Strategies to build loyal customers through five-star customer service will be the focus of an educational session at SAF’s Next Gen LIVE! event in Miami.
There’s welcome news on the business pages. Not only did the March Consumer Confidence Index rise slightly from February, but the research firm Ipsos found that 41 percent of respondents were “confident in increasing their spending on optional things.”
Sam Bowles of Allen’s Flowers and Plants in San Diego
While that news bodes well for discretionary spending on items such as flowers, other research suggests consumers are being more selective about where they’re spending it: Customers are 92 percent more likely to return to a business that provided a positive customer service experience, according to Salesforce Research. Couple that with Zendesk research from last year, which indicates 61 percent of customers will switch brands after one negative customer service experience, up from 39 percent from the previous year.
“Like anything, consumers have options,” says Sam Bowles, general manager and creative director of Allen’s Flowers and Plants in San Diego, who will lead a session on how to provide five-star customer service at the Society of American Florists’ Next Gen LIVE! event June 11-13 in Miami, Florida. “When they’re deciding whether or not to come back, it’s pretty obvious the experience they have is a factor.”
Providing excellent customer service is easier said than done, Bowles acknowledges. Many floral businesses have been doing more work with fewer employees to cut costs. Regardless, businesses must make customer service a priority, no matter how many employees they have.
“You can’t focus so much on efficiency that you sacrifice the customer service experience,” says Bowles.
During his interactive session at Next Gen LIVE!, Bowles will show how Allen’s uses customer service to drive repeat business and will also crowd-source solutions by challenging attendees to tackle specific customer service scenarios and share their solutions.
Resolving an unsatisfied customer’s concerns quickly and satisfactorily is paramount: 59 percent of consumers are more likely to remember a negative shopping experience than a positive one, according to Ipsos. Adding to the challenge: Not all unhappy consumers speak up, Bowles says; a vast majority simply stop patronizing the shop, so the shop has no chance to make it right.
That’s why Allen’s Flowers and Plants send customers an email asking them to rate the shop. Customers who provide anything less than a five-star rating are prompted to provide feedback about what went wrong, says Bowles. This allows the shop to correct mistakes, which may keep the customer from seeking out another florist the next time they need flowers.
“The best marketing I can do is for the latest order I’ve taken for them,” says Bowles, pointing out that it’s less expensive to retain a customer than attract a new one. In addition, satisfied customers are more likely to recommend the shop to friends and family who are looking for flowers, says Bowles.
Providing quality customer service isn’t just the right thing to do, says Bowles; it’s the business-savvy thing to do.
“It doesn’t make business sense if you’re spending money on good products” but not focusing on customer service, says Bowles. “If you’re not turning customers into repeat customers by giving them a good experience, that’s bad business.
SAF’s Next Gen LIVE! event is designed for floral professionals 45 and younger. In addition to Bowles’s customer service session, the event features sessions and workshops by industry experts on topics such as digital marketing , artificial intelligence and leadership, and it also includes networking opportunities, a vendor showcase, and a floral design competition. Attendees can choose between two tour options: progressive Miami retail florists or the Miami International Airport’s flower shipping and receiving center. For more information and to register, click here.
Laurie Herrera is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.
