In order to grow your business and flourish as a wedding florist, you need leads that can be converted into sales

While floral design is certainly an art, it’s also a business. This is particularly true for those in the wedding floristry industry. One of the most low-cost and effective ways to do that is to bring your wedding bouquets online.

According to The Wedding Report, 50% of brides use the internet to research bridal bouquets. Considering the fact that nearly everyone is connected these days, that should be no surprise. The problem is, your competitors are connected too. So how do you get your wedding bouquets noticed when the web is bloated with competing businesses? Here are a few tips…

 

Have a Website With Fully-Optimized SEO

Business cards and flyers can only get you so far. If you want your wedding business to take off, you’ll need an online storefront. A majority of potential clients will be looking for you, so you need to make sure your business is visible online where they can see it.

Once you’ve secured a domain name, make sure your website design is smooth and visually pleasing. Have all your information listed there, and provide your audience with high-quality photos of products or real weddings you’ve designed for. If possible, provide an e-commerce platform so clients can submit their orders online as well as a content plan, like an active blog, that promotes your business.

Your website should also have some sort of menu or guide specifically for weddings, so you can let potential clients know what kind of services they can expect from your business, as well as wedding consultation forms so you can coordinate discuss your terms one-on-one.

A whopping 78 percent of local mobile searches result in offline purchases—that’s right, offline purchases.

That means people who search for your store online will physically go to your store to make a purchase. While that’s not exactly a wedding lead, it’s certainly a testament to the amount of exposure and influence an effective website can have for your business.

Invest in online marketing

Are people finding your business through Google? Or are they finding you through online ads, like those on social media? Determine which of these gives you the most high-quality leads, or leads that end in conversion, and pad your efforts there. It’s a good idea to make use of google analytics too, which is a free service, to learn more about your customers and potential customers.

A cost-effective way to expand your business’ reach is to make yourself visible on social media, particularly Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

The floral business is a very visual, and you can really capture the attention of grooms and brides-to-be with stunning photographs of your handiwork. It’s good to post content on your accounts regularly, like photos, albums, and videos of wedding’s you’ve covered to gain a following and advertise your work. With free tools like Facebook ads, which lets you target specific demographics, you can get quality leads.

You’d be surprised how many leads you can stack up with great content and a bit of social media savvy.

Put yourself in your potential client’s radar

The first 2 tips have been about establishing your online presence. This last tip is a more targeted approach that puts you in the way of the right audience. If you want to get acquainted with those to-be-wed, consider listing your business in websites like The Knot or Wedding Wire.

Websites like these were made for those planning their weddings. They collate different businesses or vendors who provide wedding services, like florists. If you sign up as a vendor, you can list your business online and make yourself known to these potential brides and grooms. You can create a profile, upload photos of your products, post your social media links, and create your own bio and personal message.

These websites usually have a free version and a paid version. Whether or not you want the paid version depends on you. Review your competition in your region as well as the potential Return on Investment (ROI), and consider if it’s worth it.

At the end of the day, bringing your business online is an affordable and effective way to get your florals on the map and on the radar of potential clients. All you need to do is establish your online presence through your website and social media accounts, fill them with concise info and great content and put them in places where your target audience can find them.

Do this and your business should be blooming online in no time.

Florists, do you have any tips on growing wedding leads? Please share your feedback any related questions in the comment section below!

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Floranext offers great florist software, florist POS, florist websites and florist wedding proposal software. Our florist technology products are built by florists, for florists. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

 

If you don’t understand how secure websites work, you are not alone.

So what are HTTP and HTTPS websites? HTTP is short for hypertext transfer protocol, and HTTPS adds an S for secure: secure hypertext transfer protocol. Is your eCommerce website HTTP or HTTPS? And if you don’t know, how can you tell?

HTTPS uses a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to encrypt data transmitted over your website. SSL provides a coded encryption which scrambles the information into a series of random characters and once that information arrives at its destination—the other computer—it will unscramble itself and be readable again. The coded encryption is what keeps hackers from stealing sensitive information.

How Can You Tell if Your Floral Website is HTTPS?

When browsing the internet pay close attention to the websites you view and notice if they start with “http://” or “https://”. Click the information icon and it will show you a message just like in the image below.

The image below is taken from a secured website. It has https:// in its URL, and if you’re using the Chrome browser you’ll also see the word Secure next to the padlock icon.

Why HTTPS is a Must for Your Floral Website

Besides the security of customer data entered into your flower website, it is becoming mandatory on search engines.

• Security of Data. When you have an SSL certificate on your website, all information passed between the user’s browser and the website including passwords and credit cards can potentially be intercepted. HTTPS protects customer data.
• Customer confidence. With version 56 of Google Chrome released in 2017 any websites that require visitors to enter sensitive information will be marked as “Not Secure.” This is something your customers will notice immediately and can lower their confidence in ordering from your website.
• SEO. Studies have shown that secured websites have higher search engine rankings. 
• Website Load Times. HTTPS websites load faster, which also benefits your SEO.

Some unsecured websites that are HTTP look like this:

However, for some they already appear this way. This new warning is part of the long-term plan to distinguish pages from HTTP and let visitors know they are “Not secure.”

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No doubt about it, HTTPS is and will be a requirement on all websites. Your customers deserve to shop with confidence and you owe it to your floral eCommerce to have a website that allows you to reach your fullest potential on search engines. Find out if your website is HTTP or HTTPS.

Florists, do you have any feedback or questions regarding HTTP and HTTPS websites? Please share in the comment section below.

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Floranext offers great florist software, florist POS, florist websites and florist wedding proposal software. Our florist technology products are built by florists, for florists. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

 

Floral entrepreneurs are increasing their profits with a fresh new spin on the classic flower shop!

Financial experts agree that incorporating other services into your business is a win-win combination. You can diversify your business assets and minimize your vulnerability to twists and turns in the market.

On the other hand, combining a flower shop with another kind of business can raise sales as both work to give exposure to the other. More and more flower business owners are tackling more than just flowers.

Florist & Coffee Shop

Talk about the ultimate place for relaxation, sipping a coffee surrounded by beautiful flowers. Savvy floral entrepreneurs are creating a buzz with flower/coffee shop locations with customers waiting for seats and lines out the door.

• Create a beautiful atmosphere surrounded by flowers and filled with wonderful scents.
• Outdoor seating and ample comfortable seating inside the store.
• Offer delivery of all coffee shop goods with your floral arrangements.
• Offer delicate tasty treats and quick sandwiches and snacks.
• Offer free Wifi

This is ultimately an easy combination to accomplish if you  already own a brick and mortar flower shop with enough space to accommodate seated customers. You may even consider partnering up with another business that specializes in coffee.

Florist & Hair/Beauty Salons

The secret to this combination business is markup. Florists know that flower shop product markup is low in comparison to other businesses, but hair salons have high markup, meaning a hair salon’s services are almost all profit (minus commission and the usual expenses like rent/mortgage and utilities). What you pay for in a hair salon is mostly labor. In the floral business, labor is not as prominent nor is it reflected as much in sales.

• Establish a hair salon that offers great service and incorporates your flower shop.
• It’s helpful to understand how beauty salons work, there are state licenses needed for both shop owner and barbers/hairstylists.
• Offer options for event/wedding patrons with package pricing for flowers and beauty needs.
• Prom packages never looked so good.
• Offer delivery options for flowers and beauty products, flowers and gift certificates, flowers and gift baskets, etc.

Although it takes more sweat equity to obtain licenses and to incorporate a flower shop beauty salon, the payback could be well worth the effort. There currently aren’t many of these in the world, however, the few there are have had continued success.

Florist & Bakery

Unlike coffee shops, bakeries offer in-house baked goods, bread, pastries, and cakes. Flowers and baked goods go hand in hand, and what a great gift. Birthday flowers + birthday cake = tremendous brownie points and a crowd pleaser. Sales can’t come easier than that.

Flower shops have been teaming up with bakeries for a while now, the combination flower shop/bakery may be easier to pull off in families or with close partnerships between florists and bakers. Regardless of who bears which responsibility, the combination is sure to impress.

• Offer wedding packages for flowers and wedding cake.
• Team up with a reception hall to offer floral and baked good services for all their events.
• Offer delivery options for all bakery goods with flowers.
• Be sure to check local state and town laws for handling food with flowers.

Florist & Home Decor

Florists, we know many of you already incorporate home decor items in your flower shop, and you’re wise to do so. Flower shop owners now are taking it a step further: instead of incorporating some gift and home decor items, they are essentially opening two businesses in one location with a larger inventory of all things home decor: furniture, textiles, candles and more.

The trick is to offer more for customers to browse.

• Think location and space, and consider parking.
• Search for home decor vendors that allow you to maximize profit.
• Offer delivery for home decor items, and bundle decor packages with flowers.
• Sell both flowers and home decor items on your eCommerce website.

Consider location and square footage—this flower shop combo may require capital investment to get off the ground, however once established, you will be the talk of the town.

 

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Florists, do you run a flower business combination shop? Let us know how running two businesses brought you success in the comment section below. If you have any questions please post below as well!

 

We wanted to share one of our reader’s feedback with the beautiful images he sent us!

From Joe Sexton, barber at Barber Stop/Flowers by Guenthers:

“My wife and I have a barber shop in our flower shop. The barber brings 4,000 more people every year through the front door of the flower shop. Many have never been inside. Also, the flower shop helps increase the barber shop sales. Women are the first to know when their guy are unhappy with their haircuts. They pick up the barbers’ flier and contact info which drives their guys into the shop for a haircut. Many buy flowers after their cuts to take home. Seems to work well.

“I am the barber in our flower shop. I have a shop that fits inside an 8′ circle anywhere in the store (within a 10′ for a regular 110-volt power outlet). It’s hard to visualize if you’ve never seen one.

“I think this would be a great idea for many florists. It’s really done well for my wife and I at Flowers by Guenthers.”

 

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.

Have you worked hard to provide quality blooms and care to all your customers, only to be forced to compete with a floral order gatherer?

It can be frustrating and discouraging for florists who invest serious sweat equity into running a flower business only to see an eCommerce company to move in and pass themselves off as local florists.

There are many different kinds of floral order gathers, from the larger, well-known wire services to ones that take over search engines. We will focus on the floral order gatherers who run search engine ads that knowingly deceive their consumers, and offer you ways to maximize your sales and eCommerce legibility without worrying over order gatherers’ paid ads to lure customers into shopping with them under false pretenses.

Image via Shutterstock

What are Floral Order Gatherers?

Order gatherers—in this case, floral order gatherers—are virtual businesses that have no intention of filling the order purchased by its customers. What order gatherers essentially do is harvest the customer’s information and payment details and then look for real local florists to fulfill the order.

Order gatherers can benefit themselves and the filling flower shop alike, right? Well, yes and no. Order gatherers only pass along a fraction of the customer’s payment, and the customer gets less of what they actually paid for.

Floral order gatherers know that they profit by sending orders to a real local florist, while you the actual florist pay for mortgage/rent, utilities, employees, and product.

Another concern is that some order gatherers are passing themselves off as local florists when in actuality they do not run a flower shop or design flowers. You likely have seen their paid ads on search engines.

Below is an order gatherer’s paid ad on Google. (We covered the name of the order gatherer as well as their website address.) If you look at this ad you can see how easily a customers could believe this is a genuine San Diego florist. There is no indication that this company has nothing to do with fulfilling their order.

Image provided by Google

A Step in the Right Direction: There have been several lawsuits filed by florists to stop these order gatherers from blatantly falsifying information on their ads regarding their location.

Image via Shutterstock

How to Beat Floral Order Gatherers

So what can you do to stand apart from floral order gathers that are taking over your area with paid ads on search engines? Unfortunately, there is no surefire way to stop them other than educating your consumers and marketing your floral business in a way in which it is not affected.

We understand that is easier said than done, however there are a few points working in your favor: floral order gatherers’ time is limited, there are more and more articles out to help consumers identify order gatherers, and consumers are wary of paying more for something only to get less.

Take these actions to brand yourself and increase your visibility as a legitimate local florist in your area, that will offer customers exactly what they paid for.

1. Use a blog. If you have an option to add a blog to your floral website, do so and take an action on educating customers on what a real local florist offers versus a floral order gatherer. An article on your website on this topic will reach more people than visitors that just land on your web page. Besides discrediting order gatherers, this strategy will bolster consumer confidence in your floral eCommerce.
2. Add content and write-ups. Add a gallery and write-ups of your flower business’s staff to your website to showcase you as a local florist.
3. Consider your marketing. The advantage you have as a real local florist is that you do not have to spend a small fortune on ads that fundamentally deceive your customers you’re trying to attract. Market your flower business on social media consistently and be sure to ask satisfied customers to review your shop on Google and Yelp. The best way to do this is having links on your floral website to allow customers to easily click and review you.
4. Use store promotions and offers. Floral order gathers offer many enticing promotions to entice customers to click and shop—refer to the search engine add above, offering 45% savings. We do not want you to give your flower arrangements away from free, however, consider running some enticing offers to get customers to click on your website. This is a great option for gaining new customers as well.
5. Don’t forget about SEO. Your search engine optimization should be on point to compete with online businesses like order gatherers. Work with your floral website provider to make sure you are listing on the first page on search engines. Make sure your Google business page is set up and work on adding images and getting reviews. This all helpful in raising your site’s ranking on search engines.
6. Try a Google ad. Thanks to the internet, marketing is so different today than it has been in the past. That isn’t to say that mailers don’t work, but placing a Google AdWords ad can be helpful in building your brand visibility. Start off with a lower budget, see how your conversions go, and build up from there.

Image via Shutterstock

Floral order gatherers do not play fair. There is no way to stop them completely, however, florists do have the upper hand as floral order gatherers need filling florists to make their business possible. Partner up with other real local florists and stand up to the floral order gatherers by educating your consumers. We are not saying that no florist should ever fill a floral order gatherer’s order, but it’s about time that florists get compensated appropriately for their services. Do not hesitate to ask for more money if you are filling a gatherer’s order. Florists, your expertise and resources are needed to keep floral order gatherers in business—remember that.

 

 

Florists, how have floral order gatherers impacted your flower business? Please share your feedback in the comment section below. If you have any questions please post below as well!

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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, are you bewildered by Google AdWords?

We have received many questions on using Google AdWords, and we’re in agreement that if you are new to the application it may look a bit daunting. We thought it beneficial to explain the mystery to some of Google AdWords and how it works.

Before we begin, let’s point out that Google AdWords is NOT FREE and can actually be quite pricey. So why use Google AdWords? Google AdWords makes your marketing easier by bringing in traffic through the use of keywords, allowing you to customize your ad campaigns and turn clicks into sales.

Understanding how Google AdWords works means understanding how to bid on ads, which turn into conversions. Let’s focus on a basic introduction to Google AdWords to clear up the mystification of how it works.

Basic Google AdWords Bidding/Budget Functionality

Sometimes you can not fully understand how something works unless you dive right in and try it out for yourself. That certainly applies to getting started with AdWords. There is a reason why we starting out with Google AdWords bidding, it is of great importance you are knowledgeable of your targeted spending before even complicating Google AdWords.

• Automated Bidding: By far the most recommended if you are just starting out with Google AdWords. Set a daily budget and let AdWords adjust your CPC (cost-per-click) bids to bring you the most clicks possible within that budget.
• Manual Bidding: Manual bidding lets you set bids at the ad group level, allowing you full control over your CPC for keywords or ad placements, so you bid what you want for the clicks you want.
• Setting A Daily Budget: One of the most crucial things to remember is to set a low daily budget. We recommend no more than $10.00 a day. Paying for an exorbitant amount of clicks to your AdWords campaign will leave you feeling defeated.

 

Understanding/Researching The Floral Market

You’re now ready to start a Google AdWords campaign, but have you thought about the keywords you’ll use to reach potential customers? This question can seem simple—just use keywords specific to the floral industry, right? Well, yes and no. You’ll need to do some research, but we promise you’ll get the hang of it.

• Keyword Planner: Take advantage of Google’s Keyword Planner on Google Adwords (in your account under Tools). Be sure to describe what you’re promoting to reach your targeted audience.
• How are customers finding you with keywords? Enter how you think people are searching for flowers into the keyword planner. Our goal is to find the keyword which has the most searches.

Note: You cannot access Google Keyword planner until your payment information is entered into Google Adwords. 

Starting Your Floral AdWords Campaign

First, navigate to https://adwords.google.com, and sign in or click Start Now. If this is your first time on Google AdWords, try to set aside some uninterrupted time to complete setup.

• Pick Your Goal: Do you want customers to call your business, visit the store, or visit your website?
• Choose Your Campaign Location: You will want to choose a geographic area—large or small—your campaign will cover.
• Define Your Products and Services: Enter your language, the products you offer, and who to show your ad to.
• Create Your Ad: Start with your Headline 1  and remember to stay relevant to the floral industry and what you are promoting. 
• Setting Your Budget: Remember to start off slow and set a daily and monthly budget when getting to know Google AdWords.
• Review Your Ad Settings: Take some time to review your settings and make sure everything is correct.
• Enter Your Payment Method: Enter in your payment information and voilà, you have created your Google AdWords campaign.

Tip: When defining your service be sure to take advantage of the Add Another option below Show your ad to people looking for. AdWords will give you a list of related keywords, check all that apply. Most if not all will be useful to add.

Understanding Google AdWords Acronyms

As you begin your journey into Google AdWords you may find some acronyms that throw you:

• CPA: Cost Per Action, the amount you pay each time a user takes an action such as purchase, signup, call, etc.
• CPC: Cost Per Click, the average amount you pay when users click on your ad.
• CPM: Cost Per Thousand, the amount you pay when Google displays your ad to users 1000 times.
• CTR: Clickthrough rate, a percentage of the number of clicks you get on your ad or keywords divided by the total of impressions received.
• GCO: Google Conversion Optimizer. You may indicate a target cost per conversion you want to pay and Google will optimize your placement and CPCs to bring you conversions at or below that amount.
• PLA: Product Listing Ad, an ad on Google search with an image displaying a product for sale on an ecommerce site.
• QS: Quality Score, Google’s score for users’ experience when they see your ad on a page.
• SEO: Search Engine Optimization, a strategy to move websites and pages higher in the rankings in organic and free listings.
• SPN: Search Partner Network, information on other search engines where Google displays ads in response to a search query.
• USP: Unique Selling Proposition, unique selling features of your products, services, customer experience and guarantee that make you unlike your competitors.

 

Florists, how has Google AdWords helped your floral business? Please share your feedback in the comment section below. If you have any questions please post below as well!

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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.

 

Google My Business is one of the best ways to promote and create optimal visibility for your floral business or any business for that matter.

 Google My Business which was formally called Google Places is the ultimate platform for listing your flower shop on google search, maps, and Google + seamlessly all in one place.

Google My Business allows you to unite with your customers by essentially increasing your business presence on Google making you more credible and visible. In this blog, let’s talk about how to get started with Google My Business and how significant Google My Business is in making your business flourish (no pun intended).

 

How To Sign Up For Google My Business:

If you are just starting your floral business, regardless if you have a Floral Website or not, make sure to sign up for Google My Business. Of course, if you own a flower shop you should have a floral website this will increase your brand visibility and will help search engines rank you higher.  

• Click  Start Now in the upper right-hand corner of Google My Business
• Enter your floral business address.
• If you do offer walk in traffic into your shop make sure you select °Yes below where it states – I deliver goods and service to my customers at their location-important information ° Yes. If you offer customer walk in service at your flower shop leave this at ° No and click continue.
• If you select °No for – I deliver goods and service to my customers at their location- You will see important information on the next page, similar businesses in the same area pop up on the next page, if any of these are in your location, select them. If none of these businesses are at your location, select None of these matches -Keep information I entered.  
• If you selected °Yes you will see an information request on the services you offer. Enter where you deliver these services and within how many miles. If you do not select the box below where you serve customers at your location, your address will be hidden, however, your city and state will still show.
• Google My Business will then ask you to verify the information on the following page. Take a look and make sure your address is correct. Let’s emphasize to make sure your store location is correct. Google My Business is very user-friendly, however, changing errors can be cumbersome, so take the time now to verify all information is accurate.  Agree to terms of service and click to continue.
• Last Page, Google My Business will ask you how you would like the verification code, chances are it will be by mail, very few get phone calls. Wait approximately 1-2 weeks for a verification code and then verify your business by logging into Google My Business. Voila, it’s that easy! 

 

How To Add Photos To Google My Business:

Did you know that the more images you add to Google My Business, the better your ranking is in Google Local Search? Make sure to add as many images as you can to your Google My Business account. With that said, there are many different categories of photos,  it is good to make sure they correspond correctly.

Profile Image – This will allow customers to recognize you and by you, we mean your business. The profile image will be displayed next to your business name on Google + and must be different from your Logo image.

Logo-When adding your logo image be sure that it is square, these look the best on Google.

Cover Image – This is the grand feature photo and should correspond to the services you offer.

Additional Images – Add as many photos as you like here, the more the merrier. These are viewed by customers who are looking at your listing. It is good to include your own designs of everyday arrangements, wedding and store front image if possible.

Tip: Try and pick a photo or logo that helps you stand out to make your listing more alluring for a click. 

To add your photos simply go to Google My Business sign in.

• Click Photos from the menu and select the photo category you would like to showcase.
• You can now upload your photo from your computer.

Tip: Best format for images are JPG or PNG – be sure quality is good, we do not want customers looking at fuzzy, dark images.

 

Why Is Google My Business Important?

There are so many reasons why all business owners should and MUST be on Google My Business, especially if your business is location specific.  The biggest reason of all is the valuable impact it has in increasing your SEO ( search engine optimization).

Amazing Search Visibility– Landing on your location on Google is one of the best ways to increase your SEO (search engine optimization). Go ahead and type in any of these keywords on Google Search Page, City State Florist, Flower Shop and Zip Code/Postal Code.  Notice who comes firsts under the Map, these results are Local Search Results, courtesy of Google My Business, You cannot pay for these results.

Maps Your Floral Business Location – This, of course, allows the customer to come to you, believe it or not, they do. Besides that, it is also another vital piece of information for increasing your flower shop business SEO.

Allows For Customer Interaction: Google My Business allows for customers to interact with your business by leaving reviews and uploading their own photos. Every review counts, every photo upload counts!  How does it count? By increasing your SEO, remember you want to list between 1 to 3 on Google Local Search, which will help increase your clicks and sales.

 

Florists, how has Google My Business helped your floral business in the past years? Please share your feedback in the comment section below. If you have any questions please post below as well!

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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.

 

Booking weddings are still one of the best ways to increase your overall flower shop profit.

Surprisingly, some florists do not take booking wedding clients too seriously or rather opt not to deal with the hassle of booking a wedding. Unfortunately, regardless of how much money your flower business makes, this is a big mistake as booking weddings bring in substantial profits and have proven to ensure future flower shop profits.

In this blog, we will discuss 8 ways to obtain more wedding clients into your flower shop through marketing and simple in-house tactics.

 

8: Creating An Ambiance

Creating a beautiful atmosphere will help ensure a sense of security with your wedding clients.  Mostly all of us buy with our eyes and emotions, our goal here is to have your wedding clients feel comfortable and ensure that you are the best florist for the job.

• Create a designated space designed for wedding consultations.
• Have proper comfortable seating.
• Have a computer/tablet available for quick image reference.
• Be prepared, make sure you have your wedding software open and ready for note taking.
• Offer your wedding clients something to drink.

 

7: Be Courteous 

Florists by nature are very courteous, friendly and giving people. However, there are times that wedding clients do request super outlandish things and even get their florist a little annoyed.  Nowadays your wedding clients will mostly do their homework and look at what appeals to them for their special day.

• Respect their needs and wants.
• Be excited and share in their enthusiasm for their special day.
• Educate your wedding client on what is possible and what is not.

The main thing here is, to be honest, if there is something you simply cannot do for the price or there is just no way of obtaining specific flowers, let them know.  Most wedding clients will take their florists advice and seek alternatives in their choices.

 

6: Paid/Free Ads On Wedding Sites

Most floral professionals have heard of The Knot, Wedding Wire, and so many others out there. We do recommend signing up for at least one of these sites for more exposure to your flower shop.

• You can increase your wedding bookings by 10 -40 more per year.
• Free Ads may minimize your visibility by covering some key elements that wedding clients like to see such as reviews. However, if the budget does not allow, a free ad is better then no ad.
• Set a budget and pay for some ads on wedding sites. After a year, review what profits were gained and decide if you would continue to advertise or lower or raise your budget.

 

5: Wedding Website

Nothing speaks more volumes than your own wedding website, it is perfectly OK to have wedding pages in your floral eCommerce website. If you are looking to expand your wedding bookings we recommended having a non-eCommerce website designed to showcase only your wedding services.

• Show your work in category pages. example: bridal bouquets, reception flowers, arches and so on. 
• Wedding websites that are loaded with galleries offer visitors many options to stay and browse which will increase your search engine optimization or SEO.
• Have a specific page designed to recommend vendors with backlinks and have them do the same for you on their website if they return the favor.
• Backlinks are considered SEO gold, so recommending vendors and have vendors recommend you is a win-win situation.

 

4: Social Media

The benefits of social media sites such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Youtube are essential in building your brand. Although you may not be booking many wedding at first, patience and diligence is the key.

• Post images on your social media platforms often, daily if possible.
• Offer wedding booking incentives.
• Be responsive to customers comments.
• Make A YouTube Video

 

3: Partner Up

There are many flower shop owners that would love more floral wedding viability but do not have the resources or time to fully devote to wedding marketing or consultations. If you are in this situation do not give up on doing weddings, remember this is all about making your brand well rounded.

There are many independent wedding floral contractors that will work solely with you for building up your wedding bookings. Generally, these independent wedding floral contractors receive a commission on all weddings they book for you and are held to only promoting your floral business.

Wedding floral contractors offer many benefits if time is of the essence for you.

• Book weddings and handle all consultations.
• Handle day to day marketing for weddings.
• Wedding floral arranging is done with your assistance and your designers in your flower shop.
• Handle all of the wedding flower ordering.
• Handle setup while the shop owner is responsible for providing delivery services, driver, and vehicle.
• Receive commission paid on the cost of wedding minus all flower shop owners costs.

 

2. Word Of Mouth

Sometimes, especially when you’re new to the floral profession, when doing weddings you need to give a lot to get a little and by little, this is financial gain or profit.  What you actually do get is a lot of future clients.

We do not by no means recommend doing wedding flowers for free. When starting out, show off what you can do and be reasonably priced, think of this a marketing tactic. Most wedding bookings and visits to your flower shop will come from guests at weddings you serviced and or recommendations from your wedding clients.

• Word of mouth is by far the best way to market your flower wedding business.
• Allows for long-term customer relationships.
• Keeps your business stable and consistently profitable.

 

1: Know Whats “Hot” In Wedding Flowers

Once you have all you’re wedding leads  schedule a consultation, have diligently set up a great designed area for your clients and are super courteous and respectful, are you current with the latest wedding trends?

It can certainly be a deal breaker for your clients if you are not aware of specific “Hot” trending wedding floral designs.

It is your job, as the floral professional, to stay ahead of trends and offer exciting options for your customers to show that you are “With It,” “Current,” and “Up to speed on floral wedding trends”.

• Take a wedding floral class on what is trending.
• Spend time searching social media sites for what wedding floral trends gets the most saves and likes.
• Practice specific wedding trends. If time and budget allow, set aside a day to practice various wedding trends. After completing the designs, you can post on your floral websites and social media platforms.

 

Florists, we would love your feedback! What tips can you share about booking more weddings that has brought profitable success to your floral business? Please add your feedback and questions in our comment section below.

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

 

 

 

 

Marketing is the key to successful growth and longevity for Floral Businesses.

However, some business owners are still stumped when it comes to marketing for their flower shop. Marketing is better explained by putting yourself as the business owner in the customer’s shoes.  What are your customer’s needs and wants? What makes your customers satisfied?

Marketing consists of many elements better known as Product, Price, Promotion and Place. In this blog, we thought it would be great to review the basics of marketing and make it easier to understand so that you may use marketing to grow your floral business.

 

What Is Your Business Marketing Goal?

1. Create brand visibility/recognition.
2. Grab your customer’s attention/interest.
3. Encourage purchasing.
4. A simple call to action.
5. Increase your business revenue.

 

Ways to Market Your Business:

• Inbound Marketing: This includes your floral website, social media platforms, video and emailing. Internet marketing also falls under Inbound marketing.
• Outbound Marketing: Outbound Marketing can consist of mailers, flyers and/or face to face. The goal here is to generate customers. With outbound marketing you are seeking them out. Think of cold calling (which falls under outbound marketing as well).
• Word Of Mouth Marketing: Solely relies on your existing customer referrals.  This is one of the best marketing approaches. Most (if not all) happy patrons will recommend your business to other patrons.
• Promotions/Coupon Marketing: Typically done to motivate the customer to buy at a great deal/offer.
• Giveaway Marketing: Is most effective in establishing a customer base. Offer free giveaways to customers or in your local businesses. Do this only for a short period of time – best when first opening up your flower shop.
• Paid Marketing: This includes any paid advertising, tv, print and pay per click for Adwords. 
• Cause Marketing: Marketing your product/brand for charity or to support a cause.
• Buzz Marketing: This is marketing your product without people knowing they are being marketed. This is seen as more of a controversial way of marketing. Buzz or also known as Stealth marketing is most done via Video or TV applications.

Note: There are so many different ways to market your business not limited to the ones above. The general rule here is to be visible and do not rely on only one way to market. Use a combination of marketing practices!

Marketing Must Do’s:

• Impeccable Customer Service: We do not want to market to customers without first achieving great customer service policies.  Employees should at all times be happy (sound happy) and pleasant while answering the phone or handling a customer. The old saying “The Customer Is Always Right” still holds true. Let’s listen and always be polite (even when we know they are wrong).
• Connect Your Platforms: Make sure to connect your in-store Marketing with your Internet/Online Marketing.
• Knowing Your Consumer: Having knowledge of your customers is key to successful marketing. Everyone needs flowers at some point, however, it is important to gather information on customers needs to market to each person correctly.
• Understanding Your Competition: Marketing in your area is important so that you can grab a grasp on your local customers. Evaluate your competition and what they are offering and how you are different.
• Keep Customers: Focusing on generating new customers is one of the essentials of marketing. However, so is keeping the ones you already have. Be courteous to and respect your current customers and offer some perks to all your patrons new or old.
• Get Reviews: Remember marketing is also word of mouth. Encourage reviews and testimonials. These are little miracles for increasing traffic to your flower shop and website.
• Get On Social Media: We understand that you most likely already have your floral business on social media. Being on social media and current on social media are two different things. Please devote at least a half hour a day to your social media communities.
• Promote Your Work: We get it, not all florists use their own product images on their eCommerce. Images can be hard to take. You’re busy and the catalog images are selling great on your website.  The missing ingredient here is that you are promoting your work and your brand. Seen time and time again images of floral shops own work is priceless in achieving their own specific niche. Invest in a backdrop and use a great camera (some mobile phones do a great job and start building your portfolio). If using images not based on your work, be careful of Copyright trolls. It’s always best to use your own work.

 

Marketing Tips:

• Discount: Offer a discount for any customer that gives you an on the spot review at your store or while purchasing from your website. Put up a sign that says “$5.00 off total order for a review on Google and Yelp!”
• Photo Shoot: During slower months have a photo shoot day! Remember marketing does cost a little money and think of this as the modern way of advertising. Make up some great floral arrangements and get to taking pictures. Does the budget allow you to hire a photographer or someone just starting out in photography? Another option is to have a camera ready and to take images as you design and make the camera accessible to your designers.
• Social Media Platforms: There are platforms that can help you post on all your social media sites with just one posting. Check out Hootsuite.
• Emails: Capture every customer’s email! Make it a point to get this information. Email marketing can have a great return of repeat business. Again, make sure to ask customers for their email, most if not all are willing to share this with you.
• Blog: What? You’re not a writer! How can you blog? Everyone can blog. Write about what you know and use specific keywords that have to do with your floral business.  Make sure to squeeze in your location in the blog if you can.
• Quality: Offer quality with your brand, focus on your customers and offer the best possible product you can. However (florists, listen up, as most of you are famous for doing this) Do Not Give Things Away. Charge for your creative work and give customers quality. Do not over give. It will always be expected.

These are some easy ways to understand and get started with your floral marketing. Florists, let’s hear your feedback! Do you have any important marketing advice/tips that have been or are successful? Please share all your feedback, tips or any floral marketing related questions you would like addressed 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.

 Opening a flower shop is a great career opportunity. You get to be creative and work with flowers all day, right?

Well, yes. However, there are so many other facets when it comes to opening a flower shop business. The floral industry does require much more than just designing flowers. Remember, you are selling, designing, delivering, marketing and much more!

We asked florist’s all around the world to share their most crucial advice/tips on opening a flower business. If you are thinking or just starting a floral business this will help you get answers to some of your questions.

 

Which is most important when opening a flower shop?

1. Location (111%)
2. Creativity (55%)
3. Revenue (52%)
4. I just like flowers (7%)
5. All of the above (63%)
6. Other (30%)

 With an overwhelming 111%, Florists have stated that location is key when opening a flower shop. So remember Location, Location, Location.

Additional Florist Expert Advice: 

• “Is there a need in your community for “Your” idea of a flower shop?” – Wild By Nature

• “Knowledge of business in general. KNOWING how to design already!” – Victorias Floral Design 

• “Driven work ethic.” – Tilted Tulip Florist

• “Social media, marketing and internet presence” – anonymous

• “A working knowledge of flower care and preparation methods and reliable suppliers.” –  The Enchanted Florist

 

What would you say surprised you when you opened your flower shop?

Long hours was the #1 answer by most florist’s for this question, however, there were many great responses that we believe are important to keep in mind when opening a floral business.

Additional Florist Expert Advice: 

• “How much yelp reviews really grew my business. After the first year, people calling the shop always mentioned: “I found you on Yelp”. I had more business from that then the local community that soon followed.” – Ace of Vase

• “All the prep work” – anonymous

• “The overwhelming bookkeeping if you are no prepared or don’t have enough financial experience.” – Flower Bomb

• “That many of the people who buy flowers know a lot of things about them.” – anonymous

• “How much you worry about it all and never get a true break from it. Even when on holiday, you don’t ever stop! ” – Beco Flowers

• “It’s hard work.” –  anonymous

• “How quickly the local people embraced us.” – Maureen’s Designs

• “How much of a percent wire service take for orders.” –  anonymous

• “How complicated the process was from start to finish- all the different ways something could go wrong from the weather to the shipping issues, flower care, and handling, order taking, design and delivery.” – The Flower Bar

• “How much fun it is!” – anonymous

• “The physical aspect – from collecting and packing flowers at the market to the lifting, cleaning and moving of heavy buckets.”  – Petals

 

 How much money do you say is needed to start your own brick and mortar flower business?

1. $1,000 to $5,000 (10%)
2. $5,001 – $10,000 (22%)
3. $10,001 – $15,000 (60%)
4. Other (102%)

Other was the #1 answer for this question with the winning budget amount $25,000.

Additional Florist Expert Advice: 

• “Depends on style location. Could be as little as $300. or as much as $250,000.” – Kelly Mayo

• “$40,000 ” – anonymous

• “Up to $50,000. You need refrigeration, insurance, vehicles. You also need to buy flowers and supplies c o d for at least 6 months before people trust you. Salaries and advertising are big unexpected hits in the first 6 months.” – Gloria’s Florist

• “I began with 15k. I would have been wiser to double that.”  – anonymous

• “The worst thing is to be undercapitalized” – anonymous

• “Purchase a shop already in operation if possible, would be what I recommend. “-  anonymous

 

 If you could open your flower shop today, what is the one thing you would do differently?

Do not join a wire service was the #1 answer if florists could do one thing differently. Trailing behind and almost taking over the number one sport was “Choose a better location,” with having an eCommerce website in third.

Additional Florist Expert Advice: 

• “The decor and the location to be more accessible.”-  anonymous

• “Design myself and eliminate payroll” – anonymous

• “Not take wire orders, EVER.” – anonymous

• “Web strategy and online marketing”  – Menifee Florist

• “I would go to flower school first and then open my flower shop.” – anonymous

• “I would have done more advertising to let people know I was there. Put decals on my van sooner. ” –  Mugfords Flower Shoppe

• “Coolers flush to the floor and better processing area.” – The University Florist

• “MORE WEB EXPOSURE.” – anonymous

• “Change business name” – anonymous

 

 What is the best part of opening a flower shop?

1. Customer Interaction (50%)
2. Money, Money, Money (3%)
3. Being Creative (45%)
4. Being Your Own Boss (62%)
5. Flowers Galore (9%)
6. Other (22%)

Florists have chosen Being Your Own Boss as the best part of opening a flower shop. Though percentages were very close, coming in at 2nd place is Customer Interaction.

Additional Florist Expert Advice: 

• “Creating something bigger than myself.” – Studio Vincca

• “Being my own boss and being able to bring my children to work with me.” – anonymous

• “Satisfying a deep desire to own my own business, and put my big business and academic knowledge to work.” – anonymous

• “Bringing smiles to people’s faces thru my creativity.” – anonymous

• “Being able to go to a job you love every single day of your life! ” – anonymous

• “Rewarding to know you could do it, pleasing customers with your products.” – anonymous

 

What would be your most valuable tip to someone who wants to open a flower shop?

Working in a flower shop was the most valuable tip given to someone who wants to open a flower shop. This gives new prospects the understanding and functionality of how a flower shop is operated.

Additional Florist Expert Advice: 

• “Go for it! You must always try! Do not cut yourself short with the funds when borrowing $$.” – anonymous

• “You have to be passionate about flowers and ready for hard working for many hours to open a flower shop!!!”-  anonymous

• “Service from the heart.” – Yousef

• “Control labor and cost of goods sold.”-  anonymous

• “Keep your focus on quality and customer service.” – anonymous

• “Forget the idea there is no money to be made anymore and stay way from wire services.”-  anonymous

• “Be creative, make a difference.” – Floral Factory

 

What is the worst part of owning a flower shop?

1. Customer Interaction (4%)
2. Long Hours (64%)
3. Demanding Work Load (49%)
4. Having To Be Creative All The Time (2%)
5. Nothing (13%)
6. Other (54%)

Long hours took the top with florists on the worst part of owning a flower shop. The long hours and the demanding workload is something each florist will experience when opening and running a flower shop.

Additional Florist Expert Advice: 

• “All of it. Long hours, Staff, Customers, Physical Demand.” – Musgrove Florist

• “Having to make all the decisions and be the boss.” – anonymous

• “You pretty much need to eat, drink & sleep it unless you have a well paid very skilled staff.” – Flower Bomb

 

Would you recommend someone join a floral wire service when opening a flower shop? Tell us yes or no and why.

Overwhelmingly the #1 answer to this question was no, there was a tremendous response to this question with many great florist advice.

• “No! They undersell the florist and steal their business.” – anonymous

• “You don’t have to belong to a wire service at first. Many shops are moving to a direct call system where they call other shops and offer reciprocating discounts for the shop to shop orders. A wire service is helpful when you have the high volume out of town orders or if you have inexperienced employees.” – Beco Flowers

• “No. But I’m trying to get away from them. You have to buy their software/equipment and it is over priced. In the end you really only get around 70% of the order amount. Once you take out your costs & labor there’s not much profit there.” – Tilted Tulip Florist

• “Depends on the area- But I say no in this day and age.” – anonymous

• “Nope, No longer can make money with them.” – anonymous

• “Maybe for the first year to get your name out, but negotiate the terms. Otherwise no” – anonymous

• “Yes and No. They steal your hard earn income but it is more difficult to get orders and new clients without them. They have completely cornered the floral market.” – Amazing Occasion

• “Maybe but be selective and shop around.” – anonymous

 

According to design, what makes the most revenue?

1. Everyday Arrangements (40%)
2. Parties & Events (17%)
3. Sympathy (84%)
4. Weddings (35%)
5. Other (16%)

Sympathy is the biggest revenue generator for florists with everyday arrangements coming in second.

 

What are the standard flowers, filler, and greens you order on a weekly basis for your flower shop?

• “Baby breath, wax flowers and leather leaf.” – anonymous

• “Roses! Carnations, Mums, Alstromeria Lilies & Pomps/Daisies because they last… I like when people tell me and others how long their flowers lasted. Filler flowers – Baby’s Breath for sure and one or two others. Then some feature flowers for interest…Stock, Iris, Tulips etc. depending on the season.” – anonymous

• ” We stay away from the typical standards (carnations/mums) and buy the more unique blooms. Weekly purchases include mini cymbidium sprays (so many ways to use them!), hydrangeas and seasonal flowers such as tulips in spring, sunflowers in late summer, etc.” – anonymous

 

What popular florist holiday makes your business the most revenue?

1. Valentine’s Day (66%)
2. Easter (0%)
3. Mother’s Day (86%)
4. Memorial Day (1%)
5. Halloween (0%)
6. Thanksgiving (1%)
7. Christmas (20%)
8. None (4%)
9. Other (14%)

Step back Valentine’s Day, With a whopping 86% Mother’s Day won the top spot with the most revenue made for a flower shop.

 

What are the must have florist tools when opening a flower shop?

A knife was #1 tool recommended as a must have when opening a flower shop, with Secateurs taking 2nd place. For those of you who are not familiar with Secateurs, they are pruning clippers. Good scissors were also very close to 2nd place.

“Floral tape, wet foam, containers, knives, wrap paper, cellophane, deferent wires gauge, scissors, ribbon, bows, moist and shine spray”  – anonymous

“FloraNext! A cooler is also an important investment.” – Petals Flower Company

“Knife, wire nips, pruning shears…great accounting system, telephone, the internet….and the list goes on!!!” – anonymous

“A cooler, buckets, cutting tools, containers.” – anonymous

“Computer, phones, functional front of store, good size fridge” – Carls Flower Company

“A good POS system and Website.” – anonymous

“Knives, Scissors. Clippers” – anonymous

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Florist’s we are very appreciative of your participation in our surveys. We had an overwhelming response to “tips on opening a flower shop survey”. We plan to continue surveys as your expert tips and advice is so helpful to our readers and for new and upcoming florists who are considering or opening a flower shop.

Please share any feedback you may have on Opening A Flower Shop in our comment section below.

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

 

Mother’s Day (or should we say Mother’s Day week) is the busiest and potentially the most profitable holiday for the floral business owner.

Having a strategy in place to make the most profit is essential in reaping all the benefits of this busy flower purchasing holiday. In this blog, we will go over a checklist to help you through Mother’s Day and make sure you dot your i’s and cross your t’s.

#1 Employee Scheduling & Duties:

• Gather your employees and provide what is expected of them for Mother’s Day week.
• Make sure everyone knows their set times and days to work.
• Hire extra help and offer them a day to come in. (This should be done before Mother’s Day week to go over their job descriptions.)
• Make sure to reiterate how important it is that everyone show up to work during Mother’s Day week.
• If you are hiring extra drivers, discuss with them whether you require them to use their own vehicle.

#2 Flowers & Supplies:

• Start looking around for supplies, containers, baskets, vases and so on. Visit your local flower shop supplier. However, do not forget to also visit discount home stores and dollar stores. You can find some great unique items there!
• Order you Mother’s Day Flowers early from your supplier to get the best value. Keep in mind, if you are new to the floral industry, Mother’s Day spans for a week – not a day. So order enough flowers!
• If you are comfortable, get your flowers through a floral auction. These offer great discounts when purchased in large quantities.
• Make sure to order flowering plants, orchids and dish gardens. These are great sellers and require very little work.

Flower Must-Haves For Mother’s Day:

1. Alstroemeria
2. Carnations
3. Daisies and Poms
4. Dahlias (if possible)
5. Freesia
6. Roses
7. Garden Roses
8. Sunflowers
9. Gerbera Daisies
10. Tulips
11. Lilies
12. Orchids
13. Hydrangeas
14. Delphinium
15. Calla Lilly
16. Lisianthus (if possible)
17. Stock

Filler Flower Must-Have For Mother’s Day:

1. Baby’s Breath
2. Limonium
3. Queen Anne’s Lace (if possible)
4. Statice
5. Thistle
6. Wax Flower
7. Lilac
8. Buttons/ Pom
9. Matsumoto
10. Monte Casino – Aster
11. Trachelium

 

3# Floral Website:

Much like any flower industry holiday, it is important to have your floral website ready and reflecting Mother’s Day in early April. If you have great Easter sales, it is OK to do this right after Easter.

• Make sure you have a clear Mother’s Day Policy and shop hours on your floral website. Clear return and substitution policy is also a must!
• Mother’s Day products should be displayed throughout your website. Add these wherever possible.
• Have an easy way for customers to order Mother’s Day products. Use a “Call To Action” (example: a “Shop Now” Button) or clear image/banner/button that says Mother’s Day Flowers.
• List special Promotions. This is a great way to encourage customers to shop early before Mother’s Day week.
• Make sure you update your product pricing to compensate for your costs.

#4 Prepping & Showcasing

Prepping in a flower shop can be fun! Okay, not so much. However, prepping is most important in ensuring long lasting arrangements so please be vigilant about prepping your flowers correctly.

• Prep your flowers when they arrive. How to Prep Flowers 
• Get ahead of the crowd and cut any ribbon needed. Gather up your gifts and display them neatly.
• Green any vases, baskets or containers you can ahead of time.
• Make sure your flower shop is clean and displays an inviting atmosphere with beautiful decor and lots of great impulse gifts to add on to flower arrangements.

#5 Week Of Mother’s Day:

• 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 many last minute orders.
• Make sections for Delivery drivers by areas and add finished flower arrangements to this area with the date of delivery that is bold and clear.
• No wastefulness! We do say this a lot. With the abundant supplies and flowers in the shop, it is easy to get sidetracked and be super wasteful. This is a “No No.” 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.
• Check you sales totals daily not at the end of the week.
• Make sure you re-stock your impulse buys on your front counter to sell in addition to flower arrangements.

Mother’s Day Checklist Tips:

1. If you can, keep a standby driver at the shop to handle new orders for delivery.
2. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. It’s best not to wear open toe shoes. This can also be an insurance liability in some areas.
3. Make sure you eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. Do not skip meals.
4. 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.
5. 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.

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We would like to wish all florist a very lucrative and successful Mother’s Day holiday!

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 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.