Florists and Community Partnerships

image by the flowerboy project

Finding partnerships that work for your business in attracting customers and helping raise visibility within your community may seem like a tall task. But there are some factors that you can examine to determine if a partnership will work for you. We dive into those tips and some different businesses you can consider partnering with below, helping you grow your business and become more ingrained in your community!

What’s A Community Partnership for Florists?

Let’s start with the basics! What’s a community partnership for a florist? This is when you partner with another local business in your community in some capacity. This partnership will be mutually beneficial for both you and the other business.

There are many different ways this partnership can exist. Some of these include:

• Selling another business’ products in your store
• Hosting an in-person event together
• Partnering for a social media campaign
• Collaborating on a product or service 

Image via Fleaing France

Why Should a Florist Partner With Other Businesses?

You may be wondering why you should put time and energy into partnering with another business. There are so many reasons to do so that could benefit your floral shop.

1. It will bring further visibility to your business in the community. This is because the other business will promote yours, just as you will do for theirs. Once that happens, you’ll gain more customers and then, make more sales!

2. Relationships are worthwhile is because they’re cost free to you! While a partnership is a time commitment, it doesn’t have to cost a cent.  Plus, working with other small business owners is a great way to network, find someone to bounce ideas off of, and learn best practices from.
3. These relationships can help you to better ingrain yourself in your community. Customers love supporting small businesses, as studies have shown that for every dollar spent at a small business, 67 cents goes back into the local community (source). Showing your customers and audience that not only are you a small business, but that you support other businesses in the community will better earn you credibility with your audience.

Photo via Sweet Laurel

What Makes a Good Partner for Florists?

So now onto what makes for a good partnership for florists. Below are some factors you’ll want to see in the people, products, and services you partner with to set yourself – and them – up for maximum success!

• A Product or Service that Fits with Floral: A florist probably isn’t going to be a great partner for a plumber and vice-versa. You want to find a business that has something to offer that complements flowers well. 
• Appeals to Your Target Audience: In addition to complementing flowers, you want the product or service that your partner offers to appeal to your target audience. That will draw them in and will help make sales!
• Shared Priorities: Whoever you partner with, you want to be able to get in sync on your shared priorities. You always want to work with someone that you can easily work with to plan towards mutual goals and decide on plans to get you to that point in your relationship.
• Someone You Can Learn From: Ideally, you’ll partner with someone you can learn from – and they will be able to learn from you, too! While you may be great on the back-end of your business with accounting, maybe they know more about social media that they can share for your benefit.
• A Personality Fit: Make sure you’re working with someone you gel with to make it enjoyable and something that will work from start to finish!

Image via Griffins Floral Design

Businesses for Florists to Consider Partnering With 

Here are some types of businesses in your community that may lend themselves nicely to your floral shop:

• Coffee Shops or Bakeries
• Calligrapher
• Local Candle or Soap Makers 
• Art Experience Studios
• Businesses in the Wedding Industry (Planners, photographers, etc.)
• Local Charities to Raise Awareness

Have you had any successful community partnerships? We want to hear about what made them great or what partnership you’ve been dreaming of! Comment below with all the details!

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