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.

image via Shutterstock

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.

image via Shutterstock

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

image via Shutterstock

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. 

image via Shutterstock

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.

image via Shutterstock

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.

image via Shutterstock

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.

We all know how significant reviews are for our floral businesses—over 85% of customers base their purchases on reviews they see online.

Unfortunately, many satisfied customers will not leave a review, but you’ll always hear from the naysayers. This is why florists pull their hair out over negative reviews. Our goal is to encourage you to proactively seek customer reviews, not wait for them.

Online reviews are here to stay, and good or bad reviews are overwhelmingly important for the success of your flower business, the only way to grow your flower business is with reviews, and the best way to combat negative online reviews is with positive reviews.

With some florists now entering their slower months of the year, now is a great time to start building a strategy for garnering more online customers reviews.

Image via Shutterstock

1. Offer Discounts for Floral Reviews

The power of a discount, don’t believe me, try it for your self. The task can be as simple as adding a notice on your counter or florist website. The sign can say something along the lines of, “Google & Yelp On-the-Spot Reviews get $5 off.” If you really need the reviews, offer a $10 discount. Remember, this is all part of marketing and can be written off.

Good to Know: While at a big box home store, at the end of the sale I was invited to leave my cashier an online review for a chance to win $500 gift card. Although the chances I would win this gift card were slim, it did encourage me to leave a review and the store only foots the bill for a single gift card.

Image via Shutterstock

2. Be Direct—Request a Review!

While we’re thankful for the customers that give us positive online reviews without asking, let’s face it—most of the time customers are not privy to online reviews or aware of the impact they have, therefore we must be direct and simply ask.

• Ask customers after a sale, either by phone or in person
• Be sure to ask customers on your floral website
• Email customers with a link to review your flower shop with website order confirmation
• Be blunt and post links on social media to your review pages asking for reviews

Image via Shutterstock

3. Make Leaving a Floral Review Easy and Accessible

We all think customers know how to leave reviews online, the fact is that some do and most don’t or rather not take so much effort. Make the process for reviewing your floral business easy and we mean as easy as ultimately possible.

• Have a direct link on your website to your review page; the home page is great, however using this link on multiple pages improves visibility
• Have an iPad or another device at your counter with your review page open and ready for action
• Send monthly or quarterly emails to your customers to review you with a direct link to your review page
• Add your social media address to your business cards—make sure your social media has all the appropriate links to your review pages

Image via Shutterstock

4. Be Responsive When You Get a Floral Review

When getting reviews—good or bad—you must respond either with a grateful “thank you,” or with your version of the story. Nothing entices customers to leave a review more than when they see the business is acknowledging your interactions. Feeling they got the owner’s attention and feedback can be very gratifying to customers.

Image via Shutterstock

Some Ways Reviews Help Your Floral Business Thrive

• High SEO impact, making your brand stand out from competitors on search engines
• Reviews can show on online search engines lists raising your placement
• Influences consumers into making a purchase
• Offers business credibility

Getting a Bad Review

This all said, we don’t want you to dwell on the occasional negative review. Yes, they can be annoying and even flat-out untrue, however having a good balance actually ranks your brand best. The key is a few poor reviews, with appropriate non-defensive response with good reviews, makes your business look legitimate, and also shows you care enough to respond and ultimately that is what customers want to see. Click here to learn more about the ways bad reviews can be helpful.

 

For florists who would never think of asking for reviews, it good to start building reviews into your everyday business tactics, just like asking a customer if they would like an add-on or upgrade. We cannot emphasize enough how important these are in building your online reputation and brand.

Florists, do you have any advice or questions regarding online customer reviews? Please share your feedback, tips, or questions in the comment section below.

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.

Family-owned floral businesses rarely survive the transition from the first generation to the second. As a matter of fact, in this day and age, they are becoming more and more obsolete.

Many studies have shown that there is a high impact on family-owned and run businesses on our economy. In the floral industry, there was a time when this was the norm: a local flower shop stayed in the family, resulting in a local staple, while the whole family was able to live comfortably from running the family-owned flower shop. There was never a question of whether their children would continue the business after their parents’ retirement.

On our quest to find a third-generation family-owned flower shop, we came across Lighthouse Flower Shop in Mesa, Arizona. We thought it would be illuminating to have a brief Q&A with Lisa Miller, the third-generation owner of Lighthouse Flower Shop. This extraordinary accomplishment of running a successful flower business for 58 years definitely beats the statistical odds. We hope you find this interview encouraging, informative, and a piece of floral business history.

Lisa, Age 5

 

What year did your grandmother Hope Griffin open the flower shop, and do you know why she decided to open a flower shop?

Her first flower shop was in Presque Isle, Maine, and Grandma Hope saw that people getting married at the local church needed wedding flowers, so she decided to open a flower shop.

Tell us how the name Lighthouse Flower Shop came to be.

It was originally called Griffin’s Flowers in Maine and the first few years here in Arizona, but when my mother Ruth took over she renamed it Lighthouse Flowers as a tribute to Northern Maine.

 

Lisa’s mom, Ruth

 

When did your mother take over the Flower Shop and why?

My mother Ruth—my Grandma Hope’s daughter-in-law—took over the flower shop in 1974. My mom took over because she didn’t have anything else lined up, and she did have a knack for the floral business.

What is the earliest memory you have at Lighthouse Flower Shop?

Besides being there every day after school and on weekends, I remember making Mother’s Day corsages when I was in elementary school. Once for show and tell I even taught the class how to make corsages. Not bad for a little girl, wiring flowers together!

Lisa and Linda

As we see in the picture above, you have a sister (Linda Tomblin). Did she ever participate in the flower shop business?

She doesn’t have a creative bone in her body, but she went on to become a kindergarten teacher.

When did you take over the family business?

Four years ago, when my mother decided to retire.

Do you still see her around the shop often?

Yes, every day. She actually just ran a delivery for me with my daughter.

What would you say has made your floral business so successful for 58 years?

We are still the original family who owned the shop, and we have customers who are multi-generational. Also, we can have competitive prices because we own our building.

Did your grandmother, mother, or yourself use a wire service? Do you still?

My grandmother no, but Mom used to have Redbook and Carrick—I remember the flip book with the 5×7 pictures we kept on the counter.

We tried a major wire service for about a month. All their arrangements were short and tiny and we got too many complaints.

What would you say was the single most influential factor in the success of your flower shop?

Customer service, honesty with our customers, and high-quality product. I only take on orders I can handle, that I know will represent my brand—even if it means turning business away sometimes.

What are some of the biggest hurdles you’ve encountered while building the family-owned floral business, and how did you overcome them?

Learning to work with social media, SEO, and getting into advertising for the first time. My grandmother and mother did not believe in advertising, so their business all came from word-of-mouth. It was a simpler time to start a business, and there was a smaller variety of flowers and colors to sell in general.

Running a family-owned business can have its pros and cons. What would you say are some of the pros and cons?

Pro: I can set my own hours and have creative control over all projects I choose to take on.

Con: Long hours, and it’s hard to find experienced part-time help around the holidays.

By your measures (or from what you can remember) what year would you say you sold the most flowers?

When I started branding/marketing this created an explosion. This year has been our best year ever. Last week was actually one of my most profitable weeks, it was like a little Mother’s Day week.

What is one change to the floral industry that you didn’t see coming? Is there anything that you did predict?

Pinterest is by far the biggest change. Everyone comes in with the same picture—they don’t allow me to be creative, and everyone asks for burgundy dahlias.

Does that make you sad?

It does, and I love this business. Nobody else in the family wants the shop. It’s been here for so long, but I’m holding out hope for a fourth generation.

Lisa’s grandmother, Hope

What do you know today that you wish you would have known when you first got started running the flower shop?

My shop is much more profitable when we do fewer weddings. Last October I did 40 weddings, but they were smaller, and I’ve had to turn down other work to keep up with weddings.

What tip would you give someone that wants to be successful with weddings?

Be brave and charge for your work, and charge up front.

What would be the one piece of advice you would give someone who is opening a flower shop? 

Be prepared to compete with large grocers and wire service websites, and taking the time to educate customers about the difference between these sites and stores and a real brick-and-mortar shop. Your quality will always speak volumes for your brand, never skimp on quality.

Lisa’s Wedding, 1995

If you could do anything besides own and operate a flower shop, what would it be?

I would love to be an auto mechanic because I love cars. I also tried to get into the army, but they told me I was too small, so the flower business it was 🙂

We all want to know what your grandma’s, mom’s, and your favorite flowers are.

My grandmother loved amaryllis and bearded iris. My mom doesn’t have a favorite. I really like hyacinths and red heart garden roses.

In closing, there are many young new florists. What advice would you give them?

It takes so much hard work to be a good florist and a lot of patience. Everyone who wants to own a flower shop should apprentice at a flower shop. You must keep your flower shop updated on the outside—every year I update my flower shop to keep it feeling fresh.

~~~

One thing we learned in interviewing Lisa is that you can’t start a flower business with the intent to keep it for your family, your goal should be to run a successful business for yourself, and if your family follows your example, that’s icing on the cake. As technology encroaches deeper into our lives, it’s important to remember how Lisa ended our interview: “Robots will never be able to arrange flowers.” We couldn’t agree more.

 Marketing, as we all know, is essential for the survival of your floral business.

There are still many floral business owners who do not have a direct marketing strategy or feel bewildered by the word itself.  Marketing can be so many things and most business owners who thought not to be marketing their floral business, in fact, were. Bussines marketing is no longer just huge billboards, TV commercials or coupon direct mailers. It can be something as simple as posting an image of your flower arrangements or services on social media.

If you remember one thing from business marketing, marketing is getting customers to buy your products/services.  Marketing for your flower shop and online store does not have to be expensive or overwhelming.  We promise you that following the tips below will give you a clear understanding of how simple floral business marketing can be without breaking the bank.

1. Floral Business Marketing Goals

In order to achieve master status in marketing, you must first understand why you are marketing for your floral business in the first place. The answer to this is simple-

• Attract/Engage customers.
• Create brand visibility (brand being your flower shop business – visibility is the flower shop everyone knows, remembers and recommends) 
• Educate on products and services you offer.
• Promote your products and services.

Tip: Although floral marketing can be inexpensive there are aspects that require free time on your part- good to set aside one day a month to go over your marketing strategy and what you will be promoting the following month. 

2. Offer Free Marketing Gift With Purchase

Ever wonder why back in the day Chinese restaurants gave you a free calendar with purchase? This was a genius marketing tactic for its time. Customers would hang the calendar on their fridge and never look for another Chinese restaurant again. This is back when looking up a business was picking up a heavy phone book and searching for a business. The subliminal message here was brand recognition and visibility.

Recently a bakery on a busy Sunday morning offered a free T- shirt if you spent over $30.00. When looking around, many customers had a T-Shirt in hand.  I actually never thought I would wear it, but I do it’s cozy and soft. I find myself grabbing it all the time to run errands around town with a direct advertisement for the bakery.  This is marketing, and I love the idea of it.

Think of things you can offer to customers to make your flower shop brand visible and make sure it’s something that will be used often. Your business name, phone number, and website address- and your address too if it fits. We want everything to be very clear and visible on the product you offer free with purchase.

• Pens
• Calendars
• Bags
• Mousepads
• Hats
• T-Shirts
• Jackets
• Sweatshirts
• Water Bottles

Tip: We recommend all employees at your floral business to wear clothes that state your flower shop name, phone number, and websites address as well. Marketing/Advirtesting should start in-house.

3. Work With Local Bussiness

Partner up with local businesses in which you can work together to cross promote each other, once you find local businesses to work with you, you may backlink them on your website.  (adding local business website address to your website and vice versa)

Besides backlinking, work together on –  social media postings.

Businesses you can and should work with-

• Bridal Salons
• Entertainment/DJ Companys
• Hair/ Make Up Salons
• Nail Salons
• Limo/Party Bus Companys
• Venues
• Dance Schools

4. Floral Marketing On Social Media

The easiest way to market on social media communities is for you to pick one social media community you prefer and then duplicate the content on to the others. There are loads of platforms out there that make posting on social media a breeze by connecting all social media communities on to one platform. Check out  HootSuite

• Think of your preferred #Hashtag. This hashtag will now be used for all your posting on your social media communities.
• Set a schedule for posting. Choose a specific day each week, biweekly or monthly. (of course, we prefer weekly, however, that is not always possible so post within your time allowance) 
• If you are only posting monthly, you still need to check your social media community daily. Be responsive, address comments that need to be addressed and thank new fans for liking/following your page. Nothing beats gratitude for brand visibility.
• Create enticing eye-catching posts. Pay attention to the images selected, have a clear bold title and if possible link to your website.
• Engage fans. On a weekly basis try to engage your fans with questions, thoughts or tips.
• Allow for fans to post their images on your social media.
• Offer promotions and contests. Fans love to participate in contests/questionnaires,  be it something as simple as one quiz question or asking their advice.
• Allow fans to review you on Facebook.

5. Make A Floral Video/Commercial

We are huge advocates of making a short floral video of your business. These can be posted across your social media communities and linked back to your website. Sites like slide.ly/promo make this very simple to do. Researchers confirm that videos help create longer lasting brand visibility with more conversions to sales.

• Use relevant keywords when posting your video.
• Link your floral video to your website
• Post on Youtube and all your social media communities

6. Google Business And Yelp Is A Must

A whopping 91% of customers read reviews, it’s crucial to sign up for Google business and claim your business on Yelp. We hear it time and time again how customers are attracted to businesses with reviews and search engines make these business reviews very prominent. Every review counts in creating more trust with the readers.

• Google Bussiness and Yelp allow for customer interactions by reading/ leaving a review and posting photos.
• Customer love to read testimonials and reviews, the more the better. An average small business should have  40 customer reviews at a minimum.
• Offer $5.00 off any order for a customer that gives you an on the spot review on Google business or Yelp. The advantages far out weigh the discount.
• Post these reviews on your website.

7. Write A Blog 

Blogging takes commitment and a good strategic plan. Writing a blog twice a year will not offer you that much recognition, commit to blogging at least once a month.  The benefits of blogging, are priceless, does wonders for your SEO and allows valuable content to share and link back to your website on social media communities.

• Blog about what you do. Be specific to the floral business and use keywords.
• If blogging is not for you – hire someone to write your floral blogs. Hiring a monthly blogger does not cost much compared to the impact it has on your SEO. For around $100-$150.00 a month you can start engaging customers with your blogs.
• Write about things people genuinely want to read about. How To’s, Secrets Revealed, Tips & Tricks and anything Floral Wedding – these are all very popular just do not deviate from your profession, which in this case is the floral business.
• Post your blog link with images and a title anywhere and every where you can. All you social media communities, send to friends via a text message and see if your local business partners will post on their social media communities and website.

Florists 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 in the comment section below.

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

You have a creative passion and love for flowers, you dream of owning and operating a flower shop.

Your dream can be a reality! What other career choices can be as rewarding than being a flower shop owner and opening a flower shop?   How many times have we heard people say, “I wish I owned a flower shop.”

There are tons of nostalgic when it comes to being a flower shop owner. Using your creativity to sell everlasting emotions with flowers and surrounded by natures beauty on daily basis is priceless. Have you pondered taking the leap into the floral industry as a business owner? Go For It!

If you have come across a neighborhood flower shop that is for sale, even better! There are important key factors to look for when buying a flower shop.  Let’s review the benefits and 8 tips to consider when buying a flower shop.

Benefits Of Buying A Flower Shop

• Less Up Front Costs
• Easy Turn Around Time
• Established Reputation
• Continuous Cash Flow
• Great SEO
• Guidance from current owner
• Trained Staff

7. Whats Included In Purchase Price?

To run a flower shop, equipment, inventory and supplies are needed. Find out what is actually included in the purchase price. Look over the condition of equipment to see if it will need to be replaced sooner than later.

• Coolers
• Equipment
• Inventory
• Customer Data Base
• Delivery Vehicle
• Current POS & Website Software

Note: Does the purchase price include House Accounts (Accounts Receivable) take a look at these and see what is outstanding. 

6. What Debt Are You Buying?

Take into consideration all the acquired debt when purchasing an existing shop. It is good to know what you will be responsible for once you take over ownership of flower shop.

• Are suppliers owed money?
• Are utilities up to date?
• Are Government and State Taxes up to date?
• Are there any liens on the business?

5. Flower Shops With Wire Services

Some flower shops participate with wire services. If this is the case for the flower shop you are purchasing, establish whether or not the hardware of the wire service has been paid off.

• Wire service hardware includes computer servers, printers, receipt printers and cash drawers.
• Is the shop you are planning on purchasing in a contract with a wire service?
• If you wish to continue to participate with said wire service, see whether you will resume payments on hardware or if the loan should be paid off before you take over.

Note: Not all existing flower shops for sale still owe balances on wire service hardware, if they do not, then you can just resume the monthly payments due if you wish to continue the wire service.

4. Flower Shop Name & Domain Name

Will you have full rights to flower shop name and domain name? You must also take into consideration any domain names the existing Flower Shop has, domain names are the address for the flower shop’s website.

• Regardless if you want to keep the existing flower shop name, it is always recommended to keep the domain name of the existing flower shop if it is placing higher on search engines.
• Make sure that you read and go over any limited liabilities attached to the existing Flower Shop name when purchasing.
• Make sure you have access to email accounts with the flower shop’s name, in particular, the one associated with Google Business account for the domain name.

3. Credit Card Processing

There are many facets to credit processing and good to know and understand the basics. Will you continue with the same credit card processing merchant the existing flower shop is using?

• If you are, then make sure to speak with the credit card merchant to change information.
• You will also need to update your gateway if you are processing credit cards online. Be sure to update the bank information to receive timely deposits of sales.

Payment Gateway: A payment gateway is necessary to process sales online or brick and mortar. The gateway can store and encrypt customers credit card information.

Credit Card Merchant: A credit card merchant functions like a bank account who authorizes you, the merchant, to accept credit cards as payments. These accounts will work with a payment gateway.

Payment Processor: A financial institution that works behind the scenes. Connects to both the payment merchant and gateway passing the information back and forth.

Payment Aggregators: Allows you to accept credit payments without having to set up a merchant account. Payment aggregators have an internal gateway so no gateway setup is required with no extra costs for a gateway. The best-known payment aggregators are Stripe, Square and PayPal.

2. Will you need to Hire Staff?

In some cases, most, if not all, the staff will stay when new owner acquires the flower shop.

• There are times when the owner of the flower shop will also offer to stay for a specific time period to help out with training you, the new owner.
• Are all current employees staying?
• Will there be changes in scheduling?

1. Be Hands On In The Floral Industry

It goes without saying that understanding the way the flower industry works is the key in pursuing a career as a floral business owner. Most business owners learn as they go, however, in the floral industry, floral designing, flower prep is important as all other business management tools. 

• Even if you will have full-time floral designers, it is important that you understand floral design. Take a floral design class.
• If owning a flower shop is your dream, think of working in a flower shop for some time to understand the business.
• Have a flower shop owner mentor you, connect with other florists for help and guidance.

Florists, did you buy a flower shop? What is your experience?  What key advice would you give to our readers? Please share your feedback or questions below in the comment section.

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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.

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.

Florists, did you know you make a huge difference?

The world as we know it would never survive without floral professionals. With potentially one of the busiest floral holidays here, it’s no wonder florists may be feeling frazzled and drained. It’s our job to remind you just how amazingly awesome you are and how your career choice makes such a difference. Not just for your community but in general for all humankind!

Yes, we know that sounds deep and profound but it’s true. Florists you create so much beauty, emotions and memories. Your passion for the floral industry is recognized and very much needed.

image via pexels.com

Florists Have Been Around For Centuries:

Earliest known flower arranging dates back to ancient Egypt to 2,500 BCE.  Egyptians were the first to cut and place flowers to decorate and add color to their surroundings.

• Florists were so sought after and so necessary that it was almost royalty to be a florist.
• Back then (and even today) the most beautiful accessory, gift and decor accents are arranged flowers.
• Flower arranging made these miraculous gifts from Mother Nature to evoke everlasting emotions.

Image via pexels.com

Flower Arrangements Benefit Health:

Did you know that studies continually find that floral gift giving has a tremendous impact on our health? You would be surprised to know that lavish gifts, money, tech gadgets and clothing have little or no benefit to our general health.

• Studies find that patients in hospital rooms with colorful floral arrangements are in often a better, positive mood, need less pain relief medication and have overall lower blood pressure.
• Flower arrangements also have a profound effect on your workspace and home. Making you more productive, able to think clearer and also calmer.
• Surrounding oneself with flower arrangements helps increase your sex drive, evoking increased erotic feelings.
• Flower arrangements boost senior citizen’s spirits. Researchers at Rutgers released the shared results of a six-month behavioral study on the health effects of flowers on senior citizens. The study shows that flowers ease depression, inspire social networking and refresh memory as we age.

image via pexels.com

Why We Need Florists So Much:

Florists, could we ever imagine what the world would be like with no flower designing? The impact would be tremendous and we imagine a less cheery, more drab world.

• No special way of adding color and beauty to one’s life.
• No way of giving a gift of flowers which convey our deepest gratitude.
• No way of marking memories in our life’s journey with the addition of floral arrangements.
• Weddings would not be the same.
• Life would just not be the same. People count on their florist professional. Remember that!

Your contribution to the world is so special, so enduring, floral designs run deep within the receiver’s soul.

Think of all the ways you as floral professional impact patron’s life changing events.

Adding special memories;

• New baby
• Child’s first play
• Prom
• Graduation
• First date
• Breakup
• Showing love
• New job
• Birthdays
• Get Wells
• Mother’s day
• Weddings
• Holidays
• Anniversaries
• Offering beautiful floral arrangements for sympathy in helping to convey condolence and enhance the service.

Florists, during this busy holiday think of what a superstar you are and how your career choice impacts the lives of all and helps the world. We want to send all floral professionals across the world a special thank you for all you do in helping everyone’s life journey. We hope that you have a very prosperous Mother’s Day! Please share any feedback or 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.

Bold floral blooms fill this 2017 spring season for florists!

Flowers are certainly trending in all aspects this spring. We are not just talking flower arrangements, think fashion, home decor, artwork and much more!  This week’s blog, we will focus on the “Must Do” floral trends for spring 2017.

Floral trends have now reached an ultimate high with florals in every aspect of life. Wedding trends for this year’s spring are so much more relaxed and less rigid, with an array of different techniques and some fun ways to showcase your floral designs and tricks.

Matching Floral Arrangements: 

Try matching your floral designs to the bridesmaid dresses. What? Yes, one of the most desired trends is matching flowers and patterns of the wedding dress wedding party attire to their actual floral bouquet.

This makes for a great social media post. With customers up with their social media and hashtags, they are making an impact with visually appealing images. This, of course, works in your favor for increasing your SEO, with great backlinks as well as a gallery of trending floral work for new customers.

image via pixabay.com

Cascading Floral Wedding Bouquet:

Cascading wedding bouquets are trending this season due to its lush and romantic feel.  You may opt for a smaller cascade.

Fact: Brides are gravitating to the classic elegance of these cascading floral bouquets.

Once trending was an overly large hand picked bouquet look. Now a slightly more tailored look and not so large, with an organic feel is making its way to the head of the line. The updated cascading bouquet design complements the bride in every way without steering the attention from the bride.

 Dainty Wedding  Floral Garlands:

Not just used as centerpieces, these little dainty floral garlands are used to adorn place settings.

image via Idalina Bertone

Blooming  Floral Plants:

Incorporating blooming plants is so hot right now! These are used mainly as centerpieces with added touches of nature, such as twigs and moss.

Note: Floral plants are an added touch with other florals throughout the wedding.

Click here to see spring 2017 wedding trends!

Modern floral arrangements are in the lead of the mainstream of floral design. Using beautiful textures and containers with a less is more approach.

image via pixabay.com

Blues & Copper Florals:

Two of the biggest colors for this season are shades of blues and coppers. Purchasing containers in these color hues and adding simple floral arrangements is a big hit.

What’s Old Is New:

Think baby breath, mums and carnations, we know, not usually a customer favorite. These reasonably priced classics are making a huge come back when incorporated with higher end flowers or beautiful greens.

Queens Annes Lace is also taking the floral market by storm, try Queen Annes Lace in brown hues.

Think of the super fashion floral trend, where they use mainly daisies, mums and roses to adorn prints. Stock these in your cooler in various colors.

image via pixabay.com

Floral Colors:

We can almost say that color is trending this up and coming warm season, however, it’s all about combinations. Trending now is bold and brights, muted color combinations, burgundies and reds and of course whites and grays.

• Go Bold – Go for the gusto with bright bold hues (bright pinks, oranges, and lime greens)
• Muted Colors –  Hues in a muted tones all in the same color family (rose, peach, soft browns )
• Bright Burgundy and Reds – These hues offer super visual impact. Do not forget to incorporate with dainty flowers in the pink tones.
• White & Gray – Always a classic is the white floral arrangement. This time try incorporating the ever so popular shade of gray with lush greens that come in this hue.

Click here to see spring 2017 floral trends!

Trends certainly come and go, however interesting enough, floral design allows for all trends to come together. The thing to remember with specific trends is that there are patrons that still like what they like, regardless of what is trending.

We are curious to see what, if any, trends leave your flower shop. What are your customers gravitating to a far as floral design? Please share in the comment section below your feedback and questions.

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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 let’s get into the nitty gritty on Florist Website Domain Names!

Before we do lets first explain what a domain name really is, a domain name is used to identify one or more IP addresses. Domains are also used in URLs to identify a particular web page.

For example in the URL https://www.Floranext.com the domain name is Floranext.com.

image via floranext.com

Creating A Florist Website Domain Name

Having a domain name that resonates and stands the test of time is key in maximizing your floral business.

Do’s

1.Domain names are for life, it is important to invest some time in picking the right domain name.

2. If your florist website caters to customers world-wide or mostly United States, using the .com is most recommend. However we are super excited on the new industry specific extension (TLD) such as .Florist, slightly pricey however worth every penny.

If your floral website targets business by country, for example a Canada website that only does business in Canada, then your best bet is a (.ca ),same rule applies for all other countries .

3. Use proper keywords in your domain, if you are a flower business then without a doubt you must use a keyword specific to your business, for example flowers – floral – florist.

Tip: If you are targeting a specific area adding your keyword and area is a great for SEO .

Don’ts

1. Don’t use Hyphens (-) or underscores (_).
2. Don’t be too clever, clever domain names without the proper keywords are harder for search engines and customers to understand. Be simple and to the point with your domain name.
3. Don’t use numbers to replace words, for example – florist4you, even though catchy, this is a major don’t with domain name’s.

Tip: Make sure your domain is spelled properly and avoid misspelling trends

image via godaddy.com

Registering  Your Florist Website Domain Name 

With an abundance of domain managing providers it can be a daunting task when registering your florist website domain name. Following the simple do’s and don’ts below will make it a seamless process.

Do’s

1.  You should be the owner of your floral business domain name, so register it!
2. Remember to renew your domain name based on your agreement.
3. Try the new industry specific TLD’s such as .Florist.

Don’ts 

1. Do not allow a web hosting provider to offer to purchase your domain or set up you with a domain name.
2. Purchase unnecessary TLD’s (.net, .org, etc).
3. Do not purchase anything beside your domain name, such as advertising or marketing.

image via floranext.com & psd mockup

What to do if a Wire Service/Website Provider owns your domain

Obtaining your domain name from a website provider is crucial to the branding of your business. Regardless if you are staying with this website provider or leaving you MUST control your own domain name. There is valuable SEO with each domain name, the longer the business has been established the better the SEO.

Do’s

1. Request in writing to control your domain name.
2. Be persistent,with calls and emails, remember this is your business and this domain name must be released into your control.
3. Beware of cybersquatting –  cybersquatting is using your domain name with bad intentions by selling it back to you or using if for an order gather website. Unfortunately, once this happens there is nothing you can do, your customers will be ordering from an entirely different website thinking it is yours.

Don’t

1. Give up! Continue to pester your website provider for control of your domain.

Tip: please download our sample Domain Name request letters –

  FTDDomainTransferRequest.pdf (209 downloads) TelefloraDomainTransferRequest.pdf (196 downloads)

1.”I have had a Florist Website domain name for 20 years, however it’s not cool or trendy, should I change it?”

The answer to this is simply, NO – Regardless if your domain name is cool or trendy this not important. The most important thing is that your business is found on search engines and ranking high or on the first page. Changing your domain name will not make you visible on the first page of search engines, which means you will need to start over – it’s like opening a whole new business.

2.”Can I point other Florist Website domain names to my website?”

You absolutely can! – There are no positive or negative affects pointing multiple domain names. However, if  you have a shorter domain name, this could be easier to communicate to your customers. We would discourage pointing a .com to a .ca or country specific TLD however.

3.”What is a TLD?”

TLD stands for Top Level Domain name. TLD are part of the domain name to the right of the url – .com, .net or .org.

A ccTLD is a country code Top Level Domain name.

Florists, if you have any questions or tips regarding florist website domain names, please post 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.

Flower arranging has been around for centuries, where did it begin?

The idea of being around beautiful flowers is appealing to a large demographic of people, but did you ever wonder how flower arranging came to be? Take a moment and step back in history with us on how flower arranging began.

papyrus painting via google.com

Egypt

Earliest known flower arranging dates back to ancient Egypt to 2,500 BCE.  Egyptians were the first to cut and place flowers in a vase to decorate and add color to their surroundings.

Egyptians were known as the first florists by trade and commissioned to place very high stylized arrangements around burials, processions, and table decorations. These florists would carefully select flowers that had a symbolic meaning with emphasis on religion.  A big seller was the garland of flowers worn by loved ones and left at the tombs.

Fact: Besides the Iris, the lotus flower and water lily were considered sacred to Egyptians.

Painting by Lawrence Alma Tadema via google.com

Greeks & Romans

The Greeks and the Romans used flowers while incorporating herbs and olive branches with their floral design. Romans prefered flower was the rose, these beautiful flowers were used for dressing tables during many meals due to its overwhelming fragrance, which was known as the “Hour of Rose.”

Fact: Laurel wreaths were created and presented to athletes who won in the ancient Olympics, flowers are still presented in today’s Olympic games.

Han Dynasty Flowers – Image via google.com

China

China was not left behind with their flower arranging dating as far back as 207 BCE. Being a florist in China, you were held with great respect and honor.  Flowers were a component of religious teachings and medicine; Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism place flowers on their altars in honor. The most typical design was a cone shape design with the most honored flower the peony, “The King of Flowers.”

Painting by Jan Brueghel the Elder, Flower Still Life via google.com

Europe

Flower arranging finally reaches Europe by 476 AD.  Flowers were popular in churches and monasteries where flowers were used for food (to eat) as well as decoration. An important part of flower arranging was with herbs, which was used as a spiritual symbol in arranging.

Italy was the first in Europe to incorporate flowers in paintings, they were the first to paint flowers in a vase, thus creating a need for floral design. Adorning your balcony with flowers and petals in baskets was an inviting sign to your home.

Image via pixabay.com

United States

Large tall flowers in a vase were a sign of wealth and success and considered “trendy” in the United States. Floral design was compact and asymmetrical and stacked tightly with many different flowers and colors for a unplanned look.

Flowers were also a sign of respect and kindness when giving as a gift during this time and created lots of need for florists. Men ideally wore a boutonniere daily during their travels, think of it as the business men attire.

Fact: A popular bouquet was the tussie-mussie bouquets, these bouquets were a must for eliminating odors in most homes during this time.

Centuries have past, but one thing remains, flower arranging is a timeless art and will continue be an important in centuries to come. Florists, do you have a favorite floral arranging history fact? Please share 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.