Floral design business strategy: 5 relationship deepening tactics to connect with your customer in unique ways
What can you work on today that will continue working for you years from now in your floral design business?
I received this thought-provoking question in a recent weekly email from James Clear. What can you work on today that will continue working for you years from now? My brain went straight to floral design and how this question applys so perfectly today.
Clear is the author of Atomic Habits the definitive guide to break bad behaviors and adopt good ones in four steps, showing you how small, incremental, everyday routines compound and add up to massive, positive change over time.
I’ll wait here while you add his book to your must-read list. That is if you haven’t already done so! Yes, it’s that good.
The format of Clear’s newsletter is 3 ideas from him, 2 quotes from others, and 1 question for you. He saves the question for last and he has a good reason for doing so. Ending on a question engages the reader and acts as a call to action. That’s one of the reasons I look forward to getting his newsletter every Thursday.
His question is a catalyst for me to dig a little deeper into how I can improve myself. I think we can all benefit from spending a little more time doing that right now!
In addition to the normal stress of everyday business and life, the knowledge that COVID-19 is now part of our everyday reality for the foreseeable future makes this question just that much more significant.
So, I’ll ask again.
As a floral designer and small business owner, what can you work on today that will continue working for you years from now?
I’d love to hear your answers to this question. Please feel free to share them with me via the comments section below or through my contact page.
As I thought about this question a few answers came to mind. However, there was one that stood out to me because it has proven useful in the past and will become more so as we navigate through the pandemic and into a post-COVID world in the years to come. You can work on a deeper connection with your customers. Without a doubt, nurturing your customer relationships is something you can work on today that will continue working for you years from now.
A vibrant summer floral arrangement. I snapped this photo right before it was delivered to a loyal customer.
Let’s start with why. Why is it important to deepen your relationship with your customers?
It’s because the world is in a state of flux and your customer wants comfort knowing you exist to solve their problems. Even as those problems constantly evolve.
The concepts of contact-less delivery, curbside pick-up, and online ordering are here to stay. Blended offerings are going to be the new normal. For example, high-end restaurants now offer family-style meals for takeout and meal-kits for guests to craft at home.
Along those lines, innovative ideas, flexibility, and proactive thinking will be key to keeping small floral design businesses profitable in the short-term. Weddings will continue to be small intimate affairs, while corporate events are going to develop into a hybrid mix of virtual and in-person contact ventures. Contingency plans are the new normal. When it comes to weddings and events multiple booking options, more flexibility, and empathy will be the driving forces in our industry for some time.
Keeping all of that in mind, building a loyal customer base through a daily order business will be instrumental to the success of many floral design businesses going forward.
I think this past Mother’s Day was a perfect example of how flowers can be an effective and popular tool to connect people when physical contact is limited because social distancing is in place. Promoting empathy for customers who cannot be together during special occasions is a perfect fit for our floral design industry especially during a tentative and insecure period. As small business owners, we must be ready to meet our customers’ new needs through these changing times.
Next up. Let’s tackle when.
When is the best time to reach out to your customer to develop a deeper relationship?
The most effective time to deepen your relationship with customers is after you’ve completed a sale.
It’s the dreaded follow up…
What are your company’s policies and procedures for following up with customers? If you tell me that you ignore them until they call, or worse… wait until they complain, that’s not okay. I have said, “no news is good news” in the past about customers. I’ll admit it. Sometimes it can be stressful to reach out after a sale but, if you look at it as the huge opportunity it is, then it becomes a little less scary to take the plunge.
The opportunity to foster more loyalty in your customers lies in being brave enough to follow up!
Your first promise to customers is top-notch service. Believe it or not, a major piece of that is a follow up after they place an order and you complete the job.
Your focus on this specific area can drive significant improvement in the future. My posts frequently cover some aspect of customer service because it’s the single largest factor when it comes to small business success. As I’ve mentioned before, increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%. So, spending time building and deepening customer connection is well worth your efforts.
In other words, you also want to reach out to customers you haven’t heard from in a while. Many of those customers need a simple prompt to place an order or a quick reminder that your business is ready and willing to serve them. You need to stay top-of-mind to truly reap the benefits of customer retention.
Succulent gardens are a very popular request from loyal customers to decorate their homes and patios here in Texas.
Finally, we get to how. How to connect with your customer uniquely with these 5 relationship deepening tactics.
1. Bring Value…with your first follow up email
Every new floral design order must be attached to an email address added to your contact list.
The day after the flowers are delivered send them an email with a valuable personalized flower-care instructions message. We all know that flower care makes a huge difference in the flowers’ longevity. So, by sending this email you’re helping your customer get the most value out of their purchase from you. This gesture lets them know 2 things, that you are happy to help and that you want them to get the most out of their flowers.
Now is also the time to thank the sender for placing an order with you.
In case they sent the flowers to someone else make sure it is easy for them to forward the care tips along to the recipient. You could even offer to send a care instructions card to the recipient directly when the order is placed. That way you will be deepening your customer connections and growing your marketing circle at the same time.
Always personalize your emails! Simply including someone’s first name in a subject line increases email open rates by upwards of 18%.
Sign up for an email marketing service and personalize your emails easily. As I mentioned in last week’s post, personal attention is one of the key traits customers love in their florist. By using an email marketing service, you can tailor your emails to different customers for a personalized experience.
2. Share the joy…and ask for another sale
When you have a recipient that is over the moon with your floral design, share the joy. Email the sender and let them know how well the flowers were received. Then ask, is there anyone else’s day you’d like to brighten up with flowers? You’ll be pleasantly surprised because many customers will turn around and place another order!
If you know this is a first-time order or you’d like to show this client how much you appreciate their business, then take it to the next level. You can offer a small discount on their next order. Try something along these lines. Thanks for ordering! 10% off your next order because we value our repeat customers.
3. Flash Sale…order in bulk and share the savings with your loyal customers.
Another great way to surprise your top customers is to offer a flash sale! Firstly, buy a few box deals from your local grower or wholesaler and figure out how many arrangements you can make out of that limited number of flowers. Let’s say you can make 12 arrangements. Then, cost out the arrangement and calculate your retail price. You can quickly do this in EveryStem florist software or take a little more time to do it by hand. Remember since you purchased box deals you don’t need to discount the arrangement, you’re just passing the wholesale savings onto your customers. Next, email out a flash sale offer to your top customers.
Impart a sense of urgency and reward frequent shoppers with this special floral arrangement offer.
Only the first dozen customers get to order the exclusive arrangement from you! Hype it up! Make up a sample arrangement and add photos or better yet a video to show them exactly what they’ll be receiving with this deal.
Finally, let them know how lucky they are to be getting this exclusive offer!
Then, if someone wants to order after you’ve sold out give them a similar alternative at full price. Tell them you’ll be doing another flash sale soon and to keep their eyes out for the best deals because you only share them with your most loyal customers. This creates a desire for the customer to open your next email.
Remember, keep this opportunity solely for your most loyal customers. It’s not for everyone. They need to shop frequently to earn special deals.
A flash sale doesn't just have to be on cut floral arrangements. Consider a plant flash sale when the opportunity strikes!
4. Revive old customers…breathe new life into their inbox with a helpful newsletter
Look back into your files and reach out to customers you haven’t heard from in a while. You can reach out to customers that hosted holiday parties or large events last year. They could be in the mood for a pick me up and a beautiful floral arrangement might be the perfect tonic. Start by reminding them how much you enjoyed creating the floral design for their last event and then ask them if they have a current need for your services. Be sure to link to your current offerings online and let them know how important referrals are to your business. They might just pass the message along to someone in need of your products and services.
You can also reach out and ask if you can add them to your monthly or quarterly email newsletter.
Make sure they know it’s specifically for loyal customers and that it is filled with fresh useful content like floral care and decor tips, gardening ideas, current event planning ideas, and flower arranging tutorials. Give more away for free with your newsletter and you’ll certainly connect your business to your customers on a more profound level.
Neil Patel recently wrote about being helpful on his blog:
With your website and business, consider what you can give away for free. Anything you can do to help people out is appreciated, especially during this difficult time. You’ll also find that it will drive you more visitors, which is a nice indirect benefit.
5. Get sequential…. send a series of messages across your communication channels to wow them with your floral design
68% of consumers feel more positively about a company after engaging with its content. Determine what unique storytelling opportunities make the most sense for your brand’s content and commerce strategy. Executed well, it can extend across all your channels, from site to social media, from email to mobile app. [Sailthru]
In other words, tell a story that catches your customers’ interest and engage all your platforms in the process. Your website, social media, email newsletter, and even snail mail should all work cohesively to develop and deepen your relationships with your customers. Reach out to your customers through multiple channels to stay top-of-mind. A drip-style campaign, sending pieces of marketing information in a series over time, can bring some distant customers closer to your business through a carefully curated plan. Floral design is a visual medium so be sure to use images and video often in your communication to customers.
You can connect with your floral design customers on a deeper level today and it will continue working for you years from now.
In summary, working on your customer relationships today will certainly continue working for you years from now. Use my 5 suggestions above to reach out to your customers, follow up with them, and check-in if it’s been a while. These tactics will deepen your relationships with your customers and give you new opportunities to ask about their ever-changing needs. I urge you to take steps to learn those needs and innovate new solutions to solve them. In the long run, that is a recipe for success no matter what economic conditions point to in the future.
In case you’d like to start following James Clear’s 3-2-1 Thursday Newsletter. I’ve attached a link for you here. I have no affiliation…I simply like thought-provoking content and think you might like it too.
Until next time,
LuAnn
Contact-less delivery is here to stay. Keep yourself and your staff safe and healthy by following all the reccomended guidelines.