Mother’s Day is just around the corner, is your business ready for this busy floral holiday?

Having a decent plan in place to make the most revenue during Mother’s Day is fundamental in receiving every one of the rewards of this bustling blossoming occasion. In this blog, we will go over an agenda to help you during this Mother’s Day holiday.

1. Promote Your Floral Business!

Begin by using your Floral Website and Social Media sites to start marketing your floral arrangements and your business.

Images & Products

• • Post high-quality photos of your work or any specials you are offering during Mother’s Day on your website or Social Media platforms.
  • Don’t forget to link your social media posts to your website!
  • Mother’s Day products should be prominently displayed and easily accessible throughout your website.

Hours & Policies

• Clearly post your shop’s business hours on your website and social media.
• Having clear policies and return/substitution policy will alleviate any headaches for you and your customers.

Promotions & Discounts

• Increase traffic to your store by offering deals or discounts on pickups rather than deliveries.
• List special Promotions. This is a great way to encourage customers to shop early before Mother’s Day week.
• Don’t forget to update your product pricing to cover your costs.

Note: Promoting does not always have to mean discounts. Remind customers why they should order flowers through your business.

2. Staffing, Scheduling and Duties, Oh My!

Making sure you have enough coverage can be overwhelming during the holiday rush. Not to worry, take a deep breath and follow these great tips!

Hiring

• If hiring extra help, offer them a day to come in before Mother’s Day week to go over job responsibilities and training.
• If hiring extra drivers, discuss with them if you require them to use their own vehicle.
• If you can, keep a standby driver at the shop to handle new orders for delivery.

Employees

• Have an employee meeting and discuss what is expected of them during Mother’s Day
• Make sure to explain how important everyone shows up and does what is expected of them.
• Encourage and Praise your employees and floral designers. Its always better to be positive than negative.

Scheduling & Duties

• Have your Mother’s Day week schedule out two weeks in advance. That way there are no surprises to your staff and you have time to make adjustments.
• Go over job descriptions with employees as its always nice to have a reminder of what everyone’s responsibilities are.
• Assign sections for the delivery drivers in specific areas. Add finished flower arrangements to this area with the date of delivery that is bold and clear.

 

3. Don’t Forget your Flowers & Supplies

Making sure you have enough flowers and supplies to get through the holiday is important.

Supplies

• Start looking around for supplies, containers, baskets and vases weeks before Mother’s Day.
• Visit your local supplier. However, don’t forget to visit discount home stores and dollar stores. You can find some great unique items.
• Don’t settle! Shop around for the best deals on supplies and florals.

Flowers

• Start ordering your Mother’s Day flowers early to get the best value.
• Don’t forget to shop around if you buy from multiple wholesalers.
• If you are comfortable, get your flowers through a floral auction. A great opportunity to get some discounts when purchasing in large quantities.
• Make sure to order flowering plants, orchids, and dish gardens. These are big sellers and require very little work.

Note: if you are new to the floral industry, Mother’s Day spans for a week, not a day. So order enough flowers!

4. Start Prepping & Showcasing your Flowers!

Stay ahead of the game with these prepping and showcasing tips during the busy holiday rush.

Prepping

• Prep your flowers when they arrive.
• Teach your front of store staff how to wire flowers to help cut down the time.
• Cut any ribbon and make bows ahead of time
• Green any vases, baskets or containers.
• No wastefulness! With the abundant supplies and flowers in the shop, it is easy to get sidetracked and be super wasteful. 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.

Showcasing

• Gather up all your add-ons and gift items and display them prominently in the store.
• Make sure you re-stock your impulse buys on your front counter to sell in addition to flower arrangements.
• Make sure your flower shop and displays are clean and have an inviting atmosphere.
• Remember if Employees have time to lean, they have time to clean!

Work Ahead

• 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 any last minute orders.
• Place pre-made orders in a cooler, well tagged with date of pick-up or delivery.
• Mark any time sensitive orders and bring those to the front of your cooler.

Note: It helps to have a system that works best for you. However, working on orders per day can feel overwhelming, so staying ahead of the game is always best.

5. Take Care of Yourself

It is important to take care of yourself during this busy Mother’s Day week.

• Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.It’s best not to wear open toe shoes as this can be an insurance liability in some areas.
• Make sure you eat! Breakfast, Lunch, and dinner are important—don’t skip meals!
• Get enough sleep. No one is at their best with lack of sleep.
• Take mandatory breaks.
• 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. The world can’t survive without florists!
• 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.

Tip: Bring in extra shoes and store them in your cooler to remedy those aching feet. 

 

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

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 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.

Vanity emails go a long way in branding your floral business.

But are they necessary? If you are still using AOL, Gmail or Yahoo as your business email you are missing out on opportunities to present your brand—as many opportunities as there are emails you send, in fact.

What is a Vanity Email?

Simply put, a vanity email is an email that includes your floral business/domain name. Generally, if you have a website domain name, you want to use your domain name in your vanity email, for example sales@flowershop.com instead of flowershop@yahoo.com. The typical structure is name@businessname.com.

You can set up a vanity email through your domain registrar.

Why Vanity Emails are a Crucial Addition to Your Flower Business

All your shop’s public personality feeds into your brand, and using a vanity email can help connect the dots from your website to your business communications. Your logo and website are important, but so is the way you project your brand with every communication.

1. Vanity emails help make your business memorable!

A vanity/business email helps to ingrain your business name with these recipients. Creating your email identity making you recognizable. Compare flowershop134@yahoo.com with owner@flowershop.com: which is more engaging, which is easier to remember? Every impression counts, even through email.

2. Vanity emails create assurance and trust!

Anyone can create a free email account, which can leave email recipients feeling vulnerable. Having a business vanity email helps in solidifying you as a professional business owner giving you/your flower business credibility. As a customer, you can be sure that the owner@flowershop.com address was created by the same people who control the flowershop.com website, and all messages you receive from that address are coming from a shop employee.

3. Vanity emails keeps emails organized!

The beauty of vanity emails is that you can create emails for different departments, such as sales@flowershop.com and info@flowershop.com. This will help give a clear direction to your customers on who handles specific email content. You will still have access to all these departments, but it will establish an organized response system.

4. Vanity emails are reasonably priced!

Besides these other important benefits, the cost of setting up a vanity email is almost negligible. Marketing/branding for your floral business comes in a lot of shapes and some options are very costly, but having a vanity email is worth every penny you spend. It is also easy to set up through your current domain provider.

 

Florists, do you have a vanity email? How have vanity emails changed your floral business? Please share your feedback and questions in the comment section below.

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

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

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

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

How Can You Tell if Your Floral Website is HTTPS?

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

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

Why HTTPS is a Must for Your Floral Website

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

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

Some unsecured websites that are HTTP look like this:

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

Image via Shutterstock

What are Floral Order Gatherers?

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

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

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

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

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

Image provided by Google

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

Image via Shutterstock

How to Beat Floral Order Gatherers

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

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

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

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

Image via Shutterstock

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

 

 

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

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

So you have a knack for arranging blooms. With a deep appreciation for flowers, floral design is a fun and exciting endeavor.

Many florists start their careers after years of daydreaming about venturing into the world of floral design. Florists are like miracle workers, bringing endless smiles and emotional well-being to recipients. It’s a no-brainer, if you love floral design, then become a florist!

Before starting your journey, there are a few things you should consider. Floral designing is an art, and however effortless a good florist makes their work appear, trust us when we say it is not. Even the hand-gathered whimsical bouquets that look like they were plucked from a garden are carefully constructed using the principles of floral design.

Floral design is about so much more than creatively arranging flowers. We want to be encouraging to newcomers to the floral world, but we also want to be helpful. Here are four tips to keep in mind as you work to become a professional floral designer.

1. Learn and Polish Your Floral Design Skills

It is always beneficial to study the art of floral design in a class setting, or learning directly from a mentor. There are so many facets to arranging blooms that it is impossible to be an expert right from the beginning. Besides floral design, you must be educated on prepping flowers and have a clear understanding of the basic principles of arranging flowers. Remember your floral arrangements are only as good as the care you take when prepping them—flowers are perishable and good prepping makes for long-lasting arrangements.

To learn more, consider:

• Taking a floral class
• Working with a mentor
• Volunteering at a local flower shop
• Getting comfortable with the sharp tools you will be using
• Learning how to make ribbons and work with wire

2. Consider the Other Work Florists Do

By now you’re already aware that being a florist requires hard work. Besides prepping flowers, expect to lift heavy containers, spend long hours at work on your feet, and get few holidays off. Being a florist is rewarding, but there are a few other skills a good florist needs:

• Time management is essential.
• Good communication with your customers is a must.
• Be flexible with your work schedule (you won’t be able to make other plans for floral holidays like Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day).
• Customer service skills—you will have some customers who are bereaved or going through turbulent times. The compassion and empathy you show them can make a world of difference.

3. Explore Your Floral Design Style

It’s important to develop a signature style. Although we discussed the basic principles of arranging flowers, expert florists have their own flair that distinguishes their arrangements from the next florist’s. Think about what your style lends itself to and work on crafting a unique style.

• Be focused and pay attention to detail.
• Be creative!
• Perfect your skills, so you can make what you see in your mind’s eye a reality.
• Appreciate different flowers and greens and understand how they are used.
• Remember that you are an artist, the flowers and containers are your canvas.

4. Set Goals

So far we have discussed becoming a floral designer. However, you may already be working as a designer and have a higher goal, such as opening a flower shop, working from home on wedding and event florals, or find employment with a local flower shop. Whatever your floral design short-term or long-term goal is it is good to work towards that by networking through marketing and building relationships in your area.

• If you are looking for floral design work at flower shop and consider yourself an expert, call around to local flower shops.
• If you are a novice to floral design, look for employment as a helper and look for mentorship opportunities.

If your goal is to run your own floral business, think about how you’ll market your floral design business.

• Consider your floral business name carefully
• Purchase a domain name
• Create business cards
• Create a website so that you can start building your brand visibility on the internet
• Start on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
• Cultivate relationships with local business owners, funeral directors, bridal shops, restaurant owners, churches, etc.

 

Florists, do you have any advice for our readers aspiring to become floral designers? Please share your feedback, tips or any floral design-related questions in the comment section below.

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

Once thought of as a fad, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter has certainly proven naysayers wrong.

Floral business owners have taken advantage of the growth possibilities that social media has to offer.  Beyond that social media, communities have led to an influx of new floral enthusiasts. In other words, social media is helping floral designers get the respect and credibility that has been long overdue.

If you are using Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for your floral business, this blog will help in maximizing your knowledge by revealing the best Facebook, Instagram and Twitter secrets.

 

Twitter Secrets Revealed:

Twitter & Google Are Lovers – Or perhaps only friends with awesome marketing benefits. Twitter and Google work hand in hand. Meaning all your Twitter content does get indexed by Google, be it your tweets and even your bio. This will ultimately help people find you on Google which is a win, win for sales on your floral eCommerce.  Make sure to use relevant keywords in your bio and same for tweets, use hashtags that have to do with your floral business.

Embed Tweets On Your Website or Blog – Embedding tweets on your website is a great way to show your tweets to your visitors who are not on Twitter. The best part is if they click the link and it will take them to your Twitter page.

Tip: To Embed your Tweet: Once you have tweeted something click on the drop-down arrow in the upright-handed corner located within the Tweet. Select Embed Tweet, copy and paste the code to your blog or website. 

Add More Images To Tweets – Did you know you can add more than one image to your tweets? A total of 4 to be exact, it is so simple to do after you add your image click on the photo icon and add another image.

Instagram Secrets Revealed:

See The Return Key – When adding a caption on Instagram you may find that you cannot use the return key. Using the return key allows having better-organized captions on Instagram. So how do you return on Instagram?

Tip:When typing in your caption look below to the left-hand side if you click on 123 the return key appears. 

The Art Of #Hashtagging – We get it, hashtags are not a secret, however, hashtags need to be mention as this is a priceless business marketing tool. When adding an image think about the hashtag you are using. The key here is to get them seen, picking ones that are too common may get your post lost. Be sure to be specific, relevant and look at other tags in the same genre.

Search Posts By Location – Why is this so great for marketing? You can view and follow posts in your specific area.

Tip: On the bottom of your home screen click the magnifying glass, click the search bar and “Places” appears.  Type in the search the place and you will see all top recent posts. 

Pin Your Instagram Post On Pinterest – Unfortunately, when adding posts to on Instagram there is not direct share to Pinterest. However, this can be done fairly easily and when posting on Instagram it is always best to share the images on Instagram as well.

Tip: Find the post you want to pin on Pinterest, tap on the 3 dot icon.  Select “Copy Link“, open your Pinterest and tap on person icon > then plus sign > click below “Copied Link” pick your Pinterest board and Valhalla,  you have now shared a post on Pinterest.

 

Facebook Secrets Revealed:

View Messages You May Not Know About –  You may have some messages in your inbox from people you are currently not friends with. These messages could get quite interesting.  

Tip: To view these click on the icon for messages, (circle with lighting bolt) click on “Message Requests” and if you see “See Filtered Requests” click that you have now discovered you hidden Facebook inbox. 

Facebook Mobile Phone Look Up –  There are many reasons why you may need to look someone up on Facebook by just using their mobile phone number. All you have to do is  type the mobile number in the search field  on Facebook be sure to add  country code or area code.

Upload Your Email List  – What a great way to reach your potential and existing  customers by uploading your email list to Facebook. This will allow you to market to all emails that are associated with Facebook.

Tip: Go to Audiences tab in Ads Manager. Click the “Create Audience button”, select Customer Audience and  then “Customer List”. Upload your CSV or TXT file or drag and drop the file

Florists do you have Facebook, Instagram & Twitter secret or tip you would like to share? Please share your feedback in the comment section below. If you have any questions please post below as well!____________

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.

Tackling fresh, new and innovated techniques for your flower shop could actually keep flowers sales stable and increase revenue during the summer months.

For some florists, the summer months can be dreadfully slow with decreased flower sales. Accepting the fact that customers just won’t buy flowers during these months is a big mistake!

The floral industry does have many peaks and perks, all seasons offer many advantages to build your flower business and gather new potentially long term buying customers. In this blog, let’s  discuss 5 easy ways to keep your flower sales sizzling hot all summer long.

 

#5 The Power Of  Deals, Coupons & Promo’s

Everyone loves a deal, besides that did you know that there is an actual psychology that comes into play when offering coupons and promos. Big brand companies understand this too well. They have made it a practice of mixing up coupons and promos to boost their retail sales.

Flower shop owners – deals, coupons, and promos apply to you too! Customers love flowers do not underestimate the power of a Deal. Make sure that during your slower months you offer the following:

Markdowns: Applies to both in-store and online. Try reducing prices on a specific category in your floral store like roses, hand-tied or even gifts, if you carry them.

Save A Bundle: This offer may seem as if it doesn’t apply to the floral business, however it indeed does. Offer savings on buy one get half off, this could apply to flowers with additional purchase at a discounted price.

Free Offers: Wow, this one is counterproductive, we are trying to increase sales here. Well, “Free Offers” actually resinate with customers more than any other deal (of course no surprise there). So how about offering an item free with purchase.

Flowerage Sale: Flowerage sale is held only in store,  generally items are placed outside if possible at a steep discount. These flower sales are done mostly during high traffic days such as weekends.

Did You Know: Most appealing to customers is items that are marked 50% off. The reason for this is it requires very little math and customers feel like that are getting a much better deal. 

 

#4 Offer Outdoor Florals/Decor

The important thing to remember here is that selling something in which you may not normally sell is perfectly OK and also a very smart business tactic.

Big brand stores do it all the time, they sell what is in demand. You may not have many loose flower sales but you can increase profits by displaying some creative outdoor planters during the summer months.

High-End Porch/Patio Floral Planters: These are so appealing, especially if displayed outside where each passersby can see them. Try incorporating succulents and plants in your floral design, this is an attractive way to allure customers to your flower shop and make purchases.

Sell Hanging Outdoor Planters: If you have not seen these yet, then you are in for a treat. Customers love these and these can be marked up at a great price. Go ahead add some plants and display them outside if possible.

Outdoor Decor: Outdoor decor can be citronella candles, lanterns, outdoor pillows and much more. This is a great way to maximize your sales.

 

#3 Try A Workshop/Floral Party

Florists, I’m sure you have heard of floral workshops and floral parties. Although a little marketing is required, they truly do increase floral profits substantially and is a great way to increase brand visibility.

Host A Floral Party: For adults and kids alike these parties can bring in anywhere from $45.00 to $120.00 per person.  Great way for kids to enjoy their birthday or a way for bridesmaids to get together, the possibilities are endless with floral parties.

Floral Workshop: Unlike floral parties where your attendees are more casual, a floral workshop is more structured as you are teaching floral arranging. Classes can range from beginner to master and can be purchased for the whole season.

 

#2 Cut Costs

We get it  #2 is not bringing in sales to your flower business, however, just as important as bringing in sales is practicing good seasonal habits on ways to cut costs.

Consider Summer Hours: We are certainly big advocates of having a business schedule and sticking to it, however, there are exceptions. Opening your shop does cost money so consider opening an hour later or closing an hour earlier with shorter weekend hours if you are slow in the summer months. This will also save you on payroll. 

Order What You Need: During slower months you may be able to get way with just ordering what is necessary and purchasing specialty items as needed. Try also cutting your flower order in half. If your floral supplier is close there are things that can be purchased quickly when needed.

Don’t Be Wasteful: We have mentioned this so many times, and we understand no-one is intently wasteful. Please consider that all items in your flower shop cost money, wasting paper, picks, and pins add up, please be mindful of this and make sure your employees are too.

Review Your Bills: Take a look at all your bills including utility. See how you can cut costs, a perfect example is a flower shop owner who was paying for cable tv yet had no tv in his shop. Cutting that off his bill saved him over $80.00 per month. There is also no shame in asking certain service providers for what deals and offers they have to save you money.

 

#1 Reach Out To Potential Clients

Slower months in the flower shop allow you to have extra time to market your flower business. Reaching out to potential clients for recommendations and clients who will book standings orders is a great way to bring in added revenue to your floral business.

Funeral Homes: If you have not done so already you should reach out to the Funeral Home directors in your area or slightly outside your area, to see if they will be willing to recommend your floral services and post a link to your website on their website.

Local Businesses/Churches:  Doctor’s offices, churches, restaurants, hair salons and many more businesses in your local area have the potential to order flowers from you on a weekly basis. Talk to them about delivering weekly to their businesses at a great price. Standing orders are a great way to keep money always flowing into your flower shop.

Wedding Venues: Go to wedding venues and discuss working with them on their referrals. Make sure to have your professional pamphlet on the wedding services your provide.

Tip: Create a folder which includes a pamphlet of your floral business and the best practice is to meet with them in person. Make sure to have different folders with specific content for each client.

 

Florists do you have a tip for driving up summer sales? 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.

 floral designing is three-dimensional art which expresses creativity and imagination.

Florists you surely already know that you are an artist, though following these basic elements: Balance, Proportion and Rhythm, some flower designers and flower enthusiasts have put their talent to work and are being recognized for their amazing works in the floristry industry.

Flowers, as we know, are nature’s miracle and provide the perfect art medium, with beautiful colors and textures to create the most magnificent color pallet.  It’s no wonder some flower designers and artists are taking a step out of the box and looking at flowers in a whole new way.

In this blog, we want to share how florists and flower enthusiasts are taking flower arranging in floristry by storm with their creativity and superb technique.

 

Flowers In The Trash

Amazing how flowers in a New York City trash can actually make this trash can look so gorgeous like we always said flowers are simply powerful.

Equally as amazing is how much recognition floral designer Lewis Miller received for his exquisite floral art displays throughout  New York City. We love Lewis Miller for showcasing his floral designing talents and adding awareness on the powerful impact flowers have in any surrounding.

 

Lavish Floral Arches

It certainly was no easy task finding our showcase image for Putnam &  Putnam (Darroch and Michael Putnam). Their floral works of art are simply amazing and inspirational.

 

Floral Design Elements

Sarah Winward has really taken the floral design elements to a whole new level. Her floral arrangements are breathtaking with perfect balance, proportion, and rhythm.  Looking at her floral works will surely evoke feelings of serenity.

 

Modern Floral Architecture

Stef Adriaenssens has been captivating Europe with his masterful modern architectural floral displays. His technique for balance and clean line design with lots of touches of the unexpected is beyond perfection. Simply amazing!

 

Floral Portrait Design

If you have not heard of Justina Blakeney you are in for a real treat.  Justina Blakeney has gained recognition for her incredible works of art, the one being #Facethefoliage. We love the use of leaves, stems and flowers in these whimsical works of art. We also equally love the new found use of florals and plants which inspire followers to look at flowers in a whole new way.

 

There are so many floral designers and floral enthusiasts who are creating a buzz in the floristry industry. We certainly could not feature all in this blog, however, we will continue with this series of blogs a few times a year to offer recognition and thanks for all the inspiration.

Florists we would love to hear your feedback and questions. Do you have a favorite flower art artist? please share in the comments sections 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.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

YouTube gets over 30 million visitors per day!

For florists who are not familiar with YouTube, YouTube is a mostly free website for hosting videos that allow visitors to sign up and are able to upload their videos on YouTube to store and share with other visitors. YouTube has 1,300,000,000 visitors that use it, Wow, now that is a lot of zeros!

Unlike the more recognizable social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram, florists are still not reaping in the huge advantages of marketing their floral business with  YouTube. Maybe it is because most do not know how important YouTube can be in impacting your floral brand visibility.

In this blog, we will get to the nitty gritty and show you how you can start using YouTube to help your floral business grow and achieve maximize visibility.

Benefits of Marketing With YouTube

Be Found On Google – Marketing on YouTube will help find you on Google. Take a look at your next search on Google you will see many videos populate. (Be sure to have a great title, tags and descriptions.)

Grow Your Traffic – YouTube allows you to grow your followers. As we already know there is so much traffic on YouTube, this is an efficient way to help get tremendous visibility.  Be sure to include a Call To Action in all your videos by linking your URL.

Sell More – Hard to believe, but YouTube videos who direct customers to a selling page are more opt to purchase. We do not want to use YouTube for the sole purpose of selling flowers, our goal here is to make you vital and on top of search engines, that being said, selling more is surely a great perk!

Book More Wedding/Events – Showcase your beautiful wedding/event floral arrangements on YouTube, a short video is all you need. These are highly watched and have shown successful results.

Build Your Reputation – YouTube videos help you communicate better with your audience. It truly is a great way to send out your message, people are generally more captivated by videos. Make floral videos on tips, tricks, and tutorials, this will give your floral brand credibility.

 

Make A Video

I know you are asking… make a video! On what?!  Well, anything you like really, as long as it has to do with your floral business.

Here are some ideas for video content:

• Instructional Video/How To’s
• Behind The Scenes At Your Flower Shop
• A Flower Shop Commercial
• What’s In My Floral Cooler
• Get To Know us

It is really up to you and what you feel comfortable with, the key here is to make a video. Do not beat yourself up if it does not come out perfect on the first try. It may take a few times of rehearsing to get it right. This is the new age of marketing so consider this a marketing must do and just go for it!

 

Shooting Your Video

We do not expect Steven Spielberg or George Lucas to director your YouTube video, however, please pay special attention to your surroundings while filming your YouTube video.

Ask yourself these questions:

• How does your background look?
• How is your lighting?
• Are all your tools organized and ready?
• Does the video look professional?

If budget allows, there are so many students in the filming industry that would love to work with you for recognition as well. Reach out to them and see what they charge.

Not to sound repetitive, you need this for your floral brand recognition. This is a priceless investment and an investment that should be made few times a year to stay vital in the floral business market.

 

YouTube Title, Tags, & Descriptions

You made a video, shot the video and now you are ready to upload to YouTube! Great Job! However, unless you have a proper title, tags, and descriptions, your hard work will not reap in much success so let’s discuss this in detail.

Title

In your title description, which is the title of your video, use a clear title that easily says what your video is about. So google recommends using your keywords first and branding second, and since google owns YouTube we want to listen.

Let’s say our video is a “How To” on roses, here is our Title – How To Arrange  Roses In A Vase – My Flower Shop Name

Tags

So what are tags? Why are they so important? Tags are the keywords on your actual video. You will see the tags option while uploading your video, here you want to put the most relevant tags first as there is some who say that YouTube likes these the best. Pay close attention to add a command tag and then proceed this by generic tags.

Follow these 3 simple rules for adding tags:

1. Specific Tags – these are keywords that are specific to the content in your video. Using our title above, a specific tag would be Roses.
2. Compound Tags – these are tags with more than two words. Arranging Roses, How To Arrange Roses.
3. Generic– these tags can be broader, still keeping with the specific content of the video. For instance DIY, Tips, Tutorial, etc.

Descriptions

Your video description is equally as important as your title and tags. The first 3 sentences of your description will show in the search, so let’s put lots of thought in our first 3 sentences. Now, this part is important, MAKE SURE TO ADD YOUR WEBSITE URL TO YOUR DESCRIPTION.

Example: What if I show you how arranging roses in a vase can be fun and easy? Learn how to arrange roses in a vase by following these simple steps. To see more beautiful rose floral arrangements go to – http://myflowershop.com.

 Tip: Do not confine your video to just YouTube, be sure to post on other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and your website blog. 

 

Did You Know?

• YouTube was the idea of former PayPal employees
• YouTube started as a dating site
• Google owns YouTube
• Men visit  YouTube more than women
• 6 out of 10 people prefer YouTube over TV
• More than half of the YouTubers come from mobile devices
• Only 9% of U.S small businesses use YouTube
• The most watched non-musical YouTube Video is – Charlie Bit My Finger
• Follow by most-watched musical YouTube Video Gangnam Style

 

Florists do you have a YouTube video already?  How has YouTube increased your overall brand recognition and SEO?  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.