The world as we know it could never manage without florists.

With the holiday season on our doorstep and all the long days it entails, we want to remind you how your work brings warmth to your community and all humankind!

It may sound a bit cheesy but it’s a sentiment we feel is worth exploring. Florists are behind bringing so much beauty and sweet memories into the world, and your passion for the floral industry is recognized and very deeply needed.

Image via Shutterstock

Floristry Is Part of Our History

The earliest-known flower arranging dates back to ancient Egypt in 2,500 BCE. Egyptians were the first to cut and place flowers to decorate and add color to their surroundings.

Florists were so sought after and so necessary that it was almost a sign of royalty to be a florist. Back then—and even today—the most beautiful accessory, gift and decor accents are arranged flowers.

Flower arranging made these miraculous gifts from Mother Nature to evoke everlasting emotions, and the florist industry is simply part of who we are as humans.

Image via Shutterstock

Flowers Improve Your Health

Study after study has found that floral gift-giving has a tremendous impact on our health. You may be surprised to learn that lavish gifts, money, tech gadgets and clothing are nice but have little or no health benefit.

Patients in hospital rooms with colorful floral arrangements are in often a better, positive mood, need less pain relief medication and have overall lower blood pressure.

Flower arrangements also have a profound effect on your workspace and home, making you more productive, able to think clearer, and also calmer.

And flower arrangements are found to boost senior citizen’s spirits. Researchers at Rutgers released the shared results of a six-month behavioral study on the health effects of flowers on senior citizens. The study shows that flowers ease depression, inspire social activity and improve memory as we age.

Image via Shutterstock

Why Florists Are So Important

Florists, imagine what the world would be like without floristry: the impact would be tremendous and we can imagine a drab, cheerless world.

There would be no special way to add color and beauty to one’s life. No easy way to convey our deepest gratitude, or express sympathy or support. No way to celebrate milestones in our life’s journey. Weddings would suffer greatly!

Life would just not be the same. People count on their florist professional, remember that!

Your contribution to the world is so special, so enduring, floral designs run deep within the receiver’s soul.

Florists, with the holidays here, consider how your work helps uplift the human spirit. We’d like to send a special “thank you” to florists all over the world for your work. And for our American readers, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Please share any feedback or questions in our comment section 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.

Running a flower shop is no small task – what can you do to cut corners and make life a bit easier? Here are a few indispensable iPhone and Android apps that will increase your flower business productivity, save you time, and help you grow your sales.

All of these apps are free and available on iOS and Android. Happy downloading! 

Here is our list of some of the top apps to help your business get down to business. What other apps do you use – let us know!

Faster Flower Deliveries – Waze 

Want your florist deliveries to get there faster? Waze shows you traffic in real time, instantly re-routes you, and even tells you were to get the cheapest gas.  And if you’re into really fast driving, the app gives you a head’s up on police speed traps. Super easy to use even while driving.

The Easiest Flower Shop To-Dos – Wunderlist

Need to remember your bridal follow ups, the flowers you need to buy for the week, or the list of gift items you need to procure for the upcoming holiday? Wunderlist is a beautiful, super-simple app for creating lists – it syncs between your devices and there is a web version as well.

You can also use it to set reminders for yourself and even to collaborate with others on a project. Have other employees working on that wedding also – get them to use the app too!

Track Your Flower Shop Online Reviews and Competition – Perch

Missed that two-star review on Yelp? Didn’t see that less-than-glowing review on Google? Perch is a great app to track your business reviews so you can proactively address any negative comments. And you can keep an eye on your local competitors as well to see how well they are doing with their own social media marketing.

Take Better Florist Website Photos- PicsArt

PicsArt gives you the same creativity and versatility as Photoshop right on your phone. You can add stickers and artistic text. You can import photos from Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Picasa, Google or Dropbox, and you can use those pictures to create collages, among other things. But it’s the logical and responsive interface that gives this app the edge over the competition.

Florist Point of Sale iPad App – Floranext

Floranext’s florist point of sale app gives you all you need to run your flower business on the go with a the Floranext iPad app.  You can take floral walk-in and delivery orders. It’s a great way to run your business or an easy way to add instant florist registers for busy holidays. You can also create and manage floral proposals from our florist app.

Like Floranext’s list of 5 great apps for florists? Let us know what apps you are using to make your flower shop run more smoothly.

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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!

See Our Beautiful New “Belle” Theme

Floranext is excited to give you a sneak peek at a 100% new floral website theme we will be launching in the coming weeks. The “Belle” theme has  full-page banners and front page content “widgets.” 

• Full Page Banners – make a striking, impactful first impression with your floral website? Full page banners let you display a huge full page floral image on your front page. 
• Front Page Widgets – Want to design your website front page? Use front page widgets to easily add your products, galleries, testimonials, a location map, delivery area, and more to your front page in just a few clicks! 
• Perfect for Ecommerce or Wedding-Focused Florists – works well for retail florists that want a traditional ecommerce experience or for wedding-focused florists to showcase their designs.
• 100% Responsive and Mobile Ready – The Belle florist website theme is built to look good on PC, tablet or your mobile phone. Built to be responsive and beautiful on any device.
• Safe and Secure with HTTPS – Floranext’s website’s come with a secure SSL certificate included 100% free. Keep your customer’s data and your own safe with an HTTPS website. 

See Some of Our Other Florist Web Themes!

Floranext also offers some other beautiful ecommerce-friendly florist websites. Fully customize your florist site, add your own floral product catalog or use ours. Here are just a few of our designs:

We love helping florists – before getting into the floral business, we ran a flower shop for 40 years. Does your website need a makeover? Get in touch and we can give you a walk-through of some of our great designs!

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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.

Florists, You Have Spoken!

A big thank you to everyone who participated in our annual Mother’s Day survey. Once again we got a very strong showing from our readers and members, and your feedback is extremely helpful.

Of the florists surveyed, approximately 82% have shops located in the United States, 15% in Canada, and 3% elsewhere.

Q1. When did you start receiving orders for Mother’s Day 2018?

April 30 – May 6
#1 Answer with 40.9%

#2 Answer, Mother’s Day Week, May 7 – 13 (24.2%)
#3 Answer, April 23 – 29 (12.1%)

As expected the week before Mother’s Day Week took the lead spot, but it’s good to know that most orders were received at least a week before the holiday!

Q2. What was your top-selling product this Mother’s Day?

Mixed Arrangements in a Vase
#1 Answer with 81.8%

#2 Answer, Wrapped bouquets (10.6%)
#3 Answer, Mixed arrangements in a basket (4.5%)

All the options given are popular gifts for moms, but it’s interesting to see what a commanding lead mixed vase arrangements took this year.

Q3. Was this year’s Mother’s Day better than last year for sales?

Yes
#1 Answer with 63.6%

#2 Answer, No (24.2%)
#3 Answer, Don’t know (12.1%)

Almost two-thirds of shops surveyed received noticeably more orders this year than last year. Whether your shop received more or fewer, please send us feedback in the comments section below!

Q4. How many more orders did you receive this year?

11-25, 26-50, 51-100
Virtual Three-Way Tie with Roughly 19% Each

The other answers (101-200, More than 200, Don’t know, and Fewer than 10) brought up the rear. It appears that  the majority of shops that answered “Yes” to the previous question saw a very reasonable increase in sales this holiday, with a further 22% making 100 or more sales than last year!

Q5. Did you receive more website Mother’s Day orders this year than last year?

Yes
#1 Answer with 71.2%

#2 Answer, No (19.7%)
#3 Answer, Don’t know (9.1%)

Interestingly, more store owners surveyed said they received more web orders than overall orders this year.

Q6. How many more website orders did you receive this year?

11-25
#1 Answer with 34%

#2 Answer, Fewer than 10 (29.8%)
#3 Answer, 26-50 (17%)

We had answers all over the board on this question. While some received only slightly more website orders this year (under 10), about half received between 11 and 50 more web orders.

Q7. How many new employees did you hire this Mother’s Day?

83.2% of shops took on at least one new driver
59% of shops took on at least one new designer
The median number of new front-of-store employees was 2

Some responses for Other:

“2 for phones”
“1 for order processing”
“3 for prep/setup”
“Expanded hours for most employees”
“1 delivery coordinator”
“Had extra designer hired but she got sick the week of Mother’s Day”

An interesting range of answers to this question—many stores took on new help, but a sizable number did not increase their staff by hiring. Some smaller shops noted that they are a two-person operation, the owner/designer and a driver.

Q8. About how much did you spend on wholesale stems this Mother’s Day holiday?

Between $3,500 and $5,000
#1 Answer with 25.8%

#2 Answer, Between $2,500 and $3,500 (24.2%)
#3 Answer, Between $1,500 and $2,500 (16.7%)

While some outliers spent more than $5,000 or less than $1,500, most respondents feel within the $1,500 to $5,000 range.

Q9. Did you rent an additional delivery truck or vehicle this holiday season?

No
#1 Answer with 92.4%

Very few respondents rented an additional delivery vehicle for the holiday.

Q10. Where is your shop located?

United States
#1 Answer with 81.8%

#2 Answer, Canada (15.2%)
#3 Answer, Outside of the US and Canada (3%)

As noted earlier, most respondents are in the US.

Q11. What region of the country is your shop located in? (If US)

Northeast/New England and Midwest
Virtual Tie with Roughly 28% Each

#2 Answer, South (24.1%)

Q12. Where in Canada is your business located?

Ontario
#1 Answer with 80%

Tie for #2 Answers, Alberta and British Columbia (10% each)

That’s another Mother’s Day down! Take note of what you did this season that was successful or resulted in more sales and consider how you can implement that next year! Likewise, if you took a risk on more wholesale stems or staff, this is also important to reflect on.

Florists, do you have any feedback on your 2018 Mother’s Day sales season? Your fellow florists would love to hear about it—please feel free to share in the comment section below.

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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.

We’re asking all our members and readers to offer their feedback on this year’s Mother’s Day activity compared to last year.

We appreciate your participation in this survey, as gauging the success of the Mother’s Day holiday is invaluable to the success of the floral industry.

Click here to begin.

Attracting floral wedding business begins with reaching recently engaged couples! Tap into this $100 billion industry now by marketing to the recently engaged.

Facebook

In addition to using your Facebook business page to share pictures of your events and wedding designs, you can use Facebook to create targeted ads.

Click the Create Promotion button on the right sidebar in your Facebook feed.

Choose a promotion type. We recommend any of the following:

• Boost a post
• Set up an ongoing promotion
• Promote your business locally
• Promote your page

Under the Audience section of the promotion, you can target the ad toward Facebook users by the following criteria:

• Area
• Age
• Gender
• Language
• Other pages liked

Most Americans get engaged between the ages of 25 and 32. We recommend targeting the promotion toward women ages 24-34 in your area.

Also, the most common days of proposals are Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and Valentine’s Day. You can either target your ads for these days in particular days (or the days and weeks following), but in the big picture, you’ll want to focus your advertising on the winter months to attract recently engaged couples.

Next, you’ll choose a daily budget for the promotion. Facebook will calculate the number of users that can be reached at each price point.

Like Google AdWords, creating paid ads should be more than a zero-sum game. Be thoughtful of how much you’d like to spend on boosting.

Image via Shutterstock

A Note on Google AdWords

Google AdWords is a paid advertising service that can help get you clicks on your floral website. Because it is a paid service, you will want to use it carefully to maximize the return on your advertising investment. Click here for more specific instructions on using Google AdWords.

Image via Shutterstock

Connect Customers to Other Resources

Besides flowers, the newly engaged couple will need to locate many different services to plan the wedding:

• Stationery and paper products
• Venues
• Catering
• Gowns and tuxedo rentals
• Travel and lodgings

A dedicated wedding florist may offer some of these other services in-house, but every florist offering wedding and event florals can forge partnerships with other resources and services in your area.

Image via Shutterstock

Prepare Deals and Discounts

The average length of engagements is 14 months. Planning a wedding is an open-ended process, and the deadlines are entirely self-imposed.

Craft a few deals for customers to get them in the door and take action. Could the customer get cheaper flowers the sooner they sign a contract with you, for example?

Florists, do you have any important advice on reaching recently engaged couples? Please share your feedback, tips or any marketing questions in the comment section below.

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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.

You need control of all facets of your floral business—your domain name included!

In 2018, e-commerce sales are projected to reach over $400 billion. Now is the time to understand and pay close attention to your floral business website and know if you truly have the upper hand.

A brick-and-mortar flower shop would never allow another company to partially own their storefront, and the same goes for your website domain name. Your floral website domain holds valuable history—if you are just starting out in the flower business you may feel overwhelmed by your hosting options, and with nothing but a web hosting company’s advice, you may find yourself allowing a host to register your domain.

Getting Started With a Floral Website

It’s important to note that you can have a domain name and a web host separately. Some web hosts will offer to register you with a domain, but you will be better off doing this independently and keeping your web hosting company from having any ties to your floral business domain name.

So what is a domain name? A domain is the common part of the internet address called a URL, but let’s not make this any more confusing than it has be: flowershop.com is a domain name, while https://www.flowershop.com is the URL. Domain names are your floral business name, or any other verbiage you choose.

Web hosting is like renting space, in this case, you are renting space on your web host’s server to house your website content.

Your website domain name is the address visitors will use to gain access to your website.

Any web host can point your domain name to their servers, so there is no need for them to purchase the domain for you.

Why Allowing Your Web Host to Register Your Domain is a Bad Idea

We all understand the feeling of being forced into a business decision, and we know that the best business practice is to allow yourself some flexibility wherever possible.

While setting up a floral website, having the web host also give you your dream domain seems convenient but in the long run, you may run into issues if you feel like switching web hosting providers. Remember, if they have access to that awesome domain name, so will you—there is no black market for web domains.

There are some web hosting companies that will actually own your domain outright, so even if requested back they hold the upper hand and can charge you exorbitant fees just to release it back to you.

So what’s the big deal—if they do not release it back then you can just find a new domain name, right? Unfortunately, once you have established your online branding through your domain name, walking away from your domain can be detrimental to your business.

Essentially, what you are doing is allowing a third party to have a stake in your website domain branding on SEO. You can request it back if and when you decide to leave your web host, but this can sometimes lead to more frustration and weeks or months of waiting. If you give up or choose not to request your domain back, the host may sell it to a competitor or order gatherer, now that the domain is listing ideally on search engines thanks to your hard work, while you’re left to start all over again with a new domain.

Another benefit to owning and registering your own domain name is that you can keep all your domains in one place. You may now only have one website and one domain, however you may choose to purchase more domains to forward to your current website, or perhaps you want to open another website for a second location. Regardless of the reasons or whether this is an option you expect to use, you’ll still want to hold the option.

How Do You Know if You or Your Web Host Owns Your Domain?

If you are unsure who owns and controls your domain name, check https://www.whois.com/ and type in your domain to see who indeed is the owner. If it is not you, contact your web host immediately to start the release process. Remember, you can own your domain and keep your current web host. Just let them know you just want to have control of your domain name and they won’t ask questions.

Are There Any Cons to Owning Your Domain Name?

“Cons” may be too strong of a word, the only con is that you’ll need to pay your domain registrant.

If you miss your payments (try setting up auto-pay to renew annually!) your site may be taken down until your balance is paid. The cost is generally very affordable, ranging anywhere from $12.00 to $30.00 USD a year, depending on which domain registered provider you choose. You may choose to pay annually, biannually, or even on a schedule of five years or more. If you set up auto-pay, you will be charged annually and your domain will never expire.

Where Do I Purchase My Domain Name?

If you are looking to purchase your domain name, congratulations! This just like purchasing a storefront, but on a smaller, more manageable scale.

There are so many providers, but we will provide a list of our top five. I genuinely like GoDaddy and find their customer service excellent. Their yearly domain fees are also super affordable.

1. GoDaddy
2. Namecheap
3. Hover
4. Name.com
5. 1And1

Florists, do you have any important advice or feedback regarding walking away from a web host, or getting a web host to release your domain name? Please share your feedback, tips or any domain name related questions in the comment section below.

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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.

With the holidays now behind us, most retailers will have a chance to relax—but not florists.

Valentine’s Day—or shall we say, Valentine’s week—is one of the busiest holidays for flower shops, with over 198 million roses sold. It’s a good idea to get a jump on your flower and supply ordering so that you can be organized and prepared for what is being predicted to be one the busiest and most profitable successful Valentine’s weeks of all time for the floral industry.

If you haven’t ordered your Valentine’s Day week florals and supplies yet, then today is the day to start. Ordering early keeps you ahead of the game and saves you money.

Floral Supplies

Many flower shops are already loaded with supplies, however, do not count on having something for the week of Valentine’s day without checking. If budget allows, it’s best to have extra as Valentine’s day can be very unpredictable. If you operate on a razor’s edge, any spike in sales can leave you making costly adjustments.

Consider stocking up on the following supplies:

• Aquapic/water picks
• Arrangement carrier (for pickups)
• Cellophane
• Tissue paper
• Clear Crowning Glory
• Door hanger tags
• Leaf shine
• Oasis
• Floral stem tape
• Floral waterproof tape
• Floralife Fower Food (give away packets)
• Wired or unwired pics (your preference)
• Floral wire (the higher the gauge the thinner and pliable the wire)
• Greening pins (may or may not be a must-have, but good to have a few on hand) 
• Pins
• Ribbon
• Wire cutters (check for quality and wear) 
• Rose thorn stripper
• Pliers
• Floral knives

Vases

• Clear glass bubble bowl 6″
• Clear glass bubble bowl 10″
• Gathering glass vase 8″ and 9 3/4 ” (most popular)
• Garden rose glass vase 9 3/4″
• Classic glass urn vase 10.5″
• Mary glass vase 12″
• Oval tapered glass vase 9 3/4″
• Glass cylinder vases (4×5) (5×5) (6×6) (10×4) (20×6)
• Square glass vases (3×3) ( 4×4) (5×5) (7×7) (12×4)
• Rectangular glass vases (5.5x3x4)

Flowers

Without question, it is important to have an ample supply of red roses on hand for Valentine’s day. Equally as important is a signature rare or unique bloom that you can offer customers who are not looking for the traditional red rose Valentine’s Day arrangement. Think of some pretty bloom or blooms you can order early to entice your customers looking for that special something.

In addition, its good to get a grasp on what customers order—just red roses, or maybe pink roses in mixed arrangements. See below for a list of popular flowers for this holiday to create beautifully mixed arrangements.

• Red roses (Freedom variety, 20-100 cm, 60 cm most popular)
• Red roses (short stem, 40 cm for low vase arrangements)
• Pink roses (Senorita Blush, light and dark)
• Lavender roses
• Cream/white roses
• Yellow roses
• Sweetheart roses (pink and lavender)
• Garden rose (David Austin, any color you can get—however, blush pink is most popular)
• Asiatic lilies
• Pink oriental lilies
• Stock
• Carnations (purple, pink, white)
• Matsumoto asters
• Gerberas
• Iris
• Lisianthus
• Tulips
• Green buttons
• Hydrangea

Tip: Flowers sales this Valentine’s are predicted to be more than last year, so we suggest that you up your order by 10% on roses in particular. Take a look at last years Valentine’s sales and up the order 10%.

Filler Flowers

Floral designers tend to have their signature rose arrangement look and feel. All these filler flowers below will work to create a stunning rose arrangement and work for all of your mixed bouquets.

• Baby’s breath
• Lavender limonium
• Wax Flower (White, pink, purple)
• Monte (White, purple)
• Statice
• Queens Anne’s lace

Greens

• Gunnii eucalyptus
• Silver dollar eucalyptus
• Seeded eucalyptus
• Cordyline green leaf
• Bear grass
• Tree fern
• Italian ruscus
• Salal lemon leaf
• Leather leaf

Add-On Gifts

If you sell giftware in your flower shop, keep stock up for cross-selling. Cross-selling is the easiest way to take your Valentine’s profits from great to unbelievably incredible. There is no excuse! Everyone at the flower shop should be offering their customers other products in addition to florals: “Would you like me to add a box of chocolates with that for only $X?”

This can make a huge difference.

• Candies or chocolates
• Greeting cards
• Gift baskets
• Balloons
• Candles
• Plush

Florists, do you have any must-have floral/supply item at flower shops during Valentine’s Day week? Please share your feedback, tips or any Valentine’s Day-related questions in the comment section below.

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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.

Flowers are an alluring gift from nature, with their amazing aroma and natural in-depth beauty.

Although flowers are commonly very affordable, there are some that can get pricey. Let’s review some of the world’s most expensive blooms.

Lily of the Valley

We all love lilies of the valley. The flower itself is highly poisonous, but poisonous or not, lily of the valley is a very meaningful flower that symbolizes humility, chastity, sweetness, purity, luck in love, and the return of happiness—no wonder it’s one used most in weddings. Kate Middleton chose these flowers for her bridal bouquet. The beauty and meaning of the lily of the valley does come with a price tag, however—this flower can run about $50 per bundle.

Gloriosa

Native to Asia and South Africa, the Gloriosa flower creates a melody of colors on its tendrils. This flower and plant is also poisonous if eaten and can cause skin rashes, however there is still many that admire this bloom for its uniqueness and medicinal benefits. Gloriosa flowers can be found for $10 or more per flower.

Juliet Rose

The Juliet rose has such beauty and keeps with today’s woodsy bespoke style. The Juliet rose took David Austin 15 years to create, with its bewitching fragrance and fascinating appeal. It cost $5 million to develop this rose and ten stems of this rose can go for about $85.

Kadupul Flower

The Kadupul flower comes from Sir Lanka, and the flower its self is priceless. It is most desirable due to its aroma and blossoming. The Kadupul flower blooms at midnight and withers by morning. The Kadupul flower cannot be purchased commercially and is virtually impossible to grow, making its retail value priceless.

Florists, are there any pricey blooms you carry, and any risks associated with them? Please share your priciest blooms sold or any feedback and questions 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.