty perks like a discount on future orders or a referral program. Whatever you do, staying top-of-mind for already dedicated customers is a great strategy. If they love you, they will recommend you to other people! 

Don’t forget to ask customers to leave a review for you on Google! The more positive customer reviews helps produce more revenue but also increase your ranking on google search engine. 

Get people thinking ahead 

It’s never too late to get people excited about fall flowers and holiday bouquets! Start dropping hints on social media and in other marketing efforts that you’re ready to start taking orders for the holidays. It’s also important to think about off-season events that are still happening – more people than ever are getting married in the wedding off-season, and a lot of college graduations have been postponed due to the pandemic. Let audiences know you’re ready to handle any off-season event.

Reach out to more potential partners

Wedding venues are not the only places that need flowers. Businesses and local storefronts love to decorate for the fall and the holiday season. Reach out to some local shops or offices just to remind them that you’re there to help them make their spaces look beautiful. Continuously collaborating with businesses is a great way to build your own shop’s business. 

Strengthen your online orders

It’s just a fact that people want to buy everything they need online these days. More than 55% of US consumers prefer to shop online. That number is expected to grow in the coming years. With pivoting for the pandemic, your shop has most likely shifted to selling online, but it doesn’t hurt to re-evaluate where you could be stronger with a digital storefront. 

If you are looking to revamp your website, now is the time to edit prices, product images, add galleries and more. 

What are you doing to keep your sales going for the rest of the year? Let us know in the comments below! 

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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.

Photo by Carrie Beth Williams on Unsplash

Posting gorgeous pictures of flower arrangements and gardens to social media is one of the best ways to get your unique flowers out there. But curating a picturesque social media page is about more than getting likes – it should be helping you drive sales.

Photo by Marisa Morton on Unsplash

What to Know Before You Start Posting on Social Media

A beautiful bouquet on Facebook might look great, but it likely isn’t getting you paying customers – just friendly likes. As florists, we need to know a few things about our target audience before building a social media presence.

What channel does your audience use?

Think about the customer you’re trying to reach – for florists, that audience is likely brides, wedding planners, and decorators. A few years ago, Instagram and Pinterest were the go-to wedding planning channels, but Tik Tok has changed the game. According to Adage, #WeddingTok has over 2.4 billion views, and florists are going virtual all the time to create wedding bouquets and flower arrangements. 

What kind of content works?

The TikTok channel @acflowerstudio recently went viral for creating Disney-inspired bouquets – and there are more just like them all the time! You might post an amazing video of your flower shop storefront with a line outside or show off a cool event your team attended – but no matter the quality, it won’t work if it’s not showing off what you do. Look at what other florists are doing on social media. Think about how you can re-create that in a unique way that is specific to what you do. 

Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash

How to Use Social Media to Get More Business

Now that you understand what channel you should use and what content you should create, you can start posting and getting more business! Here are five ways to get business from social media for your flower shop. 

1. Always post new content and stay consistent

Successful flower shops on social media are always posting content. Whether it’s new flowers in season, creative arrangements, or happenings at your flower shop, you should constantly post new content. When you’re first starting, your content doesn’t have to be over the top and perfect. The most important thing is that you start building a presence. 

2. Make it easy to get in touch with you on social

Accessibility to your shop is key – 33% of people want to contact brands using social media rather than over the phone or email. While building a social media presence, you have to make sure people know how to get a hold of you, and it should be as easy as possible. Put your website and other contact information in your social bio, including your business address if you have a brick-and-mortar flower shop. It’s also helpful to encourage people to get in touch with you through the chat features on your social channels – just make sure you have someone answering!

Photo by Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash

3. Share customer stories and get them to talk about you on their social

According to Stackla, 79 percent of people say user-generated content highly impacts their purchasing decisions. Seeing happy customers at their weddings or special events surrounded by your gorgeous flower arrangements is one of the best ways to build your reputation as a florist. It’s important that you post yourself in action as much as possible. You even ask happy customers to post about their experience working with you on their social media. 

4. Use unique (but relevant!) hashtags

You won’t rank on Wedding Tik Tok or Instagram if you’re not using the right hashtags. When making a post, it’s important to use relevant hashtags that your audience will find you but unique enough that they understand your business. Local hashtags like “#flowershopLA” or “floristsofNYC” are great ways to get a local following going. You can also create unique hashtags that are specific to your business and encourage customers to use them when posting pictures of your flowers. 

5. Stick to your story and brand

Don’t just copy what other florists are doing. It’s okay to look to successful flower social media influencers or shops for inspiration, but what will really bring the customers in is authenticity. Post about what makes your flower shop unique. Make sure that you post consistently and that your aesthetic comes across. Share your story and stay true to your brand. 

Florists – you’re passionate about what you do. Bring it to social media! You might be surprised by the results.

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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.

Subscription flowers, or floral subscriptions, include a variety of services where customers can have flowers delivered to a place of their choice schedule. Depending on the service, customers may choose bouquets that are sent or receive a random bouquet of seasonal flowers.

Some services also allow flowers to be sent on specific dates or on holidays (eg. Mother’s Day or Anniversaries). While it’s common for customers to send flowers to mark a special occasion, the general reason floral subscriptions are gaining traction today is a growing appreciation for having everyday flowers nearby.

The natural beauty everyday flowers bring to homes and offices invigorates and calms the area. Plus, the convenience of having flowers sent frequently without the hassle of ordering them beforehand is a major selling point.

Who is Offering Subscription Flowers?

It should be noted that not only are florists offering subscription services but cut flower specialists too. Floral subscriptions are a growing market and can also help with your inventory.

These advance orders let you plan ahead and place orders for unique flowers and stock only what’s needed while cutting down on waste. You can even use surplus flowers from other orders as part of the bouquets, managing your waste even more. Floranext website customers can add Floral Subscriptions to their website. To get started with Floral Subscriptions, Click Here!

Benefits of Floral subscriptions

As a bonus, flower subscription services may allow you to provide better flowers to the customer as well. Using seasonal blooms keeps your bouquets of higher quality, which your customers will definitely appreciate.

Of course, with the nature of subscriptions, you get to develop long-term relationships with your customers. You can learn about your customers’ preferences as you interact with them in each delivery, and you can customize their future bouquets to match those preferences. This can definitely let you gain their favor and ultimately improve your relationship.

There are so many advantages to floral subscriptions that it may feel like you’re missing out on an entire industry not riding the trend. If that describes you, try offering a subscription plan and see how they work! Want to add floral subscriptions to your website, Try Floranext Floral Subscriptions today! 

Florists, are you offering floral subscriptions to customers? What are some things that work or didn’t work for you? Please share your comments down below!

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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 would like to say thank you for the overwhelming responses to those who participated in our annual florist Valentine’s Day survey, which shows some definite changes for 2022. Based on florist feedback, It looks like 2022 was a very busy holiday for the retail floral industry. 

Key Floral Trends – Valentine’s Day 2022

• Valentine’s Day sales were very strong: Despite the flower shortage and Valentine’s Day falling on a Monday.
• 38% of florists stated they had better Valentine’s Day sales compared to last year’s Valentines Day, that’s an increase of 8.4% from 2021.
• Website orders increased significantly: 40% of florists reported more web orders this year, while 37% reported they stayed the same.  
• Dozen roses prices were up a lot:  Average prices were almost $105. 
• Many florist experiences flower shortages:  34% saw shortages, with roses being the most common.

Were Valentine’s Day 2022 sales better than last year?

Not surprisingly, Walk-In-Orders were higher this year, with an increase of 28.3% compared to last year’s results. Phone orders stayed about the same with shops reporting 2.6% fewer phone orders, however, florists reporting higher website orders for 2022 were down by 11.3%. Could it be that customers are tired of being cooped up at home and are out shopping versus shopping online?

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With the shortage of flowers and quality of roses, A Dozen Rose’s price range was very wide, the average in the United States was around $104.58. This was an increase of $13.08 or 14.30% compared to last year’s prices.

With the shortage and quality of roses, arranged flowers were overwhelmingly the next most popular item this year. Candy and chocolates once again were the number one choice for an add-on this Valentine’s Day.

Temporary staffing continues to be an increase year after for flower shops during the busiest holidays of the year. About 74% of shops added new staff, a decrease of 1% compared to 2020. This year 81.9% shops added additional drivers, an increase of 5% compared to last year.  Most shops did not rent vans for the holiday specifically, likely choosing to use driver vehicles.  

Valentine’s Day orders started coming in early for many shops, with 49% getting holiday orders in January, an increase of 9% compared to 2020 – This just shows that it is important to keep your floral websites up to date and start marketing customers for major holiday and events weeks in advance.

Since the pandemic there has been a shortage of flowers, especially during the holidays. This year 34% of florists were unable to get specific flowers from their wholesaler, flower market, and or flower farm. Listed are the flowers that were reported that were hard to receive. 

What (if anything) would you do differently next Valentine’s Day?

Floral Ordering:  “More mixed bouquets using the same flowers!”, “Order fewer flowers so we sell out.” and “Fewer dozen roses and more mixed flowers”

Preparations: “prepare more arrangements”, “limit customer selections and keep cooler filled”, “More things for Galentine’s day – seems to become more popular”, and “green more vases and don’t order Euc till closer to day.”

Hiring: “Secure more employee help”, “Hire faster and efficient drivers”, “More drivers and customer service staff”, and “Extra help on the day of holiday”

Deliveries: “Start deliveries earlier in the day,” “Delivery coordinator,” “Be more organized with routing my deliveries”, and “hire additional drivers and rent additional vehicles”

Marketing: “More social media posts”, “Start marketing in January for Valentines Day”, “More advertising,” and “Market bigger!”

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Thank you florists for participating in our annual floral Valentine’s Survey – we see some definite changes for the floral industry. Wishing you well for 2022 from Floranext – where we continue to help independent florists succeed!

Results were based on the 337 retail florists surveyed by Floranext between February 16th through February 21st. Florists were based in the US (72%), Canada (10%), international (16%), and no response (2%).

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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.