The floral ecommerce trend for 2020 is here – flower subscriptions! Flower shops are starting to turn single sales into multiple, ongoing orders. 

First there was Birchbox and then Barkbox. Now even Amazon recently launched its own subscription box page – selling hundreds of monthly items like pet toys (“Pawstruck”) and cured meats (“Carnivore Club”).

Here’s what you need to know to sell flower subscriptions on your own florist website. 

What are Flower Subscriptions? 

Flower subscriptions are an easy way for your customers to subscribe to flowers.

Customers can choose the general type of flowers, the price point, and the delivery frequency.  Some shops are offering different types of subscriptions like plants or gift baskets. 

How Should You Set Up Flower Subscriptions? 

Want to set up flower subscriptions on your florist website. Here are some tips? 

• Simple Packages – Customers are often confused when buying flowers. Keep your subscriptions simple, like a fast food menu. 
• Example Images – If you show specific arrangements, customers may expect those. Closeup images are preferable. 
• Reasonable Pricing – Keep the pricing reasonable. Remember that you are getting multiple orders!
• Free Delivery – Delivery at flower shops is complicated. Bundle in delivery charges for simplicity. 
• Duration Options – Customers are likely to pick shorter subscriptions as gifts due to cost. But showing 1 year as “most popular” persuade them to choose longer subscriptions.  

Think Outside the Flower Box

Consumers are now used to “box” offerings. Think Birchbox, Barkbox, DollarShaveClub and (according to Forbes) over 3,500 other box offering companies! Consider branding your flower subscription and consider calling it a monthly “flower box”. 

Floranext websites are set up with Roses, Seasonal Flowers, and Plants – but you could easily re-brand these to be “Rose Box”, “Seasonal Box”, and “Plant Box”. 

Flower Subscriptions – Increase $$Sales On Your  Florist Website

Flower subscriptions may be the single easiest way to increase your florist website revenues. Does your website provider offer flower subscriptions? 

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Floranext is the first floral website provider to launch subscription flowers – click here to find out about Floranext websites.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like summer!

Let’s celebrate the season with the lei and flower crown, a Hawaiian tradition with thousands of years of history. Flower artist and lei maker Ocean Dreamer (ocean_dreamerr on Instagram) has a feed full of gorgeous lei and flower crown designs for weddings and all occasions we’d like to spotlight today.

View this post on Instagram

Pink Pua Melia lei for this Aloha Friday Pa’ina . #classic #pink #plumeria #bumbucha

A post shared by Floral lei Artist (@ocean_dreamerr) on May 24, 2019 at 9:14pm PDT

The Origins of Leis

Leis have been constructed of various materials including flowers, shells, leaves, nuts, feathers, and bone, but a braid of green Maile vine has been at the center of the lei all along.

The lei was introduced to Hawaii by the ancient Polynesian voyagers who first settled the islands. For centuries leis have been worn as garments to beautify the wearer, exchanged by leaders to seal peace agreements, and served a ceremonial purpose in religious rites and celebrations.

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Love… Aloha… & lots and Lots of Plumeria ? Bumbucha Pua Melia Lei. #graduationLeis #plumeriaSeason #puaMelia

A post shared by Floral lei Artist (@ocean_dreamerr) on May 11, 2019 at 12:31am PDT

In the colonial era and later on as tourism to the islands expanded, lei vendors sold their wares to British and American visitors, and the lei took on another meaning as a form of greeting. It became tradition to throw one’s lei into the waters if departing Hawaii by ship.

Today there are few hard rules about when and where to don a lei—it is an all-occasion garment, but because of their great beauty and use of fresh flowers, leis are most often worn during celebrations.

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Fall in love with Taking care of yourself. Fall in love with the path of deep healing . Fall in love with becoming the best version of yourself, but with patience,with compassion and respect to your own journey. ?Happy Aloha Friday? @kimi_swimmy x @keepwildco pic @instaclamfunk ? #fbf #1yrago #kimiswimmy

A post shared by Floral lei Artist (@ocean_dreamerr) on Feb 1, 2019 at 1:39pm PST

Ocean Dreamer’s Leis and Flower Crowns

Ocean Dreamer herself is a designer in Hawaii with a strong social media presence. That alone is something to admire these days, but her designs are all spectacular and if you check out her feed you can find them adorning wedding chuppahs and arches as well as being worn for everyday use and celebrations. She even includes some process pictures as she works to get just the right look.

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First Blue Jade Lei Po’o I made, With pohinahina , plumeria, Bombax & orchids ?from our garden. ? #nofilter #leigarden #LeiAlohaFriday #allnatural #wahine

A post shared by Floral lei Artist (@ocean_dreamerr) on Mar 29, 2019 at 9:43pm PDT

Florists, have you received any requests for leis or Hawaiian style flower crowns? Let us know what you think 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.

Hello florists, we are asking all our members and readers for feedback on the success of their Mother’s Day holiday relative to last year.

Your participation in this survey is invaluable—gauging the success of the Mother’s Day holiday is so meaningful for the overall success of the floral industry.

Click here to begin!

Mother’s Day is just around the corner! Is your business ready for this busy floral holiday?

Having a plan in place to make the most revenue during Mother’s Day is critical to earning the rewards of this bustling, blossoming occasion. Read on for an agenda to help you plan and organize your shop for the upcoming Mother’s Day holiday.

1. Promote Your Floral Business!

Begin by using your floral website and social media profiles to start marketing your floral arrangements and your business. It’s not too late!

Images & Products

• • Post high-quality photos of your work or any specials you are offering during Mother’s Day on your website or social media platforms.
  • Don’t forget to link your social media posts to your website! You want to make it as easy as possible for customers to make a purchase—this also means that advertising your social media heavily on your website can actually lead customers away from making a purchase.
  • Mother’s Day products should be prominently displayed and easily accessible throughout your website.

Hours & Policies

• Clearly post your shop’s business hours on your website and social media.
• Having clear policies on delivery, returns, and substitutions will alleviate any headaches for you and your customers and help head off negative customer experiences.

Promotions & Discounts

• Increase traffic to your store by offering deals or discounts on pickups rather than deliveries.
• List special promotions. This is a great way to encourage customers to shop early, before Mother’s Day week.
• Don’t forget to update your product pricing to cover your costs!

Note: “Promoting” does not always have to mean offering discounts. Remind customers why they should order flowers through your business.

2. Staffing, Scheduling and Duties, Oh My!

Making sure you have enough coverage can be overwhelming during the holiday rush. Not to worry, take a deep breath and follow these tips!

Hiring

• If hiring extra help, have them come in on a day before Mother’s Day week to go over their responsibilities and training.
• If hiring extra drivers, discuss with them whether you require them to use their own vehicle.
• If you can, keep a standby driver at the shop to handle new orders for delivery.

Employees

• Have an employee meeting and discuss what is expected of them during Mother’s Day.
• Make sure to explain how important everyone shows up and does what is expected of them.
• Encourage and praise your employees and floral designers. Its always better to be positive than negative.

Scheduling & Duties

• Have your Mother’s Day week scheduled out two weeks in advance. That way there are no surprises to your staff and you have time to make adjustments and improvise as needed.
• Go over job descriptions with employees—it’s always useful to remind everyone what their responsibilities are.
• Assign sections for the delivery drivers in specific areas. Add finished flower arrangements to this area with the date of delivery that is bold and clear.

3. Don’t Forget your Flowers & Supplies

Making sure you have enough flowers and supplies to get through the holiday is important.

Supplies

• Start looking around for supplies, containers, baskets and vases weeks before Mother’s Day.
• Visit your local supplier. However, don’t forget to visit discount home stores and dollar stores. You can find some great unique items.
• Don’t settle! Shop around for the best deals on supplies and florals.

Flowers

• Start ordering your Mother’s Day flowers early to get the best value.
• Don’t forget to shop around if you buy from multiple wholesalers.
• If you are comfortable, get your flowers through a floral auction. A great opportunity to get some discounts when purchasing in large quantities.
• Make sure to order flowering plants, orchids, and dish gardens. These are big sellers and require very little work.

Note: If you are new to the floral industry, Mother’s Day spans for a week, not a day. So order enough flowers!

4. Start Prepping & Showcasing your Flowers!

Stay ahead of the game with these prepping and showcasing tips during the busy holiday rush.

Prepping

• Prep your flowers when they arrive.
• Teach your front of store staff how to wire flowers to help cut down the time.
• Cut ribbon and make bows ahead of time.
• Green any vases, baskets or containers.
• No wastefulness! With the abundant supplies and flowers in the shop, it is easy to get sidetracked and be super wasteful. Everything thrown on the floor that can be used should be. Wasting or throwing out even a good pin or wire is considered money out of your pocket. Please be sure to express this to your employees.

Showcasing

• Gather up all your add-ons and gift items and display them prominently in the store.
• Make sure you re-stock your impulse buys on your front counter to sell in addition to flower arrangements.
• Make sure your flower shop and displays are clean and have an inviting atmosphere.
• Remember: If employees have time to lean, they have time to clean! Breaks are important but it doesn’t take much energy to tidy up.

Work Ahead

• Work a day ahead. Fill any orders for next day the day before. Working a day or two ahead will allow you flexibility just in case there are any last minute orders.
• Place premade orders in a cooler tagged with date of pickup or delivery.
• Mark any time-sensitive orders and bring those to the front of your cooler.

Note: It helps to have a system that works best for you. However, working on orders per day can feel overwhelming, so staying ahead of the game is always best.

5. Take Care of Yourself

It is important to take care of yourself during this busy Mother’s Day week.

• Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Avoid open-toed shoes, as this can be an insurance liability in some areas.
• Make sure you eat! Breakfast, Lunch, and dinner are important—don’t skip meals!
• Get enough sleep. No one is at their best with lack of sleep.
• Take mandatory breaks.
• Do not sweat the small stuff. Regardless of how hard you try, there may be a complaint here or there. Do not let this get you down. It’s the nature of the business. The world can’t survive without florists!
• Try to enjoy Mother’s Day week by keeping a journal of all the funny things that happen or mishaps that take place to reflect on for next year.

Tip: Bring in extra shoes and store them in your cooler to remedy those aching feet. 

We would like to wish all florists a very successful Mother’s Day!

Florists, do you have any great Mother’s Days tips to share with our readers? Please post any of your Mother’s Day tips or feedback 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.

FTD lawyers contacted Floranext on March 26th 2019 asking us to remove our blog post about FTD’s most recent news. 

We offered to FTD as a compromise to instead post a direct quote from their own recent communications. They suggested this would still result in legal action.

We have removed all commentary about FTD’s recent news from our blog.

It saddens us that in America in 2019, the power of lawsuits are such that it can stop truthful dialogue about issues that matter to people. 

We at Floranext are fans of this quote by Senator and Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black – “The Framers of the Constitution knew that free speech is the friend of change and revolution.”

We hope that all florists are getting truthful information about their business. 

– William O’Shea, Co-Founder/Floranext

The 2019 Florist Valentine’s Day Survey Results Are In!

A big thank you to everyone who participated in our annual Valentine’s Day survey. Once again we received a strong response from our readers and members.

Results were based on the 347 retail surveyed by Floranext between February 15th through February 17th.

Were 2019 Valentine’s Day Sales Better Than Last Year?

• Lower – 20.8%
• Same – 17.9%
• Higher – 61.3%

Were Valentine’s Day In-Store Retail sales greater than last year?

• Yes – $65%
• No – 35%

Aside From Red Roses, What Were Your Top-Selling Products This Valentine’s Day?

• Arranged Flowers – 71.4%
• Hand-Tied Bouquets – 11.4%
• Other Roses – 16.6%
• Other – 0.6%

What Did you Charge For  Dozen Long Stem Roses Arranged

• $88.00 (average total from participants)

Did You Sell Short Stemmed Roses?

• Yes – 42.2%
• No – 57.8%

How Many Extra Temporary Drivers Did You Hire This Valentine’s Season?

• 0 – 9.7%
• 1 – 14.3%
• 2 – 25.1%
• 3 – 21.1%
• 4 or more – 29.7%

How Many Extra Temporary Shop Staff Did You Hire This Valentine’s Season?

• 0 – 16.7%
• 1 – 23%
• 2 – 25.3%
• 3 – 14.9%
• 4 or more – 20.1%

Did You Use/Rent Delivery Vehicles / Trucks This Valentine’s Holiday?

• 0 – 61.3%
• 1 – 6.1%
• 2 – 16%
• 3 – 5.5%
• 4 or more – 11%

When Did Your Floral Business Start Receiving Valentine’s Day Orders?

• First Half Of January – 6.9%
• Second Half Of January – 32.6%
• First Week Of February – 45.7%
• Valentine’s Day Week – 14.9%

What, If Anything, Would You Do Differently Next Valentine’s Day?

List of a few randomly selected comments:

• “More budget friendly walk-in options.”
• “Have more staff and grab & go items ready.”
• “Order less colored roses. Make even more premade arrangements.”
• “Pre-make more arrangements.”
• “Get more drivers to deliver early.”
•  “Keep marketing as much as possible, locally & with technology.”
• “Order less being that it will be a Friday next year.”
• “Hire an Additional Designer.”
• “Not panic that you did not receive very many pre-orders. This year I wrote it down when the guys started to order.”

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Florists, was this Valentine’s season successful and resulted in more sales? What would you consider to implement that next year? Do you have any feedback on your 2019 Valentine’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 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, now is the time to start preparing for Valentine’s Day!

It is important to be ahead of the Valentine’s Day flower rush! Valentine’s Day is one of the busiest and possibly the most profitable holiday of the year next to Mother’s Day.

Read on for a step-by-step checklist to help you maintain organization, increase your flower shop profits, and have a smooth, successful Valentine’s Day.

Image via pexels.com

Flower Shop Appearance

Valentine’s Day Decor: Mid-January is the time to start decorating! Customers respond to festive seasonal and holiday decor, so go ahead and add your special touches. If feasible, a beautiful and eye-catching window display will attract more walk-ins. The key is to create an inviting atmosphere and remind customers Valentine’s Day is approaching.

Image via pexels.com

 Flowers and Supplies

Order Flowers: Here again, it’s best to get started on your quantities in mid-January. Ask for price breaks from your suppliers and be sure to order all you need, but be careful not to overdo it. Be smart, buy smart!

Try a Flower Auction: Due to the large quantities you must buy in order to get a great deal, flower auctions are perfect for holidays like Valentine’s Day roses. Once again, ordering early is key.

Order Supplies: Make sure you have good tools, and all the prep supplies you need: wire, tape, oasis, flower food, etc. Besides your tools and prep supplies, you will need vases and containers. Order your standard vases and shop at home decor stores for unique finds.

Order Add-Ons: Do not forget to order new plush, candies, chocolate, balloons and candles. Anything can be an add-on! Cross-selling creates huge profits and these items will generally last from one year to the next. If you can, invest in quality products and watch them sell.

Image via pexels.com

Floral Website

Ideally, it is best to have your floral eCommerce all set and ready for Valentine’s Day before February 1st. However, it is never too late to make a few tweaks to your website to attract customers. Remember to implement some Valentine’s Day keywords for your SEO.

Website Products: Start with your Valentine’s Day product images. These should be displayed prominently throughout the website. You might consider adding Valentine’s Day products to your Bestsellers and Birthday pages, and any other pages you like. We recommend peppering your pages with Valentine’s products, while also using a dedicated Valentine’s Day page.

Call to Action: One great practice is to have a call to action on your floral eCommerce. Add an invitation to “Shop Now for Valentine’s Day Flowers” which will direct customers where they need to go. Make sure Valentine’s Day is clearly shown on your site’s navigation bar so customers have easy access to the page.

Clear Valentine’s Day Policy: If your policy for deliveries isn’t front and center on your website, now is the time to correct this. Remind your customers that you can’t guarantee delivery at a specific time. Encourage them to pick a range of time (ie. “Valentine’s Day Delivery Guaranteed between 9:00am and 5:00pm).

Promotions: We encourage you to add an early bird special. Unlike other holidays, Valentine’s Day is one day which can get very busy. Having customers select a different delivery date spreads the holiday throughout the week. Offer a free delivery or percentage off for anyone who opts for delivery before February 14.

Pricing: If you are charging more for Valentine’s Day flowers, make sure your floral eCommerce has holiday pricing enabled.

Image via pexels.com

Employee Management

Employee Scheduling: By February 1st, discuss what will be required of your employees. Most flower shop employees understand the importance of this holiday, but it pays to have instill a clear understanding of days and times they must work.

Cross-Selling and Upgrades: Valentine’s Day is a such a busy holiday in a flower shop that sometimes cross-selling or upgrading can slip your mind. We encourage you to make upgrading and cross-selling a priority in your flower shop. Every employee should offer a customer more with every sale.

Extra Help: Hire any extra help you need for Valentine’s week: front counter help, designers, and delivery drivers included. Make sure to go over all that is required, including scheduling.

Image via pexels.com

Valentine’s Day Prep Checklist

Prep Your Flowers: When your flower supply arrives (around the start of February), be sure to quickly prep all your flowers and do not cut corners. Prepping is the key in selling beautiful long lasting flowers. How to flower prep.

Supplies: Cut your ribbon ahead of time for easy access. Stage your containers and make sure you have enough—the same goes for pins, plush, candies, and so on.

Get to Greening: Practiced by many florists, green vases before the holiday. Greens are very long lasting, and doing this ahead of time will save you some valuable time (be sure to keep all pre-greened containers and vases in your cooler).

Image via pexels.com

Valentine’s Day Week Checklist

Get Your Display On: The week of Valentine’s Day, create bundle deals and display them throughout the shop. Add special offers for roses purchased with plush, candies, or any combination. Make sure these are visible for easy purchase for walk-in customers.

Single Roses: A big seller from many florists has been the single wrapped rose. Pre-make tons of these and place them at your front counter. These sell quickly and most customers will almost always purchase an add -on to go along with the single wrapped rose. Be sure to display them close together.

Tip: Wrap single colored roses as well. Customers love these, with the color pink trailing right behind red. 

Delivery Route: Look over the orders you currently have and make a set plan with your drivers on what areas they are delivering to. Remember more orders trickle in the day before Valentine’s Day and day of, so be as organized as possible, with the delivery routing for each driver.

Tip: If you can, we advise having a standby driver at the shop, this driver will handle all new orders that come in on Valentine’s Day.

Attire: Why a section on attire? We want you to be comfortable! Please wear proper shoes. Do Not allow employees to wear open toe shoes, this can be an insurance liability. Be comfortable and wear closed toe shoes.

Don’t Be Wasteful: With the orders piling up it is so easy to be wasteful, make sure to use what you need. Amazing how many flowers and supplies are simply thrown on the floor and then thrown out. Discuss the importance with your employees on not wasting products, this all cuts into your bottom line profits.

Watch Your Finances: We know you’re exhausted, but don’t forget to check your daily sales for each day leading up to Valentine’s Day. Keep clear reports on all accounts payable and accounts receivable.

Image via pexels.com

Valentine’s Day Checklist

All the preparations have paid off! Valentine’s Day is here!

Everything Will Be Great: Florists by nature tend to be perfectionists. Our advice is everything will come together. The day will fly by so enjoy it, focus on your task at hand rather than feel like you have to be doing everything.

Keep Up the Sense of Humor: Do not sweat the small stuff. Things can happen and they are all part of the Valentine’s Day flower shop process.

Treat Employees to Lunch: This is great for the fellowship in the flower shop and also keeps employees from venturing out for lunch.

Delivery Confirmations: If you participate with a floral wire service, be sure to confirm all your delivered orders. Doing so will keep you from being charged high non-delivery confirmation fees. Most floral wire services have a time that they need to be confirmed by, so please do this accordingly.

Florists, have any great Valentine’s Day tip to share with our readers? Please post your feedback below, as it is so important to us! We would like to wish all florists a very lucrative and successful Valentine’s Day!

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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 Amina Filkins from Pexels

For most florists, planning ahead is second nature. With 2021 here, now is the perfect time to look to the new year’s holidays and slow times.

Image via pexels.com

January can be a slow month in the floral industry, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still plenty to get done. Focus this month on your shop’s marketing and organization.

• Start a blog: This is a great way to increase your SEO, write a post every now and then to boost your search engine visibility, and keep the buzz going by sharing photos and updates on your social media.
  • Tip: “How to” blogs are the most-searched!

• Review 2020 Valentine’s sales: Start ordering your flowers for Valentine’s Day—the earlier you order, the more you save. Don’t forget to order add-ons either: plush, chocolate, candy, etc. are all high-margin items that sell reliably well.
  • Tip: If this is your first Valentine’s day, don’t order too much. Calibrating the size of your order can be tricky, but when in doubt, start small. You can always re-up in a pinch.

• Decorate store and website for Valentine’s: Starting the second week of January (after the official end of Christmas season), make a spectacular Valentine’s display in your store, and also make sure your eCommerce site is ready for early bird sales.

• Sign up for wedding sites: If you’re a wedding florist, make sure you have profiles on The Knot, Wedding Wire, and My Wedding.

Image via pexels.com

February is a short month and can be slow early on, but Valentine’s Day demand will create an explosion of activity in the middle two weeks of the month. It’s important to have everything ready before this rush.

• Employee management: Hire and train your holiday help, then go over all employee scheduling and responsibilities by the end of the first week of February.
  • Tip: This is also a good time to also rent extra delivery vans if needed.

• Promotions: Come up with some sales promotions you can offer to attract earlier Valentine’s Day orders. Maybe you can encourage customers to choose delivery dates before the 14th. Share these promotions on your social media and on your flower shop website. Make sure they expire a few days before Valentine’s.

• Take care of yourself: During this busy month, it is important to rest and take time for yourself. Encourage your employees to do the same and wear comfortable clothes, comfy shoes, and make time to eat! Being organized will alleviate most of Valentine’s day pressure, but it’s important to be well-nourished and comfortable.
• Start a holiday journal: It may sound corny or frivolous, but there’s so much even an established shop can learn by keeping some written records. You have your gross receipts, but what about mishaps or funny incidents not included in the data? It helps to reread notes from past holidays to refresh yourself.

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March can be one of the most rewarding months in the floral industry. Nestled between the Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day holidays, March allows florists time to relax and get ready for new beginnings with the coming of spring.

• Finance review: With the first quarter almost over, now is a good time to get a grasp on your profit and loss for January and February. Add notes about what you may do differently next year, maybe using your shop journal.

• Spring cleaning: Customers eagerly anticipate spring, especially if you’re located in an area with cold, snowy winters. Refresh your flower shop decor and get ready for spring!

• March Sales Madness: As florists, we know march can be hit or miss with sales, so start a new marketing campaign to drive more sales.

• Order your Easter flowers and plants: Easter can fall anywhere between late March and late April, and it may vary widely from one year to the next. Start order for your Easter flowers and plants, remember that ordering early means savings for you from your suppliers, and you’ll have the best selection.

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It’s April, and Mother’s Day will be here before you know it! Use April to prepare.

• Order Mother’s Day flowers and supplies: Make sure to place your order for Mother’s Day plants, and flowers, and containers with your supplier. The best time to order is early April.

• Showcase your plants: If you’re selling flowering plants, now is a good time to showcase them! This creates a welcoming atmosphere for customers. If you’re able to move some outdoors, this could help with curb appeal.

• Promotions and marketing: Start promoting early bird Mother’s Day sales after Easter. Post on your social media and website (this will improve your SEO to boot). One great marketing tip is to offer a giveaway, maybe a gift basket, or free flowers for a few months, and have customers provide their contact information when they make a purchase.

• Employee management: It’s time again to make sure you have all your seasonal help lined up. Make sure all current employees understand their schedule and duties.
  • Tip: If you or any of your employees are new to the floral industry, remember that Mother’s Day is the #1 floral business holiday. Customers order for deliveries throughout the week rather than one day. Be prepared with help, lots of flowers, and beautiful containers. 

Image via pixabay.com

May is a great month for the floral industry! Between Mother’s Day and proms, it’s best to be well-prepared so you aren’t caught off guard.

• Take a look around: Take an honest look—does your flower shop look appealing to you? Make sure you use a critical eye and take it all in, the appearance, the sounds, and even the smells. Customers are drawn to a beautiful environment that makes them feel relaxed and comfortable.

• Employee training: The first week of May is a good time to discuss employee customer service, cross-selling, and up-selling products. Make sure your employees are polite and offer customers upgrades and add-ons with their purchase. This is an easy way to almost triple your profits.

• Offer prom promotions: Proms are a way sure to make sales. Build relationships with future long time patrons. Offer a referral discount.

• Examine your finances: After the Mother’s Day rush, now is a good time to sit down and see whether or not you made a profit, be sure to calculate all costs and include any spoilage or waste. Keep notes on what you would do differently next year.

Image via pixabay.com

June is a lovely month. The start of summer offers a chance to organize your floral business needs. June is the most popular month for weddings, with September and October close behind. Florists are pleasantly surprised by how busy June can get with weddings and graduations.

• Refresh your floral website: Update your flower shop for some summer specials, make sure you’re wedding galleries are up to date with pertinent content and keywords.

• Offer promotions: Teacher gifts and graduation discounts are a great way to bring in traffic. Be sure to promote these on your floral website and social media.

• Order retail products: This is a great time to order some fresh new stock to get customers to flock to your flower shop. There is nothing you cannot sell, so think outside the box! What’s popular? Candles, skincare, plush, home decor, makeup, even unique greeting cards. Brand your flower shop!

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We think of July as a month of organization. July can be on the slower side, so it’s very important to have your shop looking its best.

• Write a blog: With the free time that July affords you, we especially recommend writing a blog post or three. Write a how-to or write about anything that inspires you. Think about things you search for, read, and watch, and connect them to flowers.

• Social media: Take some time to focus on revamping your social media communities. Add content and images, and don’t forget hashtags where appropriate.

• Tidy up your flower shop: Time to clean, scrub, wash, organize, label, etc. Freshen up your floral space!
• Browse your floral supply stores: July is a great month to look at products in your floral supply store, for example, you can often find great deals on holiday items. It’s a great time to stock up.

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August can be one of the slowest months in the floral industry. If that’s the case for you, try implementing new ways to market in your flower shop.

• Newsletter: Email, snail mail, or both! Send out a newsletter to your customers offering special savings.

• Start a workshop or floral party! Get busy with hosting a floral workshop, kid’s floral birthday parties, and much more. This can lead to great profits and new patrons at your flower shop.

• Start preparing for fall! Get your flower shop ready for the most popular season. Create beautiful displays, order new inventory, and go for it! We recommend starting this the second-to-last week of August. Don’t forget your fall marketing!

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Flowers sales in September pick up rapidly by the middle of the month. Customers are now back to their normal routines with the kids back in school and a new flush of weddings.

• Order fall flowers and Plants: Stock up on your seasonal flowers and plants.

• Revamp your floral website: Add the seasonal touch to your floral website with fresh new content and images. Use proper keywords, specific to the floral industry for SEO advantage.

• Launch an Adwords Campaign: If your budget allows, try launching an Adwords campaign for more clicks to your eCommerce store. Be sure to set a budget and stick to it as this can get expensive. adwords.google.com

• Keep up with your blog: Now that you are a blogging pro, how about writing a seasonal blog or fall wedding blog? We cannot emphasize this enough, regular blog posts have a powerful influence on your search engine ranking.

Tip: Canadian florists, September is a good time to start ordering flowers and supplies for Thanksgiving.

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October offers some great sales. Now is a good time to start orders on any extra stock supplies and get them at a discount for future use.

• Prepare for the holidays: The holidays are just around the corner! Shop around for the best deals on all your flowers, and supplies for the holidays. Also, shop around for holiday products to sell at your shop.

• Employee management: Go over employee scheduling and see if you will need extra help for the holiday season.

• Host an open house: Host a holiday open house to show off your latest products and floral designs.

• Floral Expo: Take some time to visit a flower expo in your area and take your employees. This is a good way to stay current with the new trends and get first dibs on new products.

Tip: October is a very popular wedding month since most wedding proposals are made in December. Consider advertising a wedding package special on your website.

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This is the season for flower sales! November will be a great month for you as customers get into the giving mood.

• Market the holidays! Add promotions to your floral website and social media!

• Start greening: Green those Thanksgiving centerpieces ahead of time, add any taper or candles and put them in the cooler for a quick way to add flowers as Thanksgiving sales roll in.

• Decorate the shop for the holidays: Time for Christmas cheer. Create eye-appealing displays and make sure your flower shop is festive. If you can make a beautiful Christmas window display or storefront display to bring in curious shoppers.

• Offer incentives: Offer Black Friday or Small Business Saturday deals. “Buy ones get ones” are great offers, even if it’s just a couple of hours that day. Having a great deal with a cut off time is a good way of creating hype and traffic into your flower shop.

Tip: Don’t forget to revamp your eCommerce site in advance of Christmas and update your social media!

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With a number of winter holidays converging in December, many florists enjoy a huge uptick in sales in December, especially for Christmas. This can vary from place to place, but December is overall the third best month for floral retail sales after May and February, which is really saying something.

• Employee management: Set expectations for your employees—remind them to discuss upgrades and add-ons for each customer’s order. Remember to review the days you will be closed and work out a firm schedule, you don’t want to be caught shorthanded. You may also consider bringing in extra seasonal help around the holidays to keep things running smoothly.

• Christmas greens: Many customers will come to you looking to buy Christmas greenery. Be sure to place your order early so you have a sufficient stock of wreaths, garlands, etc.

• Plan your discounts: Sometimes offering a discount too early for Christmas can become forgetful to customers who may not be ready. Post Christmas discounts during this month and make sure to have an expiration time or date. Great discounts are gifts for parents, teachers, corporate and the person, who has everything. Flowers still remain the perfect gift.

Tip: Don’t forget to market to businesses! holiday parties and corporate decorating can be huge, so offer incentives to entice them to book with you for their flower needs. 

With all that said, florists, if you have any tips or thoughts on yearly or monthly planning, please leave them in the comments below!

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When will your flower shop be ready for the holidays? What month do you start preparing for the holidays? Which holiday is best for sales (hint, it’s Christmas). See the items most florists sell during the holidays and most-sought decorations and decorating services. Does your shop run an end-of-year sale?