Want to Increase Your Revenue This Holiday Season? Let's Get Started!

At Bloomerang Solutions, we specialize in marketing strategies for florists and other small business owners. We focus on what is current as well as what’s “up and coming.” For most retailers, and especially retail florists, these next few months are critical for success and profitability. Here are a few tips and ideas to help you with a smooth and successful holiday season.

Preparation for the holidays; why market when you’re busy?

One critical mistake many florists make is thinking they will have all the business they need during the holidays, so they don’t see the value of marketing. Unfortunately, that way of thinking does more harm than good.

You need to view this time of year as your time to shine! With at least three major holidays between now and Valentine’s Day, the world is sending flowers - so how will they find you? PPC (pay per click) marketing is your key to attracting new clients and increasing sales. The next three months provide some of the best retail opportunities of the year; make the most of them with these proven marketing tactics.

Statistically, only a small percentage of these customers will send flowers again in the summer and beyond, so the more orders you secure now, the better your chances are of organic home-grown business. The second order doesn't cost you and reduces the real value of the first order if you paid to secure it.

Offer what you have on hand

Now, more than ever, it’s critical to watch your offerings. The floral industry has changed drastically in the past decade. There are very few "fill to value" orders out there anymore because everyone is looking at a picture online somewhere. Hopefully we are inching closer to an honest industry where what you see will be close to what you get with the understanding you have a product of nature and minor substitutions and varieties may occur.

Use discipline in what you place on your home page because that is where you secure interest. Be sure you have products you can create and don’t make them so local that sending out of town may not be an option. Be neutral on most offerings so your customers call you for all their orders. You would be surprised how many customers call local shops for local deliveries and a 1-800 number for out of town requests.

Over-stuffing, a profit killer

Secure your profits. There is no question you believe in your designers to produce a quality product, the question is - are they adding a flower or two to make it "just a little nicer?" Double checkout is your answer and it’s as simple as this: When a design is completed, have someone else double check it for consistency and value.

Why is this so important? Just $5 of over-stuffing in a shop with 50 deliveries a day could cost you $250 every day, if not more - this adds up quick. This system also helps to eliminate other mistakes you may have missed. You work so hard to offer add –on’s, so you definitely don’t want to forget them on the delivery.

Hand-written cards and other exclusive offerings

All flowers are delivered with a card but the message on that card is usually printed on a plain piece of paper that will probably get lost or thrown away quickly. Why not offer a better option like a hand-written card? It’s an easy up-sell and many of your customers will be grateful that you took the time and care to go the extra mile. Best of all, they have something special to keep long after the flowers are gone. It really is as simple as finding an employee with excellent handwriting! Little touches like this one as well as other exclusive products you offer should be heavily promoted because those are the things that set your shop apart from everyone else in town.

Rewards

Always start your day with the question, "Why should anyone shop with me?" More than just to buy flowers, but what is the hook? Just about every company today offers some sort of rewards program. From Dominos to Saks and Neiman Marcus, they all have incentives. You are not too big or too small to get in the game. Companies like Profit Point have systems and cards in place you can have set up to reward your customers and keep them coming back.

Start promoting early

Plan ahead! The weekend after Thanksgiving is exhausting from the promotion angle. We have all our promos set for florists to be ready for, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and then Cyber Monday. Things move pretty fast after that, so the better you're prepared beforehand, the better off you'll be when your shop is packed with customers.

Turn 2

Last, but certainly not least, don't just take one order when you can TURN 2. Most customers that order for Thanksgiving will most likely order for the holidays at some point. While finishing up the order, just suggest an incentive if a second order is placed. Contact us if you would like the script or click below for in instructional video.

There’s more where that came from

Consider implementing some of these strategies to increase revenue in your shop this holiday season and you could be well on your way to your most successful season yet! And remember, for more tips and advice, call Art anytime at (941) 809-1911.

Do You Charge a Re-Delivery Fee?

As retail florists, one of our greatest strengths is our ability to deliver the same day, it’s what sets us apart from the supermarket down the street.

Re-delivery fees are not a new concept, yet as an industry, we seem divided on the subject. Shops are typically either all for them, or completely against them, claiming customers need to know the final cost at the time of purchase.

The average profitability for a retail florist is about 10% and in most cases shops don’t generate a profit on delivery. The average delivery service is typically a loss when we discount it to $10 because average cost is $16.95. These types of numbers don't allow us the luxury of giving away services that cost us money - so then why are we doing it?

Does This Happen In Your Shop?

A customer calls or visits and makes a purchase of a product you decided has a value. They ask for a balloon, so you charge for the balloon. They ask for a teddy bear, so you charge for the teddy bear. All is good and the customer is getting what they want.

Now, they ask for delivery and give you the address. You look it up and charge the appropriate fee depending on where it is to be delivered.

Then it begins…

Your driver goes to the customer's confirmed address and the recipient is either not there, or the address given was wrong, so your driver returns to the shop with flowers still in hand. Your designer then has to re-cut the flowers and change the water as your customer service rep notifies your customer. All of this effort takes time in which we are paying staff and incurring additional expenses which is not our fault.

At this point haven’t you performed the actions requested of you?

Do you now let the customer know the flowers are back at the shop and ask if they would like to pick them up, OR do you ask if they would like to have another delivery made?

Will this second delivery attempt not cost you revenue and continue to chip away at the little margin you have? Maybe you should ask for the proper fee for this additional service they are requesting of you? As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to keep your shop profitable.

How to Ask For The Re-Delivery Fee:

Hello (Mrs. Doe), my name is (Bob) calling from (Your Flower Shop) about the order you requested we deliver to (Jane Doe). After arriving at the address you gave, we found out that she no longer lives there. We had to bring the flowers back and are now calling to make you aware. Would you like to pick up the flowers you ordered or would you like for us to arrange for a new delivery?

Remember, the customer ordered these flowers and the responsibility to pay for them is theirs. We attempted a delivery and the recipient is no longer where we were requested to go - this is not a fault of yours. The customer is responsible for the $50 bouquet and we are trying to help get it delivered.

They paid us to deliver a gift from our shop to a specified location. If this is not possible, who should be responsible? We need to remember we provide services and maybe we gave away this second delivery before, but should we continue to do so? The choice is yours.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

-Art

Understanding the Difference Between Mobile Marketing and Protecting Your Name

The most common question I get when discussing pay per click is "Why would I pay for my own name, they are obviously looking for me, right?"

Although it sounds pretty straightforward, take a look and see for yourself just how confusing it can be even if you know exactly what you're looking for.

I was just looking for Sea Tow and look who slipped in with what is called a Mobile Ad. It looks like an extension of the Sea Tow listing - but it isn’t! I have to admit, it was very well done and almost got me, and I know what I'm looking for.

Now, keep in mind this ad is one you may have trouble duplicating when you get home because it is a Call Only ad and it will only show when the search is on a mobile device. So, you can see how smooth and easy this can happen. In most cases, the person looking doesn’t know what happened and they can never explain it to you if you were lucky enough to speak with someone who saw it happening.

Bidding on your own name is relatively inexpensive. It helps secure the search result between you and your customer and also improves your Quality Score because it has such a high CTR (click-through rate). The lower your click-through rate, the lower your charge per click will be from Google. They truly reward you for this!

Do you notice how the Sea Tow appears below Flagship Towing and seems to look like it is all the same ad? Their ad was for a general listing so the phone number is not paramount.

The more knowledge, the better, and for this I recommend you consider us or another professional to justify your investment and speak to the results you have achieved. I like to cut and paste raw data, explain it to my clients, then compare results to the same period the year before so they can easily see what Google says. I don’t like fancy Excel spreadsheets where you can easily confuse a client.

You see, to build a successful account you must continuously maintain the strategy you build. It will slip and require attention, but this is how you maintain a successful campaign. Attracting clients is one thing, but growing profitable business is another, so you can see why simply selecting keywords is just not even close to the focus.

If your online marketing efforts need some help, Bloomerang Solutions may be just the answer you're looking for. We specialize in promoting small business and giving them the digital advantage they need to thrive in today's competitive marketplace. Give us a call today at (941) 806-1911 or drop us a line here. Together we can make your business bloom!

Google AdWords: Should You Outsource or Keep It In-House?

When it comes to advertising with Google AdWords, the first decision you need to make is deciding on a budget. One of the best things about Google AdWords is that it can be effective for nearly every business, big or small. You can set the ad spend where you’re comfortable and rest assured that you will never go over your budget.

Sounds, simple, right? Well, at first glance it may look simple and Google does a terrific job of walking you through things. You can also find a lot of online resources and YouTube videos explaining the process. The problem that most people encounter at this point, however, it information overload.

That brings us to the second big decision you’ll need to make - whether to do it yourself, or hire someone with some experience to do it for you. This may sound like a difficult decision, but when you consider that your business - and your money - is on the line, the answer becomes very clear.

Consider this: if your total spends in a month is $10,000 and the cost of keeping a full time-team to take care of it is $2,000 and the outsourcing company only takes a fee plus 10% of the total spends ($1000), it will save you time as well as money to outsource.

But, if the costs are nearly equal, it might be advantageous for you to do it in-house because you will have more control and the experiments will run faster if you have a qualified individual or team to manage it and keep up with all the updates and strategies.

Experience is key

We recommend outsourcing for most small business-owners. This is especially true if they don't have any prior online advertising experience. While Google does make it simple to get started with AdWords, the complexity increases rather quickly.

They say ‘practice makes perfect,’ but if you have little or no experience with pay-per-click, you’re simply learning with your own money - and the end result is usually a poorly-optimized campaign that isn’t producing results.

Setting up your account is the most critical aspect, and this is the area where many mistakes occur that can derail your campaign and cause a lot of frustration. When we hear anyone say that pay-per-click doesn’t work, the first thing we ask is how they went about incorporating it into their marketing strategy. Chances are, some errors were made in the setup process and things deteriorated from there.

When looking for a consultant to outsource to, always try for industry specific specialists. For example, at Bloomerang, we specialize in retailing. However, we have found great success for other professionals.

Pay-per-click is simply instant gratification and return on investment. Once it is live, it’s working. I have so many people tell me they have a Google AdWords account and hardly feel the impact, but I also see people like myself who could not imaging a day without Google. I once had a client that wasn’t sure if AdWords were worth it, so just for kicks I asked if we could just turn it off for 20 minutes. He yelled, “turn it on - let’s never do that again!”

There is a lot more to Google AdWords than just making a bid and closing a sale. There are hundreds of different strategies you can combine to secure a transaction, or a reservation, or even an appointment. The more time you put in, the better your results will be from your efforts.

If you decide to outsourcing your marketing efforts, the single most important question you need to ask the person handling your Google AdWords is: What is your plan of action and when can I see it? This will guarantee their professionalism, put a schedule that can be monitored, and give you a written contract of sorts so if something goes wrong you can claim explanation or refund if needed.

Oh, and here is one more important piece of advice - use a local agency. Sure, there are many international online advertising agencies with impressive portfolios, but there is nothing better than to sit down and talk with the people directly responsible for your online success. You need to feel comfortable with someone you can trust who knows your local market. At Bloomerang, we make sure you speak to an account strategist who’s directly responsible for your results. We believe that our experience - along with our one-on-one direct relationships with our clients - is what gives you the ultimate advantage when it comes to online advertising.

If you would like to get started with Google AdWords, we're here to help! Our team of experienced agents will work with you - at any budget - to make sure you achieve the results you desire! If you're brand new to Google AdWords, or any other online marketing platforms, We'll be happy to talk with you at any time to explain how it works successfully. Just drop us a line below or call anytime at (941) 806-1911.

What’s Wrong with This Picture? A Missed Opportunity!

Last Sunday I was invited to watch the New York Giants play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from a suite at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The suite level of this stadium is an area that few fans ever get to see because it is exclusive and largely caters to corporate sponsors and big money donors.

You’re probably more likely to see people dressed in suits and ties than football jerseys in the suite area because many of the people are there to network and talk business – not necessarily watch the game. Resourceful salespeople are always looking for opportunities that often go unnoticed and the smart ones make the most of every advantage they can find - places like this are where they thrive.

When I was walking through the lobby of one of the suites, I turned around and saw this fantastic floral design that was prominently showcased for everyone to see. Of course, I immediately started searching for a tag because I wanted to see if I knew which shop delivered those beautiful flowers.

My jaw dropped open when I discovered that there was no tag at all - I simply couldn’t believe it! Some local shop was fortunate enough to be able to prominently display their gorgeous flowers in one of the most prestigious locations in the entire city – a place crawling with VIPs and influential business executives – and they didn’t even bother attaching a tag to let all these people know where they can get their own flowers from the same florist the Buccaneers chose when they wanted to impress people.

Advertising isn’t cheap and there are no shortages of advertisers willing to spend crazy amounts of money to secure a product placement like that, but this florist failed to take advantage of this FREE opportunity to brand their product and promote their business.

As small business owners, most of us simply don’t have the resources (or the budget) to spend a ton of money on advertising, so we have to look for other ways to promote ourselves besides simply writing a check to a marketing company. Your logo should be EVERYWHERE! Nothing should ever leave your shop without your logo on it somewhere, and when it does, your logo should be all over the delivery van and all over the driver. If you are proud of the products you produce, then why keep it a secret? Let everyone know where they can get some of those beautiful flowers!

Do you need help with your branding or marketing campaigns? Bloomerang Solutions is here to help! From custom-built websites to location management to Google advertising and everything in between, we’re ready to make your business bloom! Give us a call today at (941) 809-5000 or drop us a line below.