It surprises us how many florists only sell flowers in their flower shops.

This is not to say that only selling flowers is passe´, however, we want to encourage all florists to carry various items with very little or no designing time and long shelf life to boost their retail sale profits.

Another point is that owning a flower shop gives you quite a huge advantage in the retail business market. Florists you can actually carry and sell various gift items in your store, still keeping with the flower shop nostalgia.

In this blog, let’s talk about what customers are gravitating to and list the 6 Must Sell Retail items in 2019 in your floral business.

 

6. Greeting Cards

Floral retail greeting cards, in our opinion, are a must in a flower shop. Most customers write messages when purchasing a floral arrangement and we all know how much content customers try to fit on the little floral cards.

• Create a small greeting card display with a variety greeting cards for holidays and occasions.
• Choose trendy or artsy cards. The key here is to sell something unique and only found at your flower shop.
• Have various greeting card designs. Floral is great- but it’s perfectly OK to have greeting cards without flowers on them. See what attracts you and offer various looks, consider going for a more current look.
• Keep your greeting card display close to checkout, preferably next to the free flower message cards.

5. Home Decor

Statistics show that consumers spend approximately $65 million a year on home decor items.  The great thing with home decor is that consumers love browsing these items and most will generally purchase something after browsing.

We do not want to have home decor items take over your flower shop. Create a small display with various items. Leave enough room for consumers to look and pick items up and move around.

So what kind of home decor can you sell?

• Bowls, Ceramics, and Vases
• Toss Pillows
• Throw Blankets
• Luxury Candles
• Art
• Faux Flowers

 

4. Fragrance

The number of women who receive perfume as a gift is 50% and approximately 80% of both women and men buy fragrance. So why not sell fragrance at your flower shop?  Find a fragrance supplier in keeping with your look and feel. We want to make sure that your fragrance items are quality and smell enticing.

• Offer a fragrance line that is not carried in competitors stores.
• Make sure to offer gift bundles which include your fragrance. Flowers & Perfume – watch them sell!
• Decorate an area designated to your fragrance items.

Tip: There are so many suppliers of retail fragrances, we encourage you to select a great line which may be a tad more pricey. Consumers know quality and with fragrance its all about the alluring scent. 

 

3. Chocolates

Although chocolates in a small business do not gravitate to consumers as much as other items mentioned, we still feel as if chocolates deserves the #3 spot.  Chocolates and flowers go hand and hand and most important is finding the right supplier of your chocolates. Flower shops who offered high-end chocolates and marketed them correctly actually made substantial profits.

• Offer high-end quality chocolates. Small and large beautifully displayed chocolate boxes.
• Have various individually wrapped chocolates for purchase. Your patrons are very likely to indulge in one sweet chocolate morsel than a whole box.  Keep these by your checkout area.
• Sell bundles which include a great deal for flowers and chocolates. It’s a good idea to include other items you sell such as perfume.

2. Unique Planters

Planters are all the rage now! Take beautiful green plants and add some to unique planters. Unique planters could have a place under home decor, however, they are so huge we thought it fitting to give them a place all by themselves.

• Zinc wall hanging planters – wow these are absolutely spectacular and such a presence.  These will surely attract customers and impulse buys bringing in huge profits.
• Ceramic animal planters in fun modern colors. These are super fun and believe it or not, so popular. Most purchased are llamas, foxes, hedgehogs, and turtles. These have a modern flair to them.
• All white accents have been popular for a while now however with these planters pay close attention to flowing shapes and odd organic looks.
• Hanging planters – we are talking higher end hanging planters with colors of yellows, teal, whites, and grays.
• Wall scape planters allow the customer to make plant art. This is a new trend we see sticking around for a long time.  Grays and whites are the most popular colors.

 

1. Succulents Terrariums

Succulents get the #1 spot because they are purchased by such a large demographic of consumers. While shopping at a high-end home decor/furniture store, there were succulents and succulent terrariums for sale. Besides the fact that this home store is now selling live plants, was the many customers hovering over them and putting them in their carts.

Ranging in price were tiny terrariums at $48.00 and way up over $150.00+. No wonder home decor stores are jumping on the succulent bandwagon and selling succulents and making a huge profit.

• Offer various individual succulents for sale.
• Have succulent terrariums displayed around your flower shop showroom.
• Pay close attention to the vessel customers are gravitating to.
• Succulents make great gifts for men and women alike and are a huge hit with businesses.
• If possible, bring your succulents outside, to lure traffic into your flower shop.
• Offer hanging terrariums. Besides being a great selling item, they look so beautiful when displayed in your flower shop.

Florists have a retail item in your store that is a great seller?  What are your customers gravitating to? Please share any retail items you feel are important to sell in a flower shop 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.

In Lieu of Flowers is perhaps the most detrimental 4 words in floral business.

Conveying compassion and respect for one’s passing is traditionally defined by sending flowers. The utmost disappointment is that customers take “In Lieu Of Flowers” literally, we understand it does say “In Lieu Of Flowers”, however,  that in no way means the family does not want flowers at the viewing/funeral service.

As floral professionals you understand how somber a viewing/ funeral service would be without flowers. The added beauty of sympathy flower arrangements is there to offer comfort to the visitors and also pay tribute to the deceased.  The terminology of “In Lieu Of Flowers” has caused an uproar in the floral community as it should, this is awfully mistaken too many times by customers.

The Future of In Lieu Of Flowers:

What is a floral business owner to do with the phrase “In Lieu Of Flowers?” We do not pretend to have all the answers, however, maybe it’s time once and for all the floral industry boycott this phrase altogether.

Although many florists have expressed their frustrations with local funeral homes, the “In Lieu Of Flowers” phrase offers a direct message not to send flowers and undermines the floral business. This is absolutely unacceptable, besides that, the true meaning of giving flowers is lost here. Regardless if someone wants to convey sympathy with flowers or not, there is no reason for the subliminal message!

Educate Customers:

Take steps to post a blog on your floral website explaining to customers what “In Lieu Of Flowers” really means.  Have a small write up on the sympathy section on your website as well.

Write A Letter To Your Local Funeral Homes: 

This may or may not work, however, all it takes is one funeral home director to  understand the importance of re-wording “In Lieu Of Flowers” and make a difference. Changing wording to “Send flowers and donations here,”  “Memorial contributions can be sent here, ” completely changes the playing field.

There are so many different phrases that can be used to convey a less discriminatory message. What the floral community is asking for is not to make people send flowers for funeral services, but to leave tradition alone and allow people to make their own heartfelt decision.

Why Flowers Are Important At Funeral Services:

There truly is no other sentiment you can send for a memorial service be it, charity donations or even money itself that can express as many emotions as flowers do.

Since the beginning of time flowers have been displayed for the deceased as a symbol of condolences, sympathy, and love. Thousands of years ago, they were used for their wonderful fragrances and soft beauty. In this time of mourning when words are forgotten the flowers offer comfort to its surroundings. Flowers also represent one’s life’s cycle, from one’s birth to one’s passing.

Taking the flowers out of memorial service will make the ambiance look dim and murky. The flowers are there to create an environment which is more comforting for people when mourning.

We could go on and on why flowers are so important at memorial services, the simple reason is flowers are natures miracles, and florists are natures miracle workers. Nothing in this world expresses the same sentiment as flowers do when given as an expression of sympathy. Let’s encourage people to respect tradition an appreciate flowers.

What is wrong with doing both?

Back in the day, some may remember, it was acceptable to give a monetary donation and flowers, a mass card, food and flowers for someone’s funeral service. No matter how you looked at it flowers worked  hand in hand with any other expression of sympathy.

Why are things different now? Do people have less money? Why not donate to desired charity and send flowers together?

In certain circumstances, if you cannot beat them then intrigue them! Perhaps the future of the floral business is to partner up with charities.  Sympathy flowers can be sent to the memorial service and florists can also donate to the respected charity on the customer’s behalf.

Although this may sound far fetched, there are ways to accomplish this by directly participating with well-known cause affected charities.

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Florists we want to see your most creative Sympathy Funeral Arrangements, there is a true art to designing sympathy florals and we want to post in our upcoming September blog post.  Please include business owner name, flower shop name, location and sympathy floral designer name. Email to info@floranext.com

Florists, Has “In Lieu Flowers” hurt or has had very little effect on 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.

 

 

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.

 

 

A Florist Guide to Planning Your Year

The floral industry, a fast-paced business, that’s ahead of seasons & holidays.

To most florist’s, planning the year is second nature, however, it always helps to have a set plan to organize everyone’s duties. In this blog, we present an easy guide for all your floral yearly planning.

 

January can be a slower month in the floral industry, however, there are loads to do. This is a great month to focus on your flower shops organization and marketing planning.

• Start a blog: This is a great way to increase your SEO, a simple how to blog will do wonders for your search engine visibility and keep the buzz going on your social media.

• Tip: “How to” blogs are the most searched, so anything with tips and tricks will be well received.

• Review your last years Valentine’s Sales: Start ordering your flowers for Valentine’s day. Ordering early equals savings, so make sure to order enough, and everything you need. Do not forget to order your add-ons, these are money makers, plush, chocolate, candy, and anything you wish to sell.

• Tip: If this is your first Valentine’s day, do not over order, this may be tricky, but set up a set amount you will order and see how your sales go. You can always get more in a pinch.

• Decorate Store & website for Valentines: Start the 2nd week of January, make a spectacular Valentines display in your store and also make sure your eCommerce store is ready for the early bird sales.

• Sign up for wedding sites:  If you are already signed up great, if not, now is a good time to sign up for wedding sites to promote your wedding floral business. Here are few you should consider, The Knot, Wedding Wire, My Wedding.

Buckle down for this short fast paced month! Although slow to start,  it is a good idea to have everything in order before the rush.

• Employee Management: Go over all employee scheduling and duties in the first week of February. Make sure you have hired all your new holiday help and that everyone understands their tasks for Valentine’s day.

• Tip: Good time to also rent extra delivery vans if needed.

• Promotions: Offer pre-Valentine’s day delivery promotions.  The idea here is to spread the wealth of this Valentine’s day and not be constricted to just delivering on February 14. Offer generous promotions on your flower shop website, post on social media and of course make sure they expire a few days before Valentines.

• Take care of yourself:  During this busy month, it is important to rest and take time for yourself. Encourage your employees to do the same and wear comfortable clothes, comfy shoes, and eat please, it’s amazing how many florists do not eat when they are busy. Being organized will alleviate most of the Valentines day pressure, so make sure to be well nourished and comfortable.

• Tip: Start a flower shop with a holiday diary. We know sounds corny, however it’s amazing what can be learned from holidays by just writing it down. Yes, you have your gross receipts, but how about mishaps, or comical happenings that are not noted, these are all so important and good read before the holidays.  

 

March can be the most rewarding month in the floral industry, it gives florist time to relax and get ready for new beginnings with the coming of spring.

• Finance Review: With the first quarter almost through, now is a good time to get a grasp on your profit and loss for January and February. Add notes about what you may do differently next year, a  good thing if you have started the flower shop diary.

• Spring Cleaning:  The #1 season that is most anticipated by customers is spring, especially if you live in the colder weathered areas, it is never too early to start bringing out this season. Start refreshing your flower shop and get ready for spring with beautiful decor and showcasing.

• March Sales Madness: As florists, we know march can be hit or miss with sales, so start a campaign and sell your products customers love, try a Free with purchase or half-off sales. make this a yearly ritual if this works for your business.

• Order your Easter flowers & plants! It’s always good to get ahead, start an order for your easter flowers and plants. Again ordering early equals savings from your suppliers and you also have the best selections.

 

Ready or not Mother’s Day will be here before you know it! Take April as a month to prepare for the #1 florist holiday.

• Order Mother’s Flowers & Supplies:  Make sure to order those beautiful containers and Mother’s day flowers with your supplier. Good time to order is early April.

• Showcase your plants: If you are selling plants, now is a good time to showcase your flowering plants, this creates such a welcoming inviting atmosphere for customers. If you can move some outdoors, this is great for some curb appeal.

• Promotions & Marketing: We recommend you start promoting after Easter to generate some early bird sales for Mother’s day. Post on your social media and website, this will help boost your SEO. A great marketing tip is to offer a giveaway, maybe a gift basket, or free flowers for a few months, and have customers fill out their information when they make a purchase.

• Employee Management: It’s that time again to make sure to hire the extra help you will need for Mother’s Day. Make sure all current employees understand their schedule and duties.

• Tip: If you are new to the floral industry, then a good to know tip is that Mother’s Day is the #1 floral business holiday, customers order throughout the week rather than one day. Be prepared with help, lots of flowers, and beautiful containers. 

 

May, what a great month for the floral industry! With one of the top selling holidays, this month starts off slow and quickly picks up in a super-charged way, so always good to be ready.

• Take a look around: Do a quick glance, does your flower shop look appealing to you? Make sure you use a critical eye and take it all in, the sound and if possible even the way it smells. Customers are drawn to a beautiful environment, it has proven to make them feel relaxed and comfortable, which will help increase those sales!

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

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

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

 

Oh June, what a lovely month! For some, the commencement of summer and a chance to organize all your floral business needs. June is the most popular month for weddings with September and October in a close 2nd. Florists are pleasantly surprised on how busy June can get with weddings and graduations.

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

• Offer promotions: Teacher gifts and graduation promotions are a great way to bring traffic into your flower shop. Be sure to post these on your floral website and social media.

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

 

We like to call July,  “a month of organization.” This month can be on the slower side,  so it’s very important to get your flower shop in order with beautiful displays and heavy on the marketing.

• Write a blog: We know this is listed in other months above, however,  July can be a slower month.  If you have time to write a How To Blog, or anything that inspires you, think about things you search for, read,  and watch as your SEO sky-rockets through the roof.

• Social media: Take some time to focus and revamping your social media communities. Add content and images and don’t forget the hashtags #, Again all this for top placement in Social Media.

• Tidy up your flower shop: By tidy up we mean clean, scrub, wash, organize, label, etc. Freshen up your floral space!

• Browse your floral supply stores:  July is a great month to look at products in your floral supply store, you can find great deals on holiday items, it is a great time to stock up.

 

August can be one of the slowest months in the floral industry. we ask that if you are slow, to try implementing new ways to market in your flower shop.

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

• Keep up with your blog: Now that you are pro, how about writing a seasonal blog or fall wedding blog? We cannot say this enough, blogs are so powerful with SEO.

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

 

October offers some great sales in the flower shop business, now is a good time to start orders on any extra stock supplies and get them at a discount for future use.

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

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

• Open House: Host a holiday open house showing off your latest products and floral designs.

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

• Note: October is a very popular wedding month with most wedding proposals in December. Think of launching a Wedding Package special on your website during this month.

 

Tis the season for flower sales, November all in all is a great month for flower sales. Customers are getting into the giving mood.

• Market the holidays! Add promotions to your floral website and do not forget about your social media!

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

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

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

• Tip: Do not forget to revamp your eCommerce for Christmas and update your social media

 

Many florists around the world enjoy huge flower sales during the Christmas holiday. Although in some parts of the United States, florists have seen a decline in their floral sales during Christmas, this month is quickly picking up and still trailing as the third best month for floral retail sales.

• Employee management: Set exceptions for your employees on selling upgrades and add-ons for each customer’s order. Review scheduling and days you are closed.

• Christmas Greens: Mentioned above, it is also a good idea to green your arrangements ahead of time for Christmas. Take time to do this early before the holiday rush.

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

• Tip: Do not forget to market to businesses. holiday parties are huge, so offer incentives to have them book with you for their flower needs. 

 

These are just some examples and a helpful guide for florists to plan out their year. Florists do you have any tips or must do’s for a specific month? Please share in the comments below with our readers.

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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.

 

 

Top Social Media Sites for Florists

In this blog we want to narrow it down to the top 8 social media sites for florists and explain the Ins and Outs of their operations and why they are crucial and matter in the floral industry.

 

LinkedIn – #8

It’s the leading social networking site for professionals, with about 200 million members, it’s a solid venue for connecting with other local businesses.

Why LinkedIn Matters to Florists

• Easy to stay in touch with other local businesses
• Provides a valuable backlink for your SEO
• Customers can recommend your services on Linkedin

How to get started

• Connect to local businesses in your area
• Use the Facebook-like feed to post articles, remind local partners of your brand
• Write a compelling summary about your flower shop business. (be conceded about your beautiful work and experience)
• Have a gravitating cover image.
• Add your products and services.
• Ask for reviews.

YouTube – #7

Creating polished YouTube videos is harder than on many other networks.  Upload videos of your floral wedding work or even how-to videos.  Most folks won’t discover you via YouTube, but you can host your video there and embed in your florist website.

Why YouTube Matters to Florists

• Show off wedding videos, link off of your website
• Great way to increase wedding sales, providing ways to promote on other social platforms by posting your video.
• Valuable backlink for SEO.

How to get started

• Make sure to have a Google account when signing up for Youtube.
• Use your business name as your username on YouTube.
• Clear description on what your video is about – “industry specific”.
• Make video headline compelling.
• Make sure you video is public.

 

Twitter – #6

Twitter is less a way to get new customers and more a way to build your brand value overall and catch the attention of search engines. Tweet about newsworthy floral related items during holiday times and you may find yourself re-tweeted by media.

Why Twitter Matters to Florists

• Participating with this social media real time giant and show your customers you’re “With The Times”.
• Keep in touch with customers – instantly alert your shoppers of specials, news and events.
• Engage with your shoppers, Twitter allows you to find out their likes and dislikes and have them give you feedback on your business.
• Twitter can boost your Google ranking back to good old SEO.

How to get started

• Use your  business username.
• Profile image is a must.
• Descriptive industry specific About Us.
• Keep an important Tweet at the top of your timeline by pinning it there. Use this feature to make sure visitors to your profile can’t miss your latest news, products, offerings, or events.
• Don’t forget your hashtags, like florist, flowers, flower design, etc (a word or phrase preceded by a hash or pound sign (#) and used to identify messages on a specific topic)

 

Instagram – #5

More than any other social platform, Instagram is a great way to keep in touch with your existing customers through beautiful, artful photographs. Buyers of wedding/event work will often check out Instagram to see examples of your work.

Why Instagram  Matters to Florists

• Keep in touch with existing customers
• Easy to maintain
• Adds credibility for wedding/event purchases
• Great for SEO

How to get started

• Determine your goals for signing up for Instagram, increasing customer traffic, selling more products, creating awareness of your flower business
• Link your eCommerce website to your bio in order to direct shoppers to you page

Pinterest – #4

Pinterest is a great way to showcase image galleries of your wedding/event work – collections of images at local event halls, churches and other venues will rank highly on Google – and new brides and event managers can find you that way.

Why Pinterest Matters to Florists

• Pinterest readers use Pinterest to decide to buy and most of all book wedding floral services
• Collections rank highly on Google – local content can help floral event/wedding buyers find your business
• Pins last a lifetime – creating high quality, relevant pins that don’t disappear overnight
• Great way to provide a catalog of your work – you can even embed Pinterest boards on your florist website
• Great backlink for images and organic searches on search engines

How to get started

• Complete your business profile (not personal account) and take your time with adding beautiful images of your work
• Add content to your bio and include keywords for the floral industry
• Add your location and your business website to your Pinterest profile

Yelp – #3

Yelp’s business ratings are some of the most used by consumers to evaluate your business. Bing and Google use Yelp ratings in their search results, so it can drive lots of business if you have great ratings and reviews.

Why Yelp Matters to Florists

• Website used most often by consumers who are looking to purchase floral products and services.
• Provides spectacular SEO for your floral business! (We cannot express enough, this is vital for your ranking on search engines)
• Leading customer review social platform which is proven to drive traffic to your business resulting in increased sales.
• Integrated with Apple Maps so users could locate businesses. Making it most valuable in bringing customers to you.
• Bing local pages showcase Yelp reviews, they have formed a relationship, these reviews are super important for your SEO.
• Google shows Yelp reviews as organic search results.

How to get started

• Fill your business profile completely
• Confirm your business through a phone call to get listed immediately (may not be necessary for all shops)
• Respond to reviews
• Offer (nominal) discount to customers to post reviews while they are in your store

Google My Business – #2

Formally known as Google Places, Google My Business will increase traffic to both your eCommerce online store and your physical location. This is a close #1 for Top Social media platforms – Google My Business is a must for any business owner.

Why Google My Business Matters to Florists

• Google My Business offers a variety of benefits to a business, especially if people are searching in your specific location for your flower shop.
• Allowing shoppers quick and easy access to  your phone number, address or hours of operation.
• Google My Business integrates directly with Google Maps.
• Google My Business showcases your customer reviews in Search Engine Results Page (SERP) and Google map. High star reviews help you stand apart from your competitors.
• One of the best backlinks for maximizing your SEO.

How to get started

• First thing is claim your page, if you have no page,  sign up with your google account at google.com/busines . Your account must be verified before it will start to show on google local pages.

Facebook – #1

With 1.71 billion users world wide, no surprise why Facebook wins the number one spot in our blog. Facebook is vital in helping business owners manage their communications and retain their customers.

Why Facebook Matters to Florists

• Increased exposure to your business.
• Shows off your business portfolio and personality.
• You can reach your targeted audience.
• Search Engines love, love, love – did we say love? Facebook Business pages URL’s are public, making these instantly rank on search engines.
• Get likes to increase your ranking on search engines. The more likes you receive, the higher you can rank. It’s all about popularity Florists!
• Allows for customer reviews.
• Increases website traffic with link posts.

How to get started

• You haven’t signed up with Facebook? What are you waiting for? We suggest you read this while you are signing up for Facebook!
• You must have a personal Facebook page in order to start a Facebook business page.
• Your Facebook personal page and business page will share the same log in. (Top right corner of your personal page  select to Create Page)

 

There you have it our fellow florists, Top 8 Social Media Sites that matter to florists. Whether you agree or not, we highly recommend signing up with these social media sites today! Please feel free to post any questions or comments on these Top 8 Social Media Sites 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.

What is the easiest way to increase your flower shop profits? Getting new customers isn’t always easy – but selling more to those that walk in the door doesn’t cost a penny.

Florists can commonly enjoy sales increases of 20% or more when they start upselling. How can you do it – and how can you get your employees to come along for the ride?

Keys to flower shop upselling

The best part of upselling is that it’s practically effortless. The customer has already decided on purchasing from you so the hardest part of the sales conversation is completed. You already have a connection with them and have identified and solved their current needs.

Here are four points to remember when florist upselling:

1. Connect with Customer – By Collecting Information: Find out as much as possible about why your customer is purchasing their flowers and bring up additional product that might not have thought of on their own. They will appreciate it. Express genuine emotion about birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
2. Wait until the sale is over: Upselling occurs after the customer has already decided to buy something. If you try and upsell before that, it looks pushy. But afterwards, it should look like great customer service.
3. Make the upsell affordable: As a general rule, upsold products should not increase the purchase total by more than 25 percent. That is why it is easy to add-on a $1.00 drink to your $2.00 hamburger order
4. Upsell with a purpose: Don’t just try to get rid of last year’s plush animals with every flower design, customers will see right through that. Always upsell items and services that match your customer’s floral purchase and needs.

Upselling 101 – How to Train Flower Shop Employees to Upsell! 

As the floral owner, your task is to transform your staff from order-takers to order enhancers. To do this, you need to build their sales skills one step at a time. You will want

1. Attitude – Start by emphasizing that it’s the attitude of helping or making your customer the winner that’s all-important.
2. Process – Prepare in writing your complete up-sell procedures. Remember to put together upsells that make sense.
3. Live Training – Spend a quiet afternoon doing live training with employees to give them a feel for how to sell.

Flower Shop Employee – Live Training

Live training is the way to make sure your employees understand the importance and how to upsell. Take a quiet afternoon and walk through different scenarios with employees:

• Scenario 1: Birthday flowers – mother buying flowers for teenage daughter
• Scenario 2: Wedding consultation – bride and mother visiting for final consultation
• Scenario 3: Anniversary flowers –  husband buying for wife of 25 years
• Scenario 4: Thank You flowers – secretary sending flowers to business associate

Make it fun! Have the store owner play the customer. Have other employees or friends listen in and give letter grade(A, B, C, etc.) to an employee on the following:

• Grade 1 – Connection with Customer – did the employee understand and connect emotionally to the customer?
• Grade 2 – Upsell timing – did the upsell come in at the right time in the conversation?
• Grade 3 – Upsell offer – was it an appropriate upsell offer, did it seem natural?

Example Flower Shop Upsells

• Have offers ready that upgrade their flower purchase like “for an additional amount we can add 30% more flowers to the design” or “for $$$, we can add a few more upscale flowers to enhance the arrangement.”
• Mention the addition of a complimentary product to any flower design. For a birthday, a stuffed animal, balloon or decorative candle or product should be highlighted. For a wedding, an additional throw-away bouquet or flowers for the Godparents perhaps.
• Initiate a flower arrangement subscription plan for customers who send arrangements regularly. This plan will send an arrangement each month for a set number of months for a certain cost. This is a great way to increase service to your customer and your bottom line with monthly guaranteed sales.

Practice the upsell procedures first before you give them to the staff. Have a meeting with your staff to go over the upsell procedure. Brainstorm with your sales staff the best way to enhance your florist customer’s experience. Do mock upselling interactions with each salesperson.

Have the staff watch you talk with and help flower shop customers first. Demonstrating what you expect each to do with each customer.

Watch your staff in action. Listen to them work with the customers in-person and on the phone. Find something they’re doing well, and then build from there. Never ever let them down-sell. Never should a staff member say “are you sure you want to spend that much?” “Use this flower instead of that because it is cheaper and will cost you less.” The customer has come to you for your flower expertise; never downgrade your services or product!

Last Thoughts on Flower Shop Upselling and Increasing Profits

Everyone in your flower shop should be taught and expected to upsell. Upselling can spell the difference between “just getting by” and having a profitable year. Still have some doubters of the importance of upselling? Test it out 100 times and tally the results. It should stop the nay-sayers

Upselling is not only for in-person or phone selling. Are you upselling on your floral website? You should be offering add-ons to all orders like chocolates, plush animals, etc. It’s a no-brainer!

It’s now time to take upselling to your shop! You ready? You have nowhere to go but up!

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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!

The other busy season is almost upon florists again yet many may not even know it. We’re not talking about the Christmas through Mother’s Day rush that keeps us busy in the spring – this is autumn! Here are some tips on how to market your flower shop for fall!

The season that sends many potential customers rushing to big box stores, hardware stores, and even greenhouses when they should be rushing to your flower shop. This is an important three-month decorating season that florists have much to offer to. Below are some tips to make sure you’re taking advantage of the autumn sales that should be yours. Be sure to read them over and leave us some tips of your own in the comment section.

Flower Shops Can Offer More

Many people think of florists as a spot for gifts, special occasions, and indoor arrangements, but flower shops can offer so much more. Florists offer unique inventory that your customers won’t find and a generic home improvement shop. Your customers need to understand that your shop offers hand-crafted specialty items that will stand out from the cookie-cutter décor that many settle for.

Wreaths, table top gardens, entry pieces, and centerpieces are just a few of the opportunities that florists have to show off their craft and give your customers stunning new looks to experiment with. Don’t be afraid to emphasize that your small, local-owned flower shop is the place for your customers to shop. Shopping locally or shopping small is very popular at the moment (Small Business Saturday is just around the corner!).

What to stock for your flower shop

Fall occupies a special place in many people’s hearts, so be sure to stock something special and seasonal for them! In addition to all of the materials needed for the items above, don’t be afraid to compete for outdoor space! Must stock fall products include hay bales, corn stalks, scarecrows, pumpkins and mini pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn, fall door wreaths etc. There’s no reason to lose out to franchised hardware store for sales your shop could easily make.

Show your store off

Let potential customers know that your flower shop should be their one stop shop for fall decorating before they even pull into the parking lot. An eye-catching outdoor display in front of your flower shop will show people that you have exciting fall décor to offer. A fall window will give you a chance to show off your technical skills and draw in passersby.

Of course, now days your digital storefront has nearly as much impact as your actual storefront. On your website, be sure to show off your fall product category with new banners, products, or even backgrounds. If you’re already active on social media, now is a good time to begin teasing your customers with shots of new inventory as well as new fall designs.

Another way to go about this is to show off the fall items you have in stock each week or 2 on your blog, website, or favorite social media platforms. Your customers will appreciate the inside look at your business with these “What’s Fresh this Week” style posts. Shops that have been diligent in collecting customer emails will have an extra step up with the ability to send out email marketing and maybe even a coupon to promote decorating services and fall products.

Is your flower shop making the most of the Fall season?

Given all the advantages of shopping with a florist for fall décor, it’s surprising how many flower shops are missing out. Following the steps above will help ensure your business is capturing as much fall business as possible over the three month season. How does your shop rank? Let us know what creative ideas you’ve put in place to keep customers coming back to you as their one-stop-fall-shop.

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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!