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Sales Corner - April 25,2008
Partner with your local business community by offering to arrange an employee appreciation event on-site.
Approach a larger local accounting firm, law firm or other professional business and conduct a flower display for Mother's Day. Have three various bouquets displayed in their lunch room representing three price points. Include a $20, $35 and $60 arrangements to fit everyone's budget. Let the customer know they can customize their selection by choosing preferred colors.
The ideal time for the display is between 10:30am - 2:00 pm. This way you catch the lunch crowd and the coffee crowd.
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Take orders on the spot and let them know you will deliver the flowers right to their office by 3:00pm the last Friday before Mother's Day. This means they don't have to leave the office to do their Mother's Day shopping. Bring along the greeting cards so they can write a personalized message for their Dear Mom.
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To help select an appropriate business, sift through your customer list and determine if you have recently served an individual employed in a good sized organization. You can always offer this person a free $30 Mother's Day arrangement for helping you out.
This is an ideal marketing strategy for the busy lifestyle often associated with career-minded individuals.
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Sales Corner - April 17, 2008
Consider these three marketing ideas to boost Consider these three marketing ideas to boost your sales and carry you through a sluggish economy:
1. Focus on previous and existing customers.
With established relationships, you do not need to spend extra time, money and energy to make an impression, your customers already know you. And your knowledge of your customers' needs makes it easier to come up with new products or services they will want to buy. The point is to make a valid case that they will benefit from what you are offering.
2. Create a Complimentary Reminder Service. Offer to each and every customer a free of charge reminder service for Birthdays, Anniversaries, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. Start this Mother's Day by calling all your customers to ask them for a Mother's Day order and while on the phone obtain their email address. As this service is intended to be discreet, it is important to ask them for the best telephone number and email to reach them at. We certainly do not want their special someone to know they have the added help of their favorite florist reminding them of those very special occasions.
During wedding consultations, slip the husband-to-be a note about the service and let him know that you have already included the wedding date in your calendar for that special 1st anniversary.
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3.Focus on family values. During a slowing economy the trend is for consumers to spend more time at home and be more connected to family and friends. Remind your customers fresh flowers are the most affordable and quite perfect pick-me-up for their own home and are also the ideal hostess gift for friends and family. The gift of fresh flowers is a simple act of kindness for those feeling down. Let your customers know flowers are a wonderful expression of appreciation that will last for days.
Greeting cards and calling cards also hold up well in this environment and act as an exceptional compliment to flowers. Help your customers show they care by adding these items as features in your shop.
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Sales Corner -April 4,2008
Marketing Ideas for Prom and Spring Wedding Season
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Looking for better ways to serve your customers while increasing sales? Here are some ideas for the prom and spring wedding season.
Create your very own "Referral Program" by offering a discount or coupon to any wedding and prom customers that recommend their friends to order as well. This can be especially effective with teens as the strings on their wallets may be a bit tight. This allows your customer to not only put more cash in their pockets but also allows you to gain more business.
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While your wedding and prom clients are in your shop, consider offering a coupon or discount for their upcoming Mother´s Day purchases. This will help to encourage them to become a repeat customer at a young age all while securing a Mother´s Day sale for your business. Share with them the meaning of the flowers they can select for their Mom. Be sure the customer does not leave your shop without knowing that flowers are the ultimate Mother´s Day gift as they represent the true meaning of the day. Recommend flowers for not only their own Mothers, but for Grandmothers, special Aunts and even flowers for their future mothers-in-law...as it is highly likely their enchanting men seem to be more forgetful on occasions such as this. |
Another alternative is to offer a discount if they pre-order their Mother´s Day flowers when placing their prom or bridal order. Advance orders can make a significant impact on how you order and can save your business both time and money. |
Remember to obtain their email address and / or phone number so you can send them a gentle Mother´s Day reminder 10 days before the day arrives. |
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| Spring Bling Is Hot! |
Spring brides and prom goers like to take these very special days as an opportunity to demonstrate their individuality. This year´s hot trends include a more traditional look or a retro image with plenty of bling.
In addition to the more traditional corsage being a hot item, we suggest up-selling your clientele by suggesting highlight pieces such as purse accents, botanical necklaces, and floral shoe accents - all of which create an ultra-chic look for the ladies.
Take the stress from the guys and help them find the perfect flowers to compliment their date. Roses and Carnations appear to be very popular for the gents. Remember to always help out the guys by providing tips on how to pin a corsage to eliminate any fear of pricking their dear sweetie. Make things simple by using our magnetic filigree products for all your boutonnieres.
Get your must-have flower bracelets and corsage accessories at unbeatable prices at Flowerbuyer.com.
Prices starting at only $1.31 / wristlet (US Customers)
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Sales Corner -June 4,2008
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Cross-promotion is the collaborative marketing efforts of two or more businesses and can prove to be an effective strategy for finding new customers and reducing advertisement costs.
Simply identify as many other businesses that you could potentially be sharing your bridal customers with.
To align your businesses, introduce your companies and brainstorm creative ways to cross promote your products and/or services. Companies to partner with could include a caterer,
DJ, dressmaker, photographer, etc. Exchange business cards, coupons, brochures, fliers or other suitable material and feature them in your business. The critical success factor to
making this strategy work is to actively promote the other business to as many customers and patrons as possible.
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When companies invest an equal amount of effort, the results can be exceptional. Keep in mind that your fellow wedding professionals can act as a source of
leads not only for weddings but for other events and occasions as well.
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Sales Corner -June 11,2008
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Create a "Buzz"
Buzz marketing has become one of the big trends for boosting consumer sales. It refers to an assembly of people sampling product in a focus group setting.
It is typically conducted by an agency and can be used as a strategy to accelerate sales. The concept entails offering your product at no cost to a small group
of individuals. Here, they learn about the item and have the opportunity to use it and take it home at no charge. The end result is the creation of a number of people
that can influence other consumers to purchase your product via word-of-mouth advertising. We all know that word-of-mouth is the best advertising as it is always honest
and legitimate. Many companies today believe this initiative can be much more cost-effective than print advertising and other forms of marketing
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One way for you to create a "Buzz" around your products without the price tag of paying an agency, is to conduct a consumer event where your product is offered at no cost.
Send an invitation to your community and attract them to your shop by letting them know they can pick up their free flowers during this one-day event. Be confident in your
product selection and choose items that perform well and that your potential customers will fall in love with.
To begin, you need to decide how much you are willing to invest in this program. Once cost point is finalized, you can determine how many stems you are willing to give out.
You can also create a sense of urgency by letting the potential customers know availability is on a first-come, first-serve basis and while quantities last.
Create your own Buzz - get your community talking about how they received free flowers from your shop.
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Sales Corner -June 25,2008
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Attract Walk-In Traffic with a Semi-Annual Sale
Hosting a semi-annual sale this summer can produce sales and walk-in traffic. It also presents an opportunity for you to clear out your inventory of hard goods for
the upcoming fall season. By reducing prices on your glassware and giftware, you can clean up your stock items enabling you to prepare for ordering the must-have
items come this September.
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To drive even more customers into your shop, think about aligning your sales event with a local charity. The charity benefits from
receiving a percentage of your sales for those few days and you benefit from the use of their name and logo. This co-branding exercise can build instant trust for
new customers and creates an environment for consumers to feel that much better when it comes to buying from you. It will also help in building your reputation within your community
Set clear parameters of what, when, and how your event will roll-out to ensure your old hard goods inventory doesn't creep into the busy fall by sitting in your shop.
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