“Rake” In Flower Sales With Fall Florist Marketing Tips

As a owner of a flower shop business it can be frustrating when you hit a summer slump when floral sales are down, though don’t fret, autumn is just around the corner and it’s not too late to generate sales. Following some simple marketing strategies will help you on your way to increasing customers and sales for your flower shop business.

image via shutterstock.com

Florist Customer Appreciation

Did you know customers return due to their experience while purchasing a product from a store? So why not “fall” for your customers and entice them by giving them a memorable experience.

• Offer discounts or start a loyalty program.

• Cater exclusive events in your store.

• Carry “trendy” or this season’s top product in stores.

• Carry items that cater to all demographics.

Tip: September 22nd is the first day of Fall,  Have a Fall open house with drawings and prizes to attract potential customers. 

images via google.com

Florists & Social Media

Did you know that 2/3 of the world’s population uses social media. Be- “Leaf” it or not, using social media is a great outreach for potential customers and it’s Free! Use these tips to “rake” in current and new followers.

• Share – Gain followers  by posting or tweeting interesting content for you customers and fans. Users who like your page will see your posts on their main Facebook news feed.

• New Fans – New customers are more than likely to shop at your business if their friends do.

• Keep Content Fresh – Post quality content regularly (at least once or twice a week). Create a dialogue with followers, this will encourage them to engage in your posts or tweets.

• Promote –  Promote your floral business by offering discount and incentives for customers who like, re-post, or recommend your social media site.

Tip: Create a Facebook ad using specific keywords and criteria that will attract customers to your page or eCommerce site.

images via pixabay.com

Flower Shop Blog

“Harvest” those thoughts, A blog is a great opportunity to share your thoughts, ideas, passions, etc to your customers. Blogs help drive traffic into your eCommerce website and increase sales.

• Search engines love new content, and blogging is a great SEO tool.

• Keep your customers up-to-date on what’s going on, let them know about new deals, tips, and inspirations.

• Blogs allow you to build trust and rapport with your customers, not only can you show off what you know, but you are also building your expertise and credibility.

• Let customers comment on your blog posts, in return you can interact with them further.

Tip: Utilize Google Adwords Keyword Tools this is a great way to find keywords and phrases people are using to search for your services.

image via pixabay.com

eCommerce SEO

Don’t let your SEO “Fall”, updating your content on your eCommerce website is a sure way to increase your rankings, SEO, on search engines like google.  SEO is important to your floral website because customers will visibility see you on search engines therefore clicking on you first.

• Your floral website should have at least 1100 words throughout.

• Write descriptive articles on pages like About Us, Weddings, Sympathy, Events and Testimonials on your eCommerce website.

• Create a page with links to your partners/ vendors.

• Add Keywords, search terms, and backlinks, which are important in building your search engines rankings.

Tip: Encourage your partners to link your url on their website as you do the same for them to help you in our SEO rankings. 

Using creative marketing is a great way to attract current and potential customers, don’t be afraid to step outside the box.  Florists, are there other marketing tactics you use not listed here? Please share below for our readers.

____________

Thank you for reading the Floranext florist blog. Floranext Love Florists and 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. 

Is your floral supplies included in your profit margin?

Keeping an eye on flowers and floral supply deals and including supplies into your profit margin is a great way to cover costs and increase your daily sales. Here are some great ways to be smart and buy smart in the floral industry.

Profit Margin

The profit margin is the difference between what you pay the wholesaler and the retail price of the product.  It is important to include labor in the profit margin along with vases, wire, tape, extra ribbon and so on. Setting a consistent profit margin to your floral pricing allows you to be successful in owning a flower shop.

Simple Profit Formula – Cost of goods $ + markup % = $ + Cost of labor = Final selling price $

Markup Percentage

This is the percentage  added on to your wholesale cost which determines the selling price for your customers.

For example, if you have a 100% markup on a product with a wholesale cost of $10, you’re selling price would be $20.00.

Tip: the percentage of the selling price is solely up to you depending on location and competitors prices. General rule of thumb is not to go under 40%.

image via pixabay.com

Buy Flowers On Auction

Buying flowers on auction will indeed give you more for your money, Sometimes half of your local floral wholesale prices. You must buy in bulk and works great for the busier seasons.

Buy What You Need

Order supplies and flowers that sell, Reference your weekly product category and weekly sales report and order accordingly. We all love lavish high end flowers, understanding your market and customer base will help in determining whether these flowers are sellers or not.

Tip: pay your wholesalers on time, paying on time or at time of delivery allows the wholesaler to give you a discount. 

image via pixabay.com

Bonding with Your Wholesaler

Create a special relationship with your wholesaler representative, let him or her know what you want to pay and what is affordable. Set a standard weekly delivery for price breaks.

Tip: do not settle for the first wholesalers price, shop around, there are many flower wholesalers,  call them all and ask for their standard price and compare. 

Shop Early

With your busy schedule, try and make a trip to the flower market and purchase you’re weekly flowers. As they say “the early bird gets the worm,” getting top pick at fraction of the cost will save you money in the long run.

image via pixabay.com

Dollar Store

We do not expect you to purchase all your floral supplies here, however, sometimes you can come across great finds all for a $1.00 a piece. Check out your local dollar store for great deals on vases and unique containers.

Tip: Some dollar stores have closeout prices on their websites and can ship to your local store, saving you more money. 

Prep  Flowers

Your flower purchases are a investment for your business, please prep your flowers correctly to maximize their beauty and life span. Do not be wasteful or allow your employees to be wasteful. Being wasteful can be done subconsciously, it is important to account for every supply in your shop.

Tip:  Pay special attention to ribbon, wire, pics, paper goods, and so on. 

Florist do you have any cost saving ideas on buying floral supplies? Please share with our readers below.

____________

Thank you for reading the Floranext florist blog. Floranext Love Florists and 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. 

The floral retail business is not just selling flowers anymore!

Florists today use their wits to include much more in their retail and florist e-Commerce stores. Reasons why are simple, profits are high and labor is practically nonexistence.

We encourage all florists to sell more than just flowers, and you may already be doing so from plush, chocolates, candles and so on. Let’s take it a step further and add your business brand to these products and sell them at your retail and e-Commerce store.

Ok, so why you ask?  Why go through this much trouble?

What Competition!

When you sell your own product brand, there are no competitors. Regardless if someone else is selling the same exact floral scented chapstick,  your brand is your unique product, thus eliminating competition.

Make More Profit!

We all know and understand supply and demand, selling a product that is unique and “special” allows you to mark up the costs and make more of a profit.

Business Recognition!

The #1 way to market your business is with your business name, what better way to get your brand out there and recognized.  You have an abundant of material for social media communities. Think of what this will do for your SEO. It’s a win, win situation!

Distributing Your Brand!

Do no limit yourself to selling your product brands just at your retail locations. There are many retail stores that will gladly sell your products, thus building your brand in ways you could not even imagine. Of course, besides that, there are advantages of making a huge profit.

Products You Can Add Your Brand Too

Be creative and add flower names and  flower scents in addition to your logo, these resonate with customers and offer a unique product.

 Floral Scented Candles / Candles

Floral inspired Makeup, Makeup Tools, Etc

Wine With Floral accents

Jams, Jellies, Butters, etc

Chocolate, Candies, Coffee, etc

Floral Soaps, Body Wash, Lotions, Etc.

Flower Shop Branded Scarfs, Socks, Slippers, Home Decor, Etc

Florist Brand -Water Bottles

Floral Inspired Wallets & Bags

Jewelry

Floral Containers, Gift Boxes, Vases, Etc.

T-Shirts (Flower Sayings or Quotes)

These are just a few ideas, however, we encourage you to add your own spin, think outside the box and sell what you like.

Tip: Please stand behind your products, and do not sell overly cheap-looking products, this is just not good business practice, remember to offer a quality-looking product with your brand. 

No Name Brand Sites

No Name Brand Sites offer products to businesses that they can sell with their business logo or branding.

yournamepro.com

namify.com

alibaba.com

Florists, are you selling products with your brand? Let us know any suggestions or thoughts below.

____________

Thank you for reading the Floranext florist blog. Floranext Love Florists and 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. 

With Prom season just around the corner it is important to use all techniques to increase traffic into your Flower Shop for Prom.

1. Promote Prom Services in your Local areas – discounts and flyers)

Here are some fantastic places to help bring in those dancing shoes to your shop.

• High school office
• Public Library
• Fast Food
• Local Hangouts
• 
Dress/Tux Shops
• Local hair, nail, and tanning salons

Tip: Offer a few enticing offers like free boutonniere with corsage purchase or free upgrade or add on.

2. Are You Invested?

A prom is a huge milestone for students and parents alike. So be invested in your customer.

Do you know their dress color, style, theme of prom, what they are doing before/after prom. Be excited as they are, teens love social media and do chat with each other. Creating a fun and pleasant experience will bring in more orders for your shop.

3. Offer More (Jewelry and Upgrades):

It surprises us that shops do not offer jewelry and upgrades when selling for prom.

Sell Jewelry, go for the bling, matching look and feel. What about the add on? Rhinestones, Feathers, Pearls, be creative!

Tip: These little extras will create a profit and makes a personalized corsage or boutonniere.

image via google.com

4. Are You Following the Trend?

This years trend is flowers to wear. Why not be creative and offer a flower headpiece or ring matching the corsage purchase.

5. Train Your Staff!

Your staff should be creative, think outside the box, there is an art to selling prom flowers. Do not be robotic. Have a training staff day for prom.

6. Is Your Website and Social Media Updated?

Keep your website and social media updated with beautiful and creative prom flowers. Pictures should be crisp, clear and trendy offer some specials. Don’t forget your short bio on prom flowers this increases your SEO and brings foot traffic into your shop.

Post on social media! Remember there is Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest. A great way to promote and offer discounts.

Tip:  Offer a discount for any student who is willing to post on their social media account your shop’s name and image of prom flowers provided. Discount on Google reviews for your shop as well.

____________

Thank you for reading the Floranext florist blog. Floranext Love Florists and 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. 

image via vouge via pinterest

The holidays are an exciting time, with people getting together, wrapping gifts, decorating the house inside and in, and celebrating with loved ones.

For florists, though, this time can be overwhelmingly busy with orders for arrangements, large-scale installations, and creating and selling festive wreaths. For that reason, it’s a good idea to get ahead of the rush and organize your flower shop to set you up for success at this wonderful time of the year!

Photo via Olive & Rust

Make Good Use of Shelving

The first tip for the supreme organization this holiday season is to make good use of shelving. Organize all your vases and most-used items on your shelves in a way that makes sense to you so that you know where to find everything.

You may also want to label where different items should go on the shelves so that everyone that works with you is on the same page and puts things back where they go. This makes it easy to “grab and go” with these items when you’re in the heat of the busy season.

image via sallyhambleton.com

Rotate Seasonal In/Out

You want all of your holiday season items to be within reach during this busy time. Make sure to put away summer, spring, and fall items that you won’t use for a while so they’re out of the way.

Decreasing this clutter in your workspace will make it easier to be productive and simpler to find what you need as you work.

image via sallyhambleton.com

Floral Design Station

Make sure that your design station is equipped with all your must-have items for creating beautiful holiday arrangements and wreaths.

Having this functional space ready and reducing the trips you need to take around the store to create each piece will be largely helpful in you cranking through orders when you’re slammed.

image via Pinterest

Pegboards

Pegboards are a great way to organize all the smaller items you’ll use for holiday arrangements. You can hang mason jars from a pegboard and put smaller decor accents, scissors, clippers, and other must-have items in them for easy access and great organization.

This keeps these smaller items from getting mixed up and messy. You can even paint the pegboard a festive color for an amazing aesthetic along with great organization!

image via sheskindacrafty.com

Floral Ribbon

You always use ribbons in your arrangements, but the holidays call for even more festive ribbons. Make sure that you keep all of these spools organized in a way that works for you to avoid them becoming a tangled mess around the shop.

Some ideas for doing this include dedicating a cupboard with different compartments to ribbon, using an over-the-door hanging wire storage shelving unit to store and use ribbon from, or hanging ribbon on rods so it can be easily spooled without ever picking up the entire ream of it. 

The holidays don’t have to be overwhelming – they can be simplified with smart organization! Allow yourself to work smarter, NOT harder and you’ll be able to handle the holiday rush with ease. Do you have any great holiday organization tips? If so, share them below!

____________

Thank you for reading the Floranext florist blog. Floranext Love Florists and 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. 

Everyone loves to get flowers, but there is more benefit to a person’s health than one might think. Keeping any kind of plant around the house can help improve air quality and brighten up a space, but flowers specifically have been linked to improving a person’s mental health. 

Mental Health Awareness Week this week (October 2nd – 8th) – as a florist, you can help people feel better every day by providing a beautiful bouquet to have in their homes. Your customers can gift it to someone who needs a smile, or they can walk in and buy something for themselves to feel better. Whatever the reason, you have a chance to change someone’s day for the better. 

How do Flowers Impact Mental Health?

According to recent studies, keeping flowers around improves people’s moods and reduces stress-related depression. They also increase positive energy levels and help people feel secure and relaxed.

When people are in aesthetically pleasing environments, they are more likely to be productive and feel happy. Think about how great you feel outside looking around at beautiful landscapes with flowers everywhere. Bringing a piece of that into your workplace or home is a great way to feel better, especially if you’re stuck in a funk. 

Floral Color Can Affect Emotions

It is a proven scientific fact that each color has its own meaning and can affect multiple emotions across the board.  Floral colors can also attribute to our well being and mental state. Flowers that are less saturated and brighter are generally more relaxing, while bold saturated colors will help you be more energetic and happy. Colors near each other on the color wheel will be more calming than those opposite on the color wheel.

Flowers That Help With Mental Health 

Roses

We have all heard the phrase, “stop and smell the roses.” Their scent produces endorphins that can boost your mood.  Not only with scent but according to studies, when a person sees a rose, oxytocin is produced, which has been proven to reduce stress. 

Calendulas

This beautiful and versatile flower is a great addition to your shop simply because of its beauty, but did you know it can help in the healing process as well? Calendula flowers are known for their antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal properties. They can ease inflammation and heal wounds and rashes. 

Chrysanthemums

These unique-looking flowers are a tried and true flower shop staple for a reason – they have been proven to improve anyone’s mood. Chrysanthemums have been shown to lessen symptoms of worry and stress, and when taken as tea, this flower cools and relaxes our bodies.

Lisianthus

Lisianthus might not be the first flower your customers consider when putting together a bouquet, but it should be a staple for those looking to brighten their space. These beauties are known for bringing out creativity in people and encouraging free thinking. 

Orchids

The orchids refreshing fragrance can increase the alpha brain waves, which then promotes a calmer mood. Orchids are also know to alleviate stress and relaxes tension.

Jasmine

Jasmine is not just a beautiful bloom, it is also one of the preferred flowers for mental health preservation. Jasmine reduces stress, anxiety levels and helps with sleep problems.  Jasmine helps lower a person’s heart rate and facilitate a peaceful sleep. Customers should send this to someone who has been battling with insomnia or those with difficulty in getting a restful sleep.

Lavender

Lavender is most commonly known to be used in aromatherapy. The fragrance from the oils of lavender is said to help reduce stress, anxiety, mild pain, and promote calmness and wellness. 

Geranium

Geraniums are used in aromatherapy because their calming scents help reduce anxiety, depression, anger, irritability, tension headaches, and general nervousness. It has shown that when people are exposed to the geraniums’ scent while completing stressful tasks, heart rates are decreased significantly.

A few new digital tools have just launched to let people create images from just text. The websites like DALL-E  and Midjourney use artificial intelligence (AI) to create never-before-seen pictures built completely by computers. 

We decided to re-imagine the floral bouquet and dozen roses in some familiar styles.  Enjoy our AI-generated flowers! 

We are taking ideas for new floral arrangements in the comments, so please make suggestions for ones you would like to see!

Lego Flower Bouquet

Stuffed Animal Flower Bouquet

Pablo Picasso Dozen Roses

Pop Art Dozen Roses

Salvador Dali Dozen Roses

Mondrian Dozen Roses

MC Escher Dozen Roses

Graffiti Roses

AI can make beautiful images, but there is no substitute for real flowers. Still we love flowers in art of all kinds. Send us your ideas in the comments below for more AI generated art in different styles – we will pick the best ones and add here! 

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!

____________

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. 

—

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! 

____________

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.