Join Us Tuesday, April 30 at 2:00 p.m. EDT for a Special Mother's Day Conference Call

Hello Friends,

Mother's Day is upon us, and 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 just a 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 Tuesday, April 30 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.

I will begin the call by giving some of my thoughts as well as some time-tested tips on making the most of your Mother's Day holiday - and then 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 invaluable - 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 Tuesday! Have a great weekend!

-Art

When it Makes Sense to Accept a $39.95 Order

Too often we notice florists getting frustrated when they receive an incoming order for a total of $39.95. This could mean $25-$30 PLUS delivery (hopefully your delivery is no more than $14.95).

In many cases, there is not enough revenue left to create and deliver a bouquet that is profitable and perceives good value.

The answer? Put the margin into the artistic (finishing) touches. When I owned Beneva Flowers, I always used to ask when a designer created a bouquet, "what makes it look Beneva?" Finishing touches are what made a regular design look “Beneva.”

Below you will see an image created by Bloomerang for our florists featuring two Gerber daisies (which you can name whatever you like) next to Springtime Treasures which has the name secured so you cannot customize it and you ride the coat tails of 1-800-Flowers.

We created a bouquet with just two inserts a bud vase, a few greens, and wire. Yet, I actually heard a florist say that they want $50 because that is their minimum and that's it. When I asked why, they answered, "I don't know, it just is."

The truth is, you can show an overstuffed $50 bouquet too. We need to focus on two elements - either a uniquely-designed bouquet, or a florist choice, this is where they can clear out the cooler. Now the shop can work with whatever they have the most available, and who wouldn't like that?

If we continue to argue and reject $39.95 orders, you can't fault FTD, Pro Flowers, and 1-800 for sending flowers in a box.

People who want the price point will not argue unless you over-promise because the filling florist ends up under-delivering trying to watch the $$$ on the order.

Assuming you paid $2 each for the Gerbers, (which is the highest wholesale price I’ve ever seen for Gerbers) you have $4 in product. When you add up the cost of the vase, wire, greens and minimal labor, it costs maybe $10 on top of that.

Professional Admin day is next Wednesday (April 24), you need to consider a lower priced option with a favorable margin. This secures the florist-to-florist order with hopes a customer doesn't have to select flowers in a box.

Retail Florists....we need to step it up and secure those transactions. Anyone can say no, how can you say yes? Please comment below, I would love to hear your feedback! -Art

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