Last Minute Marketing for Administrative Professional’s Day

The big Easter weekend is upon us, but there won’t be much time to rest because Administrative Professionals’ Day takes place just three days later on Wednesday, April 24. If you haven’t had a chance to promote this holiday there is still time. Here are few last minute marketing tips to ensure this week is a success.
 

1. Send out a reminder email: According to Express Pigeon’s blog, 91% of modern consumers check their email at least once a day and emailing is the most popular activity for smartphone users.

2. Post reminders to your social media sites: Create a fun image reminding your fans that this week is Administrative Professional’s week then encourage them to “Post, Pin, or Tweet” the image.  Be sure to boost your posts on Facebook so they will be seen by “non-fans” in your area.

3. Be present: Guerrilla marketing is still alive and well. Do something unexpected like offering corsages to customer service reps at stores close to your shop with a gift card to redeem later. As they wear the corsages throughout the day they will share with their customers where they got it.

4. Offer a surprise to the recipient: The value of this holiday really comes from the recipient because this person is most likely the one ordering flowers for the company for the rest of the year. Consider adding a little extra gift for the like a gift card they must redeem in your store.

We’ve always said Administrative Professional’s Week is like a mini Valentine’s Day, but with long term benefits, so get out there and have some fun promoting your shop this week!

Did you try one or more of these tactics? Let us know the results by commenting below.

Surviving the Digital Storm

The retail landscape looks a lot different today than it did even a few years ago. Now, many well-established businesses that dominated their markets for years are suddenly competing with new startups and national big box retailers for the same base of customers. What does that mean for the small business owner? It means that everyone is in the game because you left the door open for them.

A colleague of mine has owned and operated a pizzeria for 46 years in the same location. For decades he ran an extremely successful shop and only had a handful of nearby competitors to keep an eye on. It worked for years and word-of-mouth advertising was all he really needed to compete; his pizza and the atmosphere was all the marketing he needed. Or so he thought.

Now in the digital age, competitors are popping up left and right and instead of fighting for his piece of the market share with two or three competitors, my colleague is now one of a dozen pizza places in his area. His competitors saw their opportunity and took advantage.

When I ran my shop at Beneva, I was always concerned about competition and market share and the last thing I wanted to do was let a competitor get a foothold in my territory. I knew that my reputation was strong, but I also knew that reputation alone isn’t enough when you have aggressive competitors.

The Digital Difference

With all the new pizza shops opening in the area, my colleague was feeling the squeeze, but was still enjoying the word-of-mouth traffic to stay competitive. That all changed several months ago when another new shop opened down the street and unleashed a digital storm!

The new shop wasn’t even open yet, they hadn’t served a single pie, but everywhere you turned, there they were. They were on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram; posting pictures and creating metrics that they knew how to measure. My colleague relied on his reputation to market his business, but his competitors relied on statistics – the fight was nowhere close to fair.

Fortunately, my colleague was determined to fight back and save his business, so he called Bloomerang and we went to work.

The first thing we did was check every online listing he had to make sure everything was consistent which goes a long way in increasing your Google ranking. We then helped him build a solid social media foundation that he could use to interact with customers.

From there we helped build his website with reciprocal links to social media accounts and a strong blog that he can utilize to share specials and events with customers and potential customers. Next, we started featuring pay-per-click ads for his shop that retargeted specific demographics of customers and finally, we surveyed current and past customers to learn as much as we can about the business from their point of view and reconciled all the data to form a long-term marketing plan that will allow him to regain the market share that was lost to the new competitors.

Protect yourself from the storm that surrounds you because it’s happening and it’s coming towards you in a digital format. Understanding that is the key to conquering it and protecting yourself from your competition taking over your area and your space.

Protect your backyard, put up that fence today! Call us at Bloomerang (941) 806-1911 – the advice is free! How can Bloomerang help your business bloom? Let us know - we’d love to hear from you! Feel free to respond in the comments or email us at support@bloomerang.solutions.

Want to Increase Your Summer Sales? Join Us Monday, April 29 at 3:00 p.m. EDT for a Special Mother's Day Conference Call

Hello Friends,

Would you like to increase your summer sales? With Mother's Day rapidly approaching, now is the time to set the course for a profitable summer season with the help of a smart springtime strategy. There is still a lot of work to be done as we prepare for one of our busiest days of the year, hopefully, your prep work is going well and you're busy training new employees, hiring extra drivers and making sure your inventory is well stocked for the big day which is less than two weeks away - yikes!

Never fear - you have a friend in the business and we're here to help! That is why I will be hosting a free Mother's Day conference call on Monday, April 29 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. 

I will begin the call and begin by giving some of my thoughts on the state of the industry as well as some time-tested tips on making the most of your Mother's Day holiday. I will also give an FTD update and will discuss some website improvements that should help boost traffic this summer. After all that, I will open things up for a roundtable discussion where you can pick the brains of fellow florists and find out what is working - and what's not - at other shops around the country. We hope this call will be a valuable service for you and we think you'll learn a lot from some of the leaders of the industry.

There is no cost associated with this call, but the information you can take away will be priceless - be sure to have some good questions prepared, and be ready for an active discussion. All are welcome, and the more participants we have, the better!

For more details on this call, and access information, please click here and let us know you're interested. Then we will supply you with an access code and number so you can join.

I'm excited to talk to everyone on April 29! Have a great week!

-Art

Your Goals, Our Strategy = The Path to Success!

Succeeding on the internet is like anything else you ever wanted to achieve, it requires a plan and a path. The good news is, WE HAVE THE PATH. We only change the names to insure the results are all yours! Even better, everyone doesn't have the same goals so every strategy is truly unique and customized just for you.

 So here it is,
Your Goals, Our Strategy = SUCCESS

You see, your success is our future. We understand exactly what you need and GUARANTEE your satisfaction.

WHY TAKE ANY CHANCES? There are the strategies:

#1 Long Term Success. We set up your digital verticals to ensure sustained, long-term success.

Your brand is what separates you from your competition but what does your brand represent to your customers? Is it inviting? Does it instill confidence? Is it approachable? Do you appear to be a friendly neighborhood shop or a national online ‘best price’ operation?

Before you build out your reputation, it's best to know where you are and who you are. Modern businesses rely on social verticals to run ads using YouTube and release statements and information to consumers using blogs and then tie them all together using Facebook where anyone goes as far as even selling a few products along the way.

This is a solid, surefire way to establish yourself online and grow your brand and verticals to compliment your business. We even run a survey after reading your reviews to ensure we are reaching your clients and giving them what they want. This is all a calculated strategy with checkpoints along the way.

 #2 Local reputation management. We make sure clients know who you are and what you represent.

From Facebook to Instagram, the social channels are the way to reach people who are trying to find you. It is non-intrusive and inviting with steady results. We make sure that all your information is organized and consistent across a variety of different search engines and social media platforms so potential customers can find exactly what they’re looking for when they search for a shop in your area. Consistent listings will also work wonders for improving your Google ranking.

 #3 Retargeting. We will keep your shop’s name and logo in front of potential customers – no matter where they go after they visit your site.

You have seen it before when you visit a website and then everywhere you go around the internet - from local new websites to CNN, ESPN, you name it - you will magically appear. All that for just $10. Ask us!

#4 Instant Gratification - GOOGLE ADS!

The instant way to make the phones ring! If you want them to continue in the future and get repeat customers, a plan must be put in place. This is our specialty. We will do it all for you.

#5 Custom Websites. A website is more than just a page on the internet, it's where all your content should live!

These days, social is driving clients to you VIA WEBSITE. In the next 5 years, what will it be? Whatever it is, I can assure you a properly-built modern website will be there at that time too. Remember, longevity is everything. To build website with the proper linking and content structure will yield you a lifetime of favorable returns that only get better every passing day.

Bloomerang employees some of the best website developers, writers and photographers who can create videos, develop a custom website and even write code for your solutions. No matter what you need, big or small, Bloomerang can do it all. Let's schedule a time to discuss what solution will best suit your needs. Give us a call anytime at (941) 806-1911 or drop us a line here.

Turn 2: An Effective Technique for Obtaining Mother's Day Orders for Easter

April is here which means it’s time to “Turn 2” and double up on those holiday orders by training your staff to ask for Mother’s Day orders when customers call to order their Easter flowers. This is the perfect time to pull out one of our favorite sales tools… the “Turn 2!” Watch this brief video (we promise, it’s less than a minute), to refresh yourself and your staff.

Do you utilize the Turn 2 technique at your shop? Is there a different strategy you’re using that you’ve had success with? If so, we’d love to hear about it! Please share your ideas a comment below!