When Ryan O’Neil, PFCI, and his wife, Rachael, founded Twisted Willow Design in St. Louis six years ago, they knew they wanted to focus on events and grow their business. What they may not have realized at the time? The journey to do those two things would involve trial and error — and the creation of a new software company, Curate, to help other event florists succeed.
During a Society of American Florists webinar last week, O’Neil shared some of his top tips on how to improve user experience for brides and grooms and generate more leads (and sales). “There are so many granular pieces that my wife and I were missing on our website when we started,” he said. “And what we’ve found over the years is that small fixes can make a big difference.”
Missteps to Avoid
O’Neil said florists often make a handful of common mistakes when it comes to web strategy and events:
Highlighting the wrong style. Early on, the O’Neils featured dozens of bouquets on their site —because the bouquets were beautiful and meaningful to the couple. “Many of those pictures were from some of our first weddings, so we had a strong emotional attachment to them,” O’Neil said. The problem? The couple wanted to move beyond their $1,500 average event sale into higher-end work. All those (lovely) bouquets were sending an unintended message to brides looking for more ambitious floral installations: “This is all we do.” Today, Twisted Willow, which now has an average transaction of $5,000, shows what they want to sell, including hanging designs and wow-factor pieces. “The important thing is that you are thinking about the clients you want and showing the work that will most appeal to them,” O’Neil said.
Making vague references. In working with other retail flower shops, O’Neil has noticed a tendency to bundle event work with other segments. (Think: “Funerals, daily arrangements and wedding and events” as a reference on your website.) “Another thing I’ll see on some florists’ websites is language like, ‘We’d love to talk to you about weddings and events,’ but no link or call to action,” O’Neil said. That lack of clarity can be frustrating for clients. A better approach: Create a dedicated weddings and events website or landing page. “You need a space that is completely focused on weddings because these customers are so focused,” he said. “If a bride hits your site and all she sees is funeral work, she’ll leave…quickly.” O’Neil also said it’s important to direct any outside links from preferred vendors or sites such as The Knot or Wedding Wire directly to that dedicated page or site, a move that will help improve your SEO.
You can check out O’Neil’s entire webinar, which also includes tips on leveraging Google Analytics and utm tags, and the top mistakes florists make when creating contact forms, at safnow.org/webinars.
Mary Westbrook is the editor in chief of Floral Management
