One of the biggest floral holidays is fast approaching and a little prep work now can make a huge difference in your stress level and profit margin. Here are few first steps to position yourself for success.
Prep your website. As you likely know, fresh product is in short supply this Mother’s Day for a number of reasons, including bad weather in South America and repercussions from COVID-related shutdowns last year. (For more details and advice, watch the Society of American Florists’ latest webinar, “The State of Fresh Product Supply.”) While vaccinations have helped many Americans feel more comfortable with once-normal activities, like dining out or traveling, plenty are still exercising extreme caution, which makes sending floral gifts to Mom especially appealing; ergo, it’s safe to anticipate demand will be high. To satisfy as many customers as possible, embrace a “lean menu” (think: two dozen options versus 100) that incorporates similar flowers and colors and highlights “designer’s choice” options for maximum flexibility. That was the main piece of advice web expert and floral consultant Vonda LaFever, AIFD, PFCI, offered SAF members ahead of Mother’s Day 2020. She and her Flower Clique teammate Kari Martin also recommend revising your prices if your costs have gone up and making real-time updates so that sold-out arrangements don’t appear at the top of the page. (Click here to watch their full webinar for greater detail and more tips.)
Build your roster of dependable drivers. Busy periods require extra helpers, particularly with deliveries. One benefit of a Sunday holiday is that it opens up a pool of knowledgeable, reliable drivers who can help with this: mail carriers. “They know the streets better than anyone, so you know they’ll be efficient,” said Sandy Nielsen, president of Nielsen’s Florist in Darien, Connecticut, and a two-time winner of Floral Management’s Marketer of the Year Award. She recruits heavily from the post office every Mother’s Day, as the holiday always coincides with workers’ day off. Other good choices: charities, service organizations, and nonprofits (especially those that request checks or flower donations for their fundraisers!). For Nielsen, the go-to group is the Darien Lion’s Club, whose members deliver her flowers while wearing their club uniform. She can relax knowing that, while they’re out and about, the Lion Club’s reputation is as much at stake as her own shop’s. “You can trust that they will deliver product on time and in good shape,” Nielsen said. Furthermore, aligning with a group with a noble cause is always good PR, she said. For detailed advice on recruiting and training holiday delivery drivers, check out “How to Succeed in Holiday Business (Without Really Crying).”
Encourage customers to place orders early. Mother’s Day probably isn’t yet top of mind with consumers, but you can nonchalantly nudge them to make sure they’re not scrambling in a few weeks to properly celebrate Mom. You could promote a “Best Mom” contest or schedule a “Mommy and Me” design class or tea party — all events that require people to do a little advanced planning. You could also dedicate a weekly or biweekly post on social media or email marketing honoring some of the world’s most beloved mothers (from real life or fiction). For a subtle sales pitch, include a quick sentence that links to your Mother’s Day menu.
Katie Vincent is the senior contributing editor for the Society of American Florists.
