Simply Listening: A Surefire Way to Grow Your Sales and Business

Listen... Florists ask me all the time what my secret was for turning a small Sarasota flower shop into a top-50 florist in the nation. The answer is almost too simple to be believable, but here it is: I listened!

That’s right, hearing the voice of my customer was one of the greatest tools I ever had, and I can’t believe that so many businesses neglect to do this, even with all the resources available to help them.

Most owners think they know what their customer likes, but do they really know? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to sit down and visit with each customer face-to-face to discuss their thoughts, feelings, and concerns about their shopping experience as well as their overall impression of our business?

Of course, that isn’t possible, so in many circumstances, our only real feedback comes from one of two of two places – upset customers who are extremely dissatisfied, or the opposite end of the spectrum where longtime loyal customers think we can do no wrong.

Both groups provide valuable input and deserve our attention. However, if we only listen to them we’re missing out on a vast majority of our customers. It’s easy to sit back and think we have all our bases covered by making our most vocal customers happy, but our perception isn’t always as accurate as we imagine.

All you have to do is ask

Business owners should not only value customer feedback but depend on it as an essential part of their day-to-day operations. However, trends change fast, and today’s hot seller may be an outdated fad in a month or two. Your impeccable sense of style and design doesn’t help your business if customers don’t share your vision.

Differences in styles and attitudes are also evident in different parts of the country, and even in different areas of town. A concept or design that works well in Arizona may not be popular in Florida. Ultimately, there are no universally correct answers – all situations and circumstances are unique.

The only way to get the most accurate pulse of your business is by listening to your customers. Surveys are a perfect way to find out how they’re feeling, and an outstanding way to identify areas for improvement. Many people won’t offer feedback unless you ask, and those are often the customers with the most beneficial feedback.

Next time you stay at a Ritz, rent a car from Hertz, or dine in any reasonable establishment, rest assured if they have your email address, they run surveys. It's the ONLY way to keep up with their clients in a changing industry.

Surveying customers is a substantial undertaking. Busy business owners don’t have the time, nor the resources needed to manage it properly. Fortunately, we’re here to help! Customer Survey Management from Bloomerang is the easiest and most efficient way to monitor customer feedback. Let us create a custom survey for your shop today and leave the guesswork out of your business strategy. Give us a call today at (941) 806-1911 or drop us a line below to let us know how we can help your business bloom!

Why Personalized Content is King on Social Media

Facebook is pretty fickle when deciding what content to show in a user's newsfeed. It’s based off multiple factors including (but not limited to) who you follow, where you comment, and where you spend the most time on Facebook.

Another factor to take into consideration is Facebook’s algorithm analyzes each image posted by a page to determine the quality and who to show it to. One of the main points it looks at is if it's an image taken by an individual randomly or a stock photo that’s on many sites.

We always try our best to make sure we can get custom images from florists because we know that it works much better when posting to Facebook but some either just don't find the time or don't believe it’s an important aspect of social media.

Below are just a few examples of the difference between seven shops that send us consistent photos of arrangements, classes, and everyday scenes inside their shops and seven shops that don’t send us any.

Both of these examples have close to the same amount of followers and times content is posted per week. The difference is the kind of content being posted. The more personal, original images do exceedingly better than ones we have to pull from a catalog, florists website, or a stock image library.

On the left is the total engagements for the seven shops that send us great content and images on a consistent basis. It’s almost eight times the engagement of the shops that don’t, over on the right.

This is the total impressions for both sets of shops. Impressions aren't as important as engagement but this still gives you an idea of how many eyes have been on your images. On the left is little to no images sent to us and on the right is consistent images. Another thing you can notice here is that we paid for a very similar amount of impressions but the shops that sent us personalized images did much better organically and with their virility.

We always try our best to stress the importance of providing this content to have the best reach and engagement across your social platforms and hopefully this look inside the numbers gives you a little more information on why it’s crucial on social media.

Do you need help with your social media accounts? Trust the experts at Bloomerang Solutions to keep your accounts optimized while you turn your attention to the holidays. Give us a call today at (941) 806-1911 or drop us a line below to let us know how we can help your business bloom!

Numbers Don't Tell The Entire Story About Pay-Per-Click Marketing

I’m a true believer in online pay-per-click marketing. As someone who has actively spent the past 30-some years marketing my business, I can honestly say that it is by far the effective method I've ever encountered and the best part is - it's only getting stronger.

Not long ago, the most efficient and cost-effective forms of marketing were print-based in outlets such as phone books and newspapers - then the internet came along and changed everything! Sure, the Yellow Pages and newspapers still exist today, but for the most part, our potential customers are no longer utilizing them as a primary way to find the goods and services they want.

That's important to realize because as marketers, our success depends on us being where our customers are looking. It's so much easier to stick with methods that traditionally worked well for us than it is to risk investing in something we've never tried before, but in instances such as this one, going back to the old way is not a viable option.

That's why I'm always eager to talk about pay-per-click advertising. I just want people to understand exactly how it works and learn why it's such a terrific method of marketing.

Questions about conversions

A lot of business owners I talk to question the conversion rates on pay-per-click advertising, namely the validity of those numbers and just how important they are. Sometimes that can be a bit frustrating for me because knowing what I have experienced looking at phone conversion data, it's hard for me to feel empathetic when I consistently see conversions of calls over the phone that most shop owners cannot realize.

In many cases, when you're only looking at the results on a website, you usually only see 1/3 of the true results and that's why I can see a shop break even in sales and feel it's okay to spend. The truth is, customers will call over the phone and ask for everything - from wanting to know when you're open to how much a specialty design may cost - and then they order. Just because you can't track it doesn't mean it shouldn't be factored in.

The report below was an $80 day for the florist. All they could see was $256 in sales, but out of 36 clicks, I would wonder how many calls, and how many orders? The answer is here, the only problem is that many florists don't have the luxury of Floral Prodigy so we need to do a little assuming. I like to see concrete results.

The secret to getting ahead today is online digital marketing with reporting to help bring you as close to your results as possible. Pay-per-click is so much better than any traditional advertising because when it's slow, the clicks cost go down and when you're busy, costs go up. It may sound confusing, but I promise it's not as intimidating as it looks - so long as you know what you're doing. And if you don't? We're just a phone call away and ready to help get you started.

-Art

Do you need help with pay-per-click marketing, or have questions about how to start? If so, give us a call anytime or drop us a line and we'll be happy to explain things in terms you can understand and show you real results.

Turnkey Solutions Mean More Now Than Ever Before

It is important to connect all the work being done together with one central point. While we have been doing this with some, we are now able to offer this new service to all. What is that?

Managing your third-party website - no matter who runs it for you.

We will work together with any third-party companies to bring you results you expect and deserve. Retailers that get the best results have us managing everything; from their websites, to social, to PPC, and even weddings. Yes, we can now do it all! Better yet, if you are already using our services, we have special pricing for you!

The busy season will be here in the blink of an eye. While I will be sharing tips on holding onto the money you have made in the past, our web marketing ideas may be exactly what you need this fall.

Like what, you may ask? How about $20 Tuesdays? We will make the image, create banners, coordinate with web services, and execute your promotion that will lead to more walk in sales.

But, there is so much more:

• You will now have the strategy customized for your shop and executed while tracking results. Results guaranteed.

• We can start now and have you ready to get more sales in the fall and during the busy holiday season when you need them most.

• Did you know that July and January sales are almost the same? Let's change that together!

Bloomerang Solutions is here to help your business grow. From digital marketing to social media and location managment, we connect you with the customers you desire. But we don't stop there, we give you the tools to help you dominate your market with proven solutions and novel ideas like $20 Tuesdays and Turn 2. Give us a call today or email us here to find out how we can help your business grow.

A Painless Guide to Offering 24-Hour Delivery Without Missing A Wink of Sleep

In over 30 years of retailing, many people asked me how I grew Beneva Flowers from a tiny local flower shop to one of Teleflora’s Top 20 retail florists in the nation. Trust me when I tell you, I get far more credit than I deserve. I was not the smartest guy in the room, nor was I rich, nor a more talented floral designer. What I learned at a very young age from my father has kept me ahead of my competition to this day, remove the word NO as an option – it really is that simple. From that, I created my own slogan back in 2003, YES WE CAN. Telling a customer “no” is no longer an option.

Can I be a YES WE CAN florist?

The short answer is (of course) YES! It really is simple enough that anyone can do it. It certainly requires planning and possibly some extra work, but you didn’t get to be where you are as a business owner without rolling up your sleeves a few times – this is no different, and the benefits are well worth your extra efforts.

One of the most important steps you can take to becoming a YES WE CAN florist is by offering 24-hour delivery.

It’s important to note that this does not mean your shop has to be open 24-hours a day; it simply means that you’re willing to do what it takes to make your customer happy – as long as the customer is willing to pay for it.

Obviously it’s not practical – or even possible - to honor every request, but the key is to give the customer options and let them choose which solution they would like to pursue.

One person’s problem is another person’s opportunity

We still hear florists getting mad at after-hours delivery requests. We are repeatedly reminded the “shop closes early on Saturday,” or worse yet, we are scolded that “the delivery cut off is at 2 p.m.”! You know the tone, everyone knows the tone. Why on Earth would we treat a customer this way if they are willing to pay extra for the service? Don't forget, after-hours delivery requests are opportunities, don't punish your customers for asking!

A painless plan for offering 24-hour delivery

1. Set the rules and make sure they’re very clear

   • All orders must be placed during your normal business hours

   • After 4 p.m., charge an additional $10 to your normal fees

   • After 6 p.m., charge an additional $20 (item must already be designed and in the cooler)

   • After 8 p.m., charge an additional $20

   • After midnight, charge an additional $20

2. Consider offering your drivers 75% of the additional fees you collect after hours. I promise you will not have a problem getting the delivery accomplished!

3. Let the customer know you will be happy to make the delivery at the time they request as long as they are willing to pay the appropriate fees. If they’re willing to pay $80 for a late-night delivery that would only cost them $10 the next day, why say no? The customer gets what they want, while you and your driver earn a little extra money. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.

4. You can now tell the world you offer 24-hour delivery and next thing you see, your afternoon deliveries will take off. People won't wonder if you can still deliver, they just know you will.

What about last-minute holiday requests?

I often get asked, “what am I supposed to do when I am fully committed for Valentine’s Day delivery and I am being asked for delivery on the 14th – or else?”

Since saying no isn’t an option to a YES WE CAN florist, the key is again, to offer options and let the customers choose. Here is how I handle this request:

"Yes, we can deliver your flowers for you. Considering the orders we must prepare that came in ahead of yours, the next available day for delivery is Feb 15. I can appreciate you need these flowers for Valentine's Day and would gladly have them ready for you to pick up by 5:00 p.m."

Although you know this is not what the customer wants, the customer knows they’re late. What you have done is repeat and educate the customer of the options now available due to the request they have made. Nowhere in that scenario did you tell the customer “no.”

Throw away the policies, just focus on procedures!

This all starts with you – the owner. There is no secret to success, but there are ways to achieve it if you’re willing to put in the work. Take a step back and look at your industry. That is called the playing field. If you’re ready to succeed, then remove the roadblocks! Yes We Can is a retailer's way of saying I LOVE YOU to their customers. People shop where they feel welcomed and accommodated.

-Art