In a remote COVID working environment, the role of administrative professionals has been elevated — and florists can use Administrative Professionals’ Week to help them get the recognition they deserve.
“At most companies, administrative professionals have been the glue for the teams they support, tackling new challenges and exhibiting grace under pressure while helping employees stay connected, engaged and productive during the pandemic,” writes Robert Half in his blog.
And with nearly 4 million secretaries/administrative assistants in the U.S. workforce, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, there are a lot of employees to celebrate.
Rethinking APW Marketing
The combination of elevated recognition of remote teams, along with more people actually returning to offices, caused 38 percent of respondents to a Society of American Florists survey about spring holidays say they expect sales for Administrative Professionals’ Week to increase. Another 39 percent expect sales to remain flat, but 23 percent admit they have no idea what to expect.
One florist says, “Because the office party “lunch” won’t be possible, I think now more than ever staff is appreciated for their efforts from home.” And with socializing and close interactions still rare, “flowers are a wonderful expression,” says another survey respondent. “We feel the opportunity is there for employers to connect with employees that have been working from home. One main marketing slogan will be ‘You can’t zoom a bloom!’ ”
Getting the message out early to the person that does decision-making at the floral and gifting level is key, says one florist. That has been challenging with more people working remotely. Traditional mailers may not be received, and email marketing success has been spotty for corporate customers, according to survey respondents. As a result, one respondent said they are trying an old-fashioned technique: a phone campaign.
New Delivery Workload
APW delivery scheduling will also be a challenge. Many companies are still working from home so, instead of one delivery of 30-40 designs going to one address, “we will be making those 30-40 deliveries to each individual home. It will bring our deliveries … from 208 to closer to 700-800 deliveries.”
In addition to the extra deliveries, offices, schools, and public buildings are more difficult to deliver to because of COVID-19 restrictions. “We can’t just walk in with a big box of flowers anymore. Quite often the driver has to wait outside for someone to come get the item(s). This slows down delivery time significantly,” says another florist.
Making Lemonade Out of Lemons
Florists are taking the opportunity to expand their offerings for Administrative Professionals’ Week – and some are looking forward to testing the waters with different product. As with other holidays this spring, sourcing product has been challenging because of weather and transportation logistics.
Several florists who responded to the SAF survey said they have picked up more local business and they are working to come up with new products to make those new customers be repeat customers. “We are capitalizing on our talent and creativity as opposed to cookie cutter designing and showing that we can still can create, even in a shortage,” says one optimistic florist.
Jennifer McNally is the interim editor of SAF NOW.
