How Can We Maintain Flower Costs When Costs Continue to Rise?
Running a flower shop is getting tougher as costs keep rising.
Wholesale flower prices are going up...
The costs of delivery and fuel? Those are rising too.
And there’s a new word we’re hearing everywhere: “Surcharge.”
Q: The Solution? A: Charge More—But Not the Way You Would Think
Simply raising prices isn’t the answer—you risk driving customers away. But there’s a more strategic approach to managing these rising costs.
Local businesses are finding clever ways to pass on some of these costs without directly hiking prices.
Consider the restaurant industry: Tips that used to start at 15% are now starting at 20%. On top of that, a 3% credit card fee is often added to the bill. And sometimes, an additional gratuity is tucked away in the fine print. These incremental fees are becoming more common, and customers are starting to expect them.
Combating Rising Costs as a Retail Florist
So, how can florists effectively combat these rising costs? One solution that’s gaining traction is the introduction of a Flower Handling and Delivery (FHD) charge.
This FHD charge helps cover the increasing costs of delivery and handling, ensuring your business remains profitable while still offering the same high level of service.
And here’s the good news: Florists who have implemented this charge over the past six months report that customers have been understanding, as of currently, zero complaints.
Back to School: Connecting with the Community
More than just a yearbook ad, there’s much more to building a relationship with the school faculty.
With back-to-school season here, it’s a great time to build stronger ties with your local community.
When I ran Beneva Flowers, we started the Helping Hands Community Program. It was a simple but powerful way to help both our business and local schools. For every dollar spent in our shop, a percentage went to participating schools. Customers just used a special code when ordering, and 5% of their purchase was donated to the school of their choice. It was a win-win, helping schools while building goodwill in the community.
If you want to start a similar program at your flower shop, I’d love to help. Reach out to me at art@bloomerang.solutions for more details.
AI is Coming, Is Google Going?
If you haven’t noticed, artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the business world.
Tools like ChatGPT are changing how industries work, and the flower industry is no different. At Bloomerang, we stay ahead by not sticking to just one way of marketing. Whether it’s Google, Facebook, or something else, our goal is to get the best results for our clients. Right now, Google is the top choice, but who knows what the future holds?
The key is to stay flexible and use many different marketing channels. This way, you’ll be ready for whatever new technology comes next.
The Most Tried-and-True Method of Marketing: Email
When it comes to marketing tools that work, email has been around the longest.
Email marketing has been effective since the early days of the internet. It’s reliable, cost-effective, and it’s going to become even more important in the coming years. Now is the perfect time to start building and managing your email list—it will pay off in the long run.
Check out this video for more information on this:
Our First Podcast of 2024!
I’m thrilled to announce our first podcast episode for 2024! These episodes are full of valuable insights, featuring interviews with other flower shop owners who share their tips and experiences.
Our first episode features Jenni Jenkins from The Salisbury Shop in Vermont. It’s a fun and informative conversation with practical advice for anyone in the floral industry. Whether you’re an experienced florist or just starting out, this podcast is a must-listen.
Tune in to learn, get inspired, and join the conversation!
A Special Gift for You! Our Customer Retention Program
Back when I ran Beneva Flowers, to keep our database current so we did not waste postage or send emails to accounts that do not exist anymore, we sent a Customer Retention Program.
It’s completely normal for people to not order in a year, but not so much in a year and a half.
That’s why we developed this program to ensure that our list was kept current and clean.
For customers who have ordered in the last 3 years, but not in the last year and half, we would make an effort to call them and simply thank them for the business they have given us in the past.
If you would like the call script that I used to run this program, feel free to reach out to me at art@bloomerang.solutions and I will send it to you.