In today’s society, all products are judged by their convenience, and the smallest inconvenience can make or break any business.One simple convenience is the delivery of products this includes the delivery of flowers. Of course, flower delivery has been around for ages and most florists provide this service, but when was the last time you sat down and gave your delivery policies and pricing some critical thinking? To truly know if you are charging enough for delivery, there should be a few things that we should keep in mind. In the flower industry, which is highly local in nature, there is no one true “industry standard” for costs; your area is different from the others, and there may be considerations you have to make that other competitor and or businesses do not. ![]() Image via Shutterstock How much are floral deliveries really costing you?To help you check if you are charging enough for flower deliveries, let’s look at the many ways delivery can cost you money, starting with the simple flower-only deliveries. As with all delivery jobs, you should take into account the distance from the shop to the destination. Ideally, you should have some sort of formula that helps you decide the amount you need to be paid for the number of miles/kilometers you need to travel. The driver, team, vehicular and road costs should be counted in, too. Things like parking tickets, rentals, and gas all fall into this category. To round up all the considerations, you should also consider travel time. Should florists charge for special requests?With the previous considerations, you’ll see that distance and time are the immediate costs for each delivery and are thus the main things that will determine the delivery cost. Of course, time is a major factor for many customers. If customers ask you to go above and beyond for deliveries, why not charge for those requests? Express deliveries and or specified times are especially tasty offers for any customer on the rush. Offering these options can be helpful to the customer but to you as well as a floral business owner by increasing revenues. Deliveries can be made faster, easier, and smarter with Floranext’s New Advanced POS features – Delivery Manager, Giving your business and your drivers the tools for a better floral delivery experience. ![]() Image via Shutterstock Are you charging enough for floral deliveries?Each flower shop will be dealing with different numbers, the best way we can check it is by also answering the question, “for all the labor you do in delivery, are you getting paid for it?” Quantify all the considerations we had listed out above into money, and add a markup. This resulting number should be your delivery cost, at the very least. Florists should always add a markup to their delivery just like your arrangements, proposals, and or contracts. Delivery seems insignificant when compared to the other tasks that a flower shop does. However, when you look deeply into it, you might find that it might be the one thing costing your business rather than increasing revenue. Delivery is still ultimately a service that you provide to your customers, and thus it should remain profitable for your shop to stay sustainable.
Florists, do your deliveries increase revenue for your floral business? Do you charge for special delivery requests? Share your thoughts and comments below! ____________ Floranext offers great florist software, florist POS, florist websites and florist wedding proposal software. Our florist technology products are built by florists, for florists. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.
Florists! Make your Mother’s Day deliveries Faster. Easier. Smarter.Floranext New Advanced POS Features Now Available!
from https://floranext.com/florists-are-you-charging-enough-for-deliveries/
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Mother’s Day is just around the corner! Is your business ready for this busy floral holiday?Having a plan in place to make the most revenue during Mother’s Day is critical to earning the rewards of this bustling, blossoming occasion. Read on for an agenda to help you plan and organize your shop for the upcoming Mother’s Day holiday. 1. Promote Your Floral Business!Begin by using your floral website and social media profiles to start marketing your floral arrangements and your business. It’s not too late! Images & Products
Hours & Policies
Promotions & Discounts
Note: “Promoting” does not always have to mean offering discounts. Remind customers why they should order flowers through your business. 2. Staffing, Scheduling and Duties, Oh My!Making sure you have enough coverage can be overwhelming during the holiday rush. Not to worry, take a deep breath and follow these tips! Hiring
Employees
Scheduling & Duties
3. Don’t Forget your Flowers & SuppliesMaking sure you have enough flowers and supplies to get through the holiday is important. Supplies
Flowers
Note: If you are new to the floral industry, Mother’s Day spans for a week, not a day. So order enough flowers! 4. Start Prepping & Showcasing your Flowers!Stay ahead of the game with these prepping and showcasing tips during the busy holiday rush. Prepping
Showcasing
Work Ahead
Note: It helps to have a system that works best for you. However, working on orders per day can feel overwhelming, so staying ahead of the game is always best. 5. Take Care of YourselfIt is important to take care of yourself during this busy Mother’s Day week.
Tip: Bring in extra shoes and store them in your cooler to remedy those aching feet.
We would like to wish all florists a very successful Mother’s Day!
Florists, do you have any great Mother’s Days tips to share with our readers? Please post any of your Mother’s Day tips or feedback below. ____________ Floranext offers great florist software, florist POS, florist websites and florist wedding proposal software. Our florist technology products are built by florists, for florists. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here. from https://floranext.com/florist-checklist-for-mothers-day-2019/ Delivering Flowers Faster. Easier.Floranext’s New Florist Delivery Manager is the new solution to let your floral delivery blossom!
Route With Map – Speed up Florist Route CreationEasily re-route delivery stops by choosing which stops should come first before any others. Delivery Driver App – For Faster Floral DeliveriesYour flower shop’s delivery drivers can use a smartphone to use the benefits of the delivery routing features like live status updates, turn by turn directions, and more.
Instant-Address Search – Faster Floral Order TakingEnter in the business/home address and the field will begin to populate with information.
Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here. from https://floranext.com/floranexts-new-floral-delivery-manager-for-florists/ FTD lawyers contacted Floranext on March 26th 2019 asking them to remove our blog post about FTD’s most recent news. We offered to FTD as a compromise to instead post a direct quote from their own recent communications. They suggested this would still result in legal action. We have removed all commentary about FTD’s recent news from our blog. It saddens us that in America in 2019, the power of lawsuits are such that it can stop truthful dialogue about issues that matter to people. We at Floranext are fans of this quote by Senator and Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black – “The Framers of the Constitution knew that free speech is the friend of change and revolution.” We hope that all florists are getting truthful information about their business. – William O’Shea, Co-Founder/Floranext
from https://floranext.com/on-ftd-recent-news/ Using Google My Business is one of the best ways to improve your floral business website’s visibility.Google My Business (formerly called Google Places) is the number one platform for listing your flower shop on Google searches, and Google Maps! Google My Business allows you to improve your business’s credibility and visibility, by showing you are verified on one of the most trusted platforms on the Internet.
Signing Up for Google for BusinessIf you are just starting your floral business, whether or not you have a floral website set up or not, start your application here.
You’re done! You now have a Verified Listing on Google Business, that will show up for customers who are searching for your type of business in your local search area! Now that we are signed in and verified on Google Business, let’s take a look at the various sections of the GMB Dashboard that will require our attention.
The Home PageThis will be your Main Hub for your Google Business dashboard. Here you can do a little bit of everything, such as: quickly see how your Business is displayed on Search and Maps, respond to reviews directly, answer questions, manage customer submitted photos, and create posts to share with your customers who view your business on Google Search. Google Business is constantly adding new features, and many businesses, small and large, fail to take advantage of them! The next section is going to examine some of the important features you can access on your Google Business Dashboard.
POSTSBusiness Owners can now create Posts that show directly with your Business Listing when customers view it on Search or Maps. These posts can be used to advertise special Products (including a URL to directly buy from your site), or to notify your customers about Events coming up, or special offers you may have (such as coupons or discounts). There are lots of possibilities with this new function. Keep in mind, a post made here will only last for 7 days maximum, and can only be 1500 characters MAX. So it is important to be concise, and to have good timing with your posts! Consider this, if you have a promotion that coincides with a major holiday, such as this upcoming Mother’s Day!
INFOThis is one of the most important pages for your Business Listing. Everything that is in the main column, under the Business Name, should be filled out ASAP. This includes: Business Name, Categories, Business Location, Service Areas, Hours and Special Hours, Phone Number, Website URL, Payment Methods Accepted, Short Description, Opening Date, and Photos. As a Business Owner, it’s in your best interest to make sure all of this is filled out. All of this information can be shown with your Google Listing. I’d like to quickly highlight a few newer functions from this page that are not utilized as much we think they should be: Service Areas: Previously Google prompted Businesses to choose a Radius on their map to indicate how wide their service area could be. Now GMB seems to prompt you to choose from Delivery Areas such as Cities and Zip Codes. It is advantageous to type in as many as are applicable to your business. Be honest, of course. But don’t short sell your business’s reach by only including your primary area. Opening Date: This one is applicable to up and coming businesses, that are still getting their ducks in a row. Our advice to you, start this as soon as you are able! Your Local SEO Ranking can be influenced by how much people engage with your Google Listing. If you start building this momentum before your business is even open, you may find that people in your area become aware of your business and ask you questions before it is even open! INSIGHTSFrom this page you can quickly get a view into how people engage with your Business Listing on Google Search, and also Google Maps. When people see your listing from Search or Maps, do they call you directly? Do they click on your Website button? Do they ask for directions? Having this information can be helpful while you are getting to know your customers, and learning how people find your business. REVIEWSIt is important to engage with the people that offer you reviews. Make sure to respond to both positive as well as negative reviews. Believe it or not, people take notice when they see that a business owner has responded personally to a negative review. Don’t just leave them there to rot, take the time to write a personal response, to show that you care about the quality of your business, and its reputation! Thank customers for their positive reviews, and encourage them to come back! MESSAGINGCustomers can now send messages to your Business directly from the Search page. This is a legitimate way to directly communicate with potential customers! You may find that people reach out to you directly through this Messaging function, make sure to pay attention to your Homepage, to see when you get new messages directly from customers searching online. PHOTOSUpload your Photos! This is extremely important. Businesses that don’t have many, or ANY photos will find that they have a harder time ranking highly in the Local Search Results. You should have the following photos that you upload yourself: Logo – Your Business Logo Cover Image – This is the grand feature photo and should correspond to the services you offer. Product – Upload photos of your arrangements that you yourself have created for customers. You can also upload photos of the products as seen in your store.
![]() Image via Shutterstock Why is Google My Business Important?There are so many reasons why all business owners absolutely must be on Google My Business, especially if your business is location specific. The biggest reason of all is the impact it has in increasing your search engine ranking, but below are some further reasons. Improved Search Visibility: Try any of these keywords in a Google search: city, state, florist, flower shop, zip code/postal code. Notice who comes firsts under the map. These results are Local Search Results, courtesy of Google My Business. You cannot pay to place in these results, but having a Google My Business profile will enable you to. Maps Your Floral Business Location: This allows the customer to find and navigate to your brick-and-mortar store and website more easily. Allows for Customer Interaction: Google My Business allows for customers to interact with your business by leaving reviews and uploading their own photos. Every review counts, and every photo upload counts! How does it count? By improving your SEO, remember you want to list in the top 3 records on Google Local Search.
Florists, how has Google My Business helped your floral business in the past years? Please share your feedback in the comment section below. If you have any questions please post below as well! ____________ Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here. from https://floranext.com/how-and-why-florists-should-use-google-my-business/ This week FTD told shareholders that it may run out of cash by the summer and be forced to shut down. The company is looking for a buyer, but with a debt pile of almost $200 million, a market cap of $30 million, and four straight years of losing millions, it’s unclear if the florist wire service will be able to find an exit. This is less a warning sign for florists and more a day of reckoning for the outdated wire service business model. It’s also a dire warning for any FTD florists – they may not get paid in the event of bankruptcy. What are the risks for FTD member shops? They may not get paid in a bankruptcy.If FTD fails, florist retail partners may not get paid what they are owed. In any bankruptcy there is an order in which debts get paid back – secured debts first, followed by priority debts, and then unsecured debts. Debts to florist partners are not secured and are third in line to get paid back. If FTD fails florist partners may not see a dime. If they do get paid back it may be years later and it might be cents on the dollar. If a bankruptcy came after Mother’s Day rush, that could be disastrous for a retail shop. Do you need to break your contract with FTD?You should probably take a look at your contract fine print. But FTD will owe you money only if you accept incoming orders, so one strategy could be to not take any incoming orders. If you need to send out orders, there are independent alternativesMany florists are members of wire services because they want to be able to send orders to other shops for loyal customers. There are now several independent, wire-service-free florist point of sale and florist website providers (like Floranext) that allow sending orders through an independent wire service network. Retailers increasingly are opting for independent florist software that give them better florist software, less expensively, with greater flexibility. Is FTD failing?FTD is guilty of going on a debt binge, like a number of other retailers (Toys R’ Us comes to mind) – but that is not the fundamental problem. FTD has pile of debt, but the real issue is its shrinking revenue. Their profits are dropping because consumers don’t need their services and neither do retail florists. If you are an FTD florist, you should strongly consider running, not walking, away.
Looking for an FTD alternative? Floranext is offering a free website for 2 months to FTD members. from https://floranext.com/why-ftd-is-failing-florists/ Upselling isn’t just a sales tactic—it’s a way to improve your customer’s experience.The objective of customer service is to satisfy the needs and wants of your customers. With that principle as your guide, no sale will feel forced but will make you feel accomplished that you have pleased your customers by providing what they actually need. The key is to successfully identify the needs and wants for each person that purchases through your flower shop. One of the ways you can deliver a quality sales experience is with upselling. Upselling is a sales technique aimed at getting a customer to spend more by upgrading their arrangement, or by adding another item to their order. A good example is when you offer the customer a custom-arranged bouquet rather than one in the cooler, or offering a box of chocolates to go with their dozen red roses. Trying to properly gauge the right service for your customer can open up opportunities to upsell. Existing customers are easier to upsell to because you may already know their purchasing habits, have a somewhat personable relationship, and have a good idea of what they might need. However, new customers can be skeptical, which could mean you’re not upselling right. How to Upsell To Your Floral CustomersThe key is to accurately identify the customer’s needs. Find a product that satisfies that need, and give them a sense of urgency of the offer. Whether it may be a promo price on certain flowers or a limited-time offer, you should try to open such a possibility to the customer as soon as possible. Avoid pushing too hard, or they might shy away from the offer. Offering too much can also confuse the customer. Try not to make the customer panic, but rather make them feel that the offer is compelling. When to Upsell Floral ProductsWell, it could be any time! When you feel confident, you can try upselling to regular customers and see how it goes. During a shop-wide sale, all your products have a higher perceived value because of the price slash. Customers new and old will flock to your flower shop to take advantage of that. This time is a very critical time to upsell! Sales don’t last long, giving that sense of urgency to the customers. All your products will look like perfect grabs, making them more likely to be picked up. The key here is to offer better-value products to your customers. Upsell products in line with the customer’s purchase that is still part of the sales promotion, presenting just enough choices that they can consider. If done well, the chances for a successful upsell are higher than normal! You should also incentivize upsells by offering more discounts and freebies, adding more value to the customer’s purchase, at the same time maximizes your profit. The advantages of upselling during a sale can be numerous, but it all boils to two things: you maximize your profit, and your customer gets home with a satisfactory purchase. With that purchase, they see you as a brand to be trusted, making more likely to come back to you. Other than increasing customer stickiness, upselling is much easier and costs less. A win-win situation! Sales experiences are not just about how much you earn, but how valuable of experience you can give your customer. When you put your customer first, your profit margin consequently improves, given the advantages of doing such things. However, don’t just stop on upselling, there are so many ways to improve each sales experience. Don’t be afraid to take all the opportunities presented to you!
Florists, what are some upselling tactics you use in your flower shop? ____________ Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here. from https://floranext.com/the-importance-of-upselling/ Flowers can be tasteful to the palate, not just the eyes!Anyone in the food industry recognizes that the human palate is an ever-changing thing, and we are always more than ready to take a bite out of anything remotely edible. Delicious food is more than just delicious on the tongue, it can be tasty to the eye. Restaurant-quality food is more than the taste, the way it’s presented is part of the experience. Now, the flower industry has something food fanatics might consider to enhance that experience: edible flowers.
Edible Flower TrendRipped from the pages of the Great British Bake Off recipe books—which once featured a botanicals week—and Michelin five-star chefs, edible flowers have gained a lot of traction because they still do what they do best even when paired with food: looking pretty and dainty. Social media platforms, especially Instagram and Pinterest, have also bolstered the trend, spreading awareness to all food fanatics all over the world. Who can resist such beauty and delicacy served right in front of you?
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