As florists, a little competition can be a good thing—but what about televised competition?

With the converging popularity of reality TV, competition shows, and streaming services, should the art of floral design join the trend? Well in 2020, there will be two flower competition shows hitting streaming platforms HBO Max and Netflix.

As a florist, would you compete in one of these shows?

Full Bloom

Full Bloom is an eight-episode floral competition show that will be streamed on HBO Max starting in 2020. This hour-long floral competition show will feature 10 of America’s top florists vying to be crowned America’s best in floral design.

During the floral competition, it will allow audiences to escape into the floral world as candidates design and execute some of the most wondrous floral creations ever seen.

Each episode features a themed challenge focused on a unique area of the floristry world including fashion, art, events, and weddings. Contestants’ designs and creations will be mentored and judged by legendary floral artists Maurice Harris and Elizabeth Cronin with celebrity florist Simon Lycett serving as host. At the end of each episode, the arrangements made will be given away to remind us to stop and enjoy the beauty of flowers.

No announcement has been made yet in regards to signing up to compete in the second season.

The Big Flower Fight

Meanwhile, Netflix has ordered a series of their own titled The Big Flower Fight based out of the UK, like the popular Great British Bake Off series.

This eight-part series will be a little different—this series will see ten duos made up of florists, sculptors and garden designers put to the test as they compete in a series of themed challenges to create very large-scale flower installations. Each episode will test a different set of creative and practical skills, from floristry to woodworking and landscaping.

The materials each team can use to create their installation will vary week-by-week, and participants will be encouraged to think about plants that give back to the environment. Each week one team will be eliminated, leaving just three teams to battle in the finale for the champion’s crown.

Floristry in the Limelight

Floral design has a history as a secretive trade: in the 1700s flowers became a common way to send coded messages. But in recent years, floristry has received a great deal of attention thanks to royal weddings and major films. Will this new mainstream showcase of floristry and floral designs on streaming services boost the demand for flowers? We sure hope so!

 

Florists, what are your thoughts on these floral competition shows? Would you compete in a floral design show like this? Please share your 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.

 

 

 

Create Beautiful and Profesional Proposals with BloomsBy Wedding Floral Management Software

 

BloomsBy supports floral designers every step of their floral event planning. You can create professional wedding/event proposals, increase profits, create floral contracts, stem counts, and collect payments all with BloomsBy’s floral wedding management software available on PC/Mac and iPad app. 

Try BloomsBy Today!

 

Features of BloomsBy Wedding Floral Management Software

 

Make Your Job Easier

With BloomsBy Proposals, floral designers can create beautiful and professional proposals in a matter of seconds. No more lost and cluttered information, keep track of your clients requests in one location.

Easy to Use

With the new BloomsBy Proposal user interface, BloomsBy proposals are easy to create, organize and manage. Floral designers are able to build a floral arrangement from the bottom up with flowers and supplies.

Customize Each Proposal Email

Add your business’ personal touch by adding a personalized message to each proposal with a customizable email template. Each client is different and adding that personal touch matters.

Inspiration Page 

Add your customer’s inspirational photos to the proposal as a guide for creating the flowers for their special event. 

 

 

Take Payments

Track, schedule, and take customer credit cards for deposits and payments.

Increase Your Profits

Add markup, labor and then easily check to make sure you are pricing your flowers correctly. Making sure your weddings and events are fairly priced yet profitable.

Flower Catalog

With the BloomsBy Proposals flower catalog, it gives you the opportunity to record your pricing for your flowers and use these to help build your beautiful and professional proposals.

 

Building Components

Build components like bridal bouquets, boutonnieres and more by adding the specified number of flowers for every arrangement.

Shopping Lists

Flowers and supplies composed to build your proposals can help generate a shopping list to order flowers and supplies.

Cloud-Based Software

Use BloomsBy proposals on your own computers, choose the best platform for you. Available on PC/MAC and iPad App.

 

Why try BloomsBy Wedding Floral Management Software?

BloomsBy understands that florist wedding and events are a core part of a floral business and creating beautiful proposals can be challenging.

We’ve all been there before: notes, images, spreadsheets, word documents and countless emails sent back and forth between your clients can be a nightmare. So why not use one program to make professional proposals and keep everything organized?

Get rid of the multiple programs and keep everything organized with BlooomsBy Wedding Floral Management Software. 

Start giving your wedding and event proposals more impact with BlooomsBy Wedding Floral Management Software today and focus on what’s really important, your floral business!

 

Try BloomsBy Today!

 

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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.

Online advertising, online promotions, and online visibility are all musts to stay relevant with your target audience.

Facebook has had the biggest user base among all social media networks, boasting 2 billion users globally. However, the story is dim for Facebook’s younger user base in the United States.

For the past two years, Facebook has lost 15 million users, and the majority of them are teenagers and young adults. Instagram, a social media network also owned by Facebook, is experiencing the reverse of that trend: in the same span of time, its user base composition of teens rose from 64% to 66%.

Snapchat, another social media network with a similar form as Instagram, is also experiencing the same trend.

Still, Facebook remains relevant as a platform for businesses, given its user count and expansive set of tools for advertising. However, Instagram and Snapchat become new pastures to be ventured or focused on, and the motivation to put out visual content is ever so higher.

Prioritizing these platforms is critical for businesses whose audience are the tweens, and we florists hit that criteria. So get your cameras and flowers out and start taking photos!

Pricing in Floral Advertising

Since Instagram is slowly entering as one of our main platforms to focus on, we’ll be dealing with its pricing strategies for advertising. However, spoiler alert: there are no clear-cut prices for it. Reasonable estimates round off to be $0.20-$2 per click or $5 per 1,000 visitors, depending on the advertising model that you want to do.

There are many factors that affect the price on Instagram. If you are familiar with Facebook’s advertising tools, then you’ll also know how Instagram advertising works, since Facebook, as the owner of Instagram, uses the same set of tools. 

Facebook’s advertising system works like an auction, and thus the pricing varies depending on a lot of factors. Instagram demographics are usually feminine, with a youth bias, and targeting this demographic will increase the price.

The factors that affect the pricing are the amount you are willing to bid for your campaign, your ads’ Relevance Score (determined by the quality of your ad, among other things), and your estimated action rates (how likely your audience will do your desired outcome, i.e. interact with it).

In this auction system, they subsidize relevant ads. To quote Facebook, “an ad that’s relevant to a person could win an auction against ads with higher bids.” The important part here is to note that ad quality and relevance matter in their pricing. 

Florists and Search Engines

In the world of the search engine, Yelp has partnered with Bing for better local Bing search results.

For example, Yelp reviews of local businesses will now show up on Bing’s search results page. Much like in the form of Google My Business and their Google reviews, you can also sort these reviews into Recent, Critical, and Favorable.

For businesses with multiple locations, it gives users the option to go through each location’s reviews. Information about businesses is also now available in Bing’s knowledge panel, courtesy of Yelp.

Yelp has always been a people’s favorite for assessing the quality of business places, and thus you should always maintain a good standing there. However, with this partnership with Bing, Yelp data are now more visible and thus you should be more mindful of them now.

Remind yourself to reply to reviews in Yelp; express gratitude and encourage people who left good reviews to come back, dropping possible offers or promos, and inquire and attempt to resolve issues addressed in the reviews, replying back if it has been done.

The world is not living in two versions of reality as you might think; the digital reality is interacting with our reality in very close-knit ways. Taking advantage of this will not give your business an even edge but rather a requirement in today’s fast-paced world.

Florists must be up to date with these business practices to stay relevant. Keeping yourself updated with changes in social media, search engines, and more can help make your business grow.

 

Florists, are you using Instagram, Snapchat, or Yelp to promote your Floral business? Any suggestions, comments, or ideas that could help other florists? Please share your 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.

 

Studies show flowers helps patients recover!

Sending flowers to anyone you know that is sick or sad might be the go-to gift, but the sending of flowers is actually more helpful than you think. It might surprise you, but there are more to flowers than just the look and smell—they can have some really positive effects on your health as well.

Floral Studies

A few years ago the American Society for Horticulture Science performed a study seeing if plants have any influence on patients, and the results were outstanding. A group of patients was split into rooms with plants and flowers and the other half with no plants or flowers. The patients who had plants in their room had better results than those who did not have plants.

According to the study, those exposed to flowers and plants needed less pain medication, had lower blood pressure and heart rates, were less anxious and tired, and generally were in a more positive psychological state than patients in rooms without plants. The results of this research actually show that flowers should be offered to recovering patients.

Another study published in Contemporary Therapies in Medicine records that bouquets of flowers can also reduce our stress levels. The study gave women in college a fresh bouquet of roses for their dorm room. Results showed that each woman felt more relaxed and stress-free.

Flowers and Plants in the Home

They say home is where the heart is, and you should feel good being at home. Like patients in recent studies, a room with plants or flowers help overall well being, so why not add flowers in your home?

Keep flowers in your bedroom, like gerbera daisies. Gerberas emit oxygen and absorb toxins and carbon monoxide at night instead of during the day like most flowers, and some say they sleep better.

Having flowers on a dining room table is a must. Studies have shown that people who have flowers on their tables while eating are in a better mood—as long as you don’t bring up politics!

Plants & Flowers in the Office

Seem like you are in a rut and cannot focus at work? Why not add flowers and plants to your working space! Plants placed in a room help rejuvenate the oxygen in the room helping us think more clearly and keep the focus on the task at hand. Seeing green plants also helps with creativity as evidence has been shown in a case study by Shibata and Suzuki.

Flowers placed in the office not only helps our mood visually but also the smell of the flowers can help. Smelling floral scents seems to put us in a good mood and make us feel less anxious. Floral smells can help take the edge off during exams or before any major presentation you have before a group of people. So as they say, stop and smell the roses!

Floral Colors

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 energize you. Colors near each other on the color wheel will be more calming than those opposite on the color wheel.

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.

View this post on Instagram

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.

View this post on Instagram

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.

View this post on Instagram

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.

Recently, Federal, State, and Local agencies have been hacked. Is your flower shop next?

Over the past weeks, cybercriminals have attacked computers in Baltimore and other US cities, freezing computers, shutting down email, and interrupting real estate sales, water bills, health alerts and many other services.

We have collected some helpful tips so that your flower business won’t be the next victim of similar kinds of hack attempts!

How Can Hacking Affect My Floral Shop?

Without having the most recent PC operating systems, like Windows 8.1 or 10, or up to date security patches, your floral business is at a high risk to be hacked. Many businesses who do not have up-to-date operating systems or security patches can experience the following:

• Frozen or locked out of your PC
• Stolen passwords and personal data
• Stolen business/customer data
• Viruses installed
• Your computer can be used to attack others
• Lost time and productivity

How Can I Secure My Flower Shop From Hackers?

1. Apply the latest patches: Make sure you have all your security patches up-to-date on your PC’s operating system. On Microsoft, here are some helpful hints for checking if you need a security update. If you’re on Mac, this article has instructions.

2. Don’t use outdated software: Use the recent operating system that Microsoft offers (Windows 8.1 or Windows 10). Windows 7 will no longer be supported by Microsoft starting January 14th, 2020! Older operating systems like Windows XP no longer receive security patches and are a huge security risk.

3. Download a Password Manager: Passwords are easier to guess than you think! Don’t use the same password for different sites. Use a password storage tool so save and protect passwords. If one of your passwords is compromised, other sites will not be compromised as well. We like 1Password.

4. Use two-factor authentication: Add an additional layer of security for at least your most critical services like banking, accounting, and email. When you log in with two-factor authentication (2FA), you will be sent a text message or verification code from an service like Authy or Google Authenticator.

 

We hope this information is helpful and allows you to run a successful and secured flower shop. Florists, please feel free to post any questions or comments 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.

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

 

A big thank you to everyone who participated in our annual Mother’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 May 15th through February 22nd.

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

• Lower – 18.1%
• Same – 20.5%
• Higher – 61.4%

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

• Yes – 59%
• No – 41%

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

• Arranged Flowers – 79.5%
• Hand-Tied Bouquets – 11.7%
• Other Roses – 7%
• Other – 1.8%

What Was The Most Popular Gift Item This Mother’s Day?

• Candy/Chocolates – 41.8%
• Stuffed Animals – 2.4%
• Balloons – 14.7%
• Other – 41.2%

What Did you Charge For  Dozen Long Stem Roses Arranged

• $75.00 (average total from participants)

How Many Extra Temporary Drivers Did You Hire This Mother’s Day?

• 0 – 18%
• 1 – 22.1%
• 2 – 20.3%
• 3 – 18.6%
• 4 or more – 20.9%

How Many Extra Temporary Shop Staff Did You Hire This Mother’s Day?

• 0 – 30.8%
• 1 – 26.7%
• 2 – 18%
• 3 – 15.7%
• 4 or more – 8.7%

Did You Use/Rent Delivery Vehicles / Trucks This Mother’s Day?

• 0 – 69.2%
• 1 – 14%
• 2 – 9.9%
• 3 – 1.1%
• 4 or more – 5.8%

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

• First Half Of April – 3%
• Second Half Of April – 3%
• First Week Of May – 59.3%
• Mother’s Day Week – 34.8%

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

List of a few randomly selected comments:

• “Order More Flowers.”
• “Get Flowers In Earlier.”
• “Bigger Online Presence, Online Advertising.”
• “More Prepping of Vases.”
• “Make up more flower arrangements ahead of time.”
•  “Promote earlier and use Social Media More!.”
• “Limit The Options.”
• “Order more plants as another option.”
• “Pray for nicer weather.”

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Florists, was this Mother’s Day successful and resulted in more sales? What would you consider to implement that next year? Do you have any feedback on your 2019 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 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.

 

Did you know May is National Pet Month in the United States?

May is officially here! A month of Spring Flowers, Mother’s Day and a month to cherish our four-legged furry friends!

As florists, you may have been asked the question time and time again, what flowers or plants are safe around animals?

Every pet owner knows their furry friend will chew on anything it can get into, and at some point it will gravitate towards plants and flowers. As beautiful as plants and flowers are, some can be particularly dangerous to our furry companions. Pets are members of the family, so the last thing we want is for them to get sick from flowers or plants that are toxic to them.

Top Toxic Flowers and Plants

Aloe Vera
Amaryllis
Azalea
Baby’s Breath (toxic to dogs, safe for cats)
Begonia
Birds of Paradise
Carnation
Chrysanthemum
Daffodils
Dieffenbachia
Eucalyptus
Iris
Ivy
Mother in Law’s Tongue/Snake Plant
Narcissus
Oleander
Poinsettia
Tulips
Wisteria

Top Pet-Friendly Flowers and Plants

Aster
Alstroemeria
Daisies
Fern Varieties
*Lilies (safe for dogs, toxic to cats)
Marigolds
Orchids
Pansies
Petunia
Roses
Snapdragons
Sunflowers
Spider Plant this
Violets
Zinnia

Signs and Symptoms of Flower and Plant Toxicity

If you suspect that a pet has ingested a toxic plant or flowers, please contact your vet right away. Here are some signs:

• Lethargy
• Weakness
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Drooling
• Nausea

For a full and complete listing of toxic and non-toxic plants, we recommend the ASPCA website for more information.

When customers are ordering flowers or a plant for a pet-friendly household, just take a few extra minutes to check the list! This will help strengthen the relationship between you and the customer and provides confidence to keep them coming back.

Florists, do you get asked a lot what is pet-friendly? What do you offer your customers when asked this question? Please share your thoughts and comments 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.

The unique and beautiful traditions of May Day have sadly become lost and wilted over time—is it time to bring them back?

Spring is finally here! This time of year is often associated with floral holidays like Easter and Mother’s Day, but years ago, the season used to start in earnest with May Day.

When Did May Day Start?

The earliest known history of May celebrations began with the Floralia, the festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers. This festival was typically held on April 27th. The Floralia opened with theatrical performances, including a ritual called the Florifertum that was performed on either the 27th or May 3rd, where a bundle of wheat was carried into a shrine for the devotion of Flora.

In the 18th century many Catholics observed May Day with various devotions to the Virgin Mary. In works of art, school skits and other performances, Mary’s head would be depicted adorned with flowers.

Today, the most commonly-known May Day traditions are the maypole, crowning the Queen of May, and the giving of May baskets. dancing around a painted maypole decorated with flowers. People dance around the maypole holding long ribbons attached to the top of the pole. Crowning the Queen of May, and the tradition of anonymously leaving neighbors, family, and friends May baskets of flowers and sweets on their doorsteps.

What is a May basket?

In the 19th and 20th century, children and young adults would start the spring off by gathering flowers and arranging them in a paper cone along with candies and small trinkets. These were then hung on the door of a friend’s or neighbor’s home to welcome them into spring.

As time progressed, baskets were then used along with paper cones in the May Day tradition, and a new meaning was formed. The holiday started to become a second Valentine’s Day, it was a way of letting a romantic prospect know your feelings.

So what happened to this joyous holiday—was it a spread of “stay off my lawn” mentality? Nowadays, only certain parts of the US, Canada, and European countries still observe May Day.

Can May Day Be Brought Back?

Why not?? As florists we handle and arrange beautiful flowers each day, why not bring back the May Day series of traditions to put a smile back on someones face.

It’s all about informing the customer and piquing their interest. Write a blog or post on social media, offer discounts or specials on May Day.

As a business owner, there is a potential in obtaining a new and younger generation of customers by offering May Day baskets or cones. One way is to offer May Day baskets or cones to your customers, explain the tradition and see if they would like to purchase to distribute the basket or cone themselves or for you to deliver to a local nursing home or hospital.

Everything is potential and why not start with a holiday that was created for flowers!

 

Florists, do you try and keep the May Day tradition alive at your shop, and would you be interested in bringing it back? Please share your thoughts and comments 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.

In today’s society, all products are judged by their convenience, and the smallest inconvenience can make or break any business.

One simple convenience is the delivery of products this includes the delivery of flowers. Of course, flower delivery has been around for ages and most florists provide this service, but when was the last time you sat down and gave your delivery policies and pricing some critical thinking?

To truly know if you are charging enough for delivery, there should be a few things that we should keep in mind. In the flower industry, which is highly local in nature, there is no one true “industry standard” for costs; your area is different from the others, and there may be considerations you have to make that other competitor and or businesses do not. 

How much are floral deliveries really costing you?

To help you check if you are charging enough for flower deliveries, let’s look at the many ways delivery can cost you money, starting with the simple flower-only deliveries.

As with all delivery jobs, you should take into account the distance from the shop to the destination. Ideally, you should have some sort of formula that helps you decide the amount you need to be paid for the number of miles/kilometers you need to travel.

The driver, team, vehicular and road costs should be counted in, too. Things like parking tickets, rentals, and gas all fall into this category. To round up all the considerations, you should also consider travel time.

Should florists charge for special requests?

With the previous considerations, you’ll see that distance and time are the immediate costs for each delivery and are thus the main things that will determine the delivery cost. Of course, time is a major factor for many customers.

If customers ask you to go above and beyond for deliveries, why not charge for those requests? Express deliveries and or specified times are especially tasty offers for any customer on the rush. Offering these options can be helpful to the customer but to you as well as a floral business owner by increasing revenues. Deliveries can be made faster, easier, and smarter with Floranext’s New Advanced POS features – Delivery Manager, Giving your business and your drivers the tools for a better floral delivery experience. 

Are you charging enough for floral deliveries?

Each flower shop will be dealing with different numbers, the best way we can check it is by also answering the question, “for all the labor you do in delivery, are you getting paid for it?”

Quantify all the considerations we had listed out above into money, and add a markup. This resulting number should be your delivery cost, at the very least. Florists should always add a markup to their delivery just like your arrangements, proposals, and or contracts.

Delivery seems insignificant when compared to the other tasks that a flower shop does. However, when you look deeply into it, you might find that it might be the one thing costing your business rather than increasing revenue.

Delivery is still ultimately a service that you provide to your customers, and thus it should remain profitable for your shop to stay sustainable. 

 

Florists, do your deliveries increase revenue for your floral business? Do you charge for special delivery requests? Share your thoughts and comments 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.

 

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