For the team at Waukesha Floral & Greenhouse in Waukesha, Wisconsin, one of the big takeaways of 2020 has been: The personal has never been more important.

Going into the year, Jane Loppnow and her husband, Marty, had planned for a strong 12-month period, including sales related to high-profile events such as the Democratic National Convention and the Ryder Cup. The pandemic has forced the cancellation of both and turned sales trends on their head at the longtime floral business.

“Every category is completely opposite the trends we were experiencing up to the COVID crisis,” Jane Loppnow said. “Cash sales are down. Credit card sales are up. Outgoing wire orders are down, but incoming wire orders are up. Store walk-in traffic is down, but deliveries are up. Curbside pickup is up — because we never offered it until this year. Business is definitely unpredictable.”

That reality has underscored a principle the business always has valued: Make every sale count.

“We keep remembering that every order is so important to us, as they always have been,” Loppnow said, adding that the business is hyper focused now on adding those personal touches to every customer interaction. In practice, that means texting order delivery information, including pictures, and being transparent with customers and employees about the new safety and sanitation measures in place to help keep the community safe. Loppnow includes a thank-you note with every bill — “It takes a little extra time, but it’s important to remember who is keeping us in business,” she said — and the team has learned that some customers just need a bit more TLC, and time, right now.

“ the customers’ needs in the spotlight,” she explained, adding that a formerly routine pleasantry (“How are you doing?”) “may turn into a counseling session from florist to customer.”

“Sometimes it’s what is needed at that moment,” she said. “Some of our senior customers get lonely and need the reassurance of a listening ear. Moms need to talk with an adult instead of their kids, and guys always need help picking out flowers. We take the time to really thank people for their orders, and thank those businesses that have stepped up to help us with more orders than usual.”

The Loppnows also are purposefully including themselves and staff in communications, including emails with embedded videos of Marty talking about plant and flower trends and care. “We want to be sure people know there are ‘real people’ behind every message,” Loppnow said.

The Loppnows have also found that some of their most successful initiatives and community-building partnerships in the past don’t need a complete overhaul. Instead, they just need an update for the crisis. “Instead of presenting to the garden club, we filmed a YouTube video to send to their members,” Loppnow said. “Instead of holding a container garden class, we made up container garden kits with instructions and pictures of us, delivered to their doorsteps.”

The feedback has been just as personalized as the outreach.

“We have been given hand-sewn floral masks, donuts, treats and scads of thank-you notes,” Loppnow said. “We try to meet each customer where they are at this time, and everyone is in their own different circumstances. It’s truly all about relationships with other people, and the more we are made to distance from each other the more we come together to support one another in new, creative ways.”

Read more about other florists’ strategies for adapting to the new retail environment in Floral Management.

Mary Westbrook is the editor in chief of Floral Management magazine.