What is it that makes your company distinctly different from the competition? Is it a signature design, weekly flower specials, community involvement or sustainable product use? What about setting yourself apart from the competition by giving customers comprehensive, easy-to-understand information about flower handling? In today’s information-driven culture, consumers expect answers and insights. This added value is one of the primary reasons customers turn to floral professionals for service. Consumers know relatively little about our products. The goal is to ban all prevailing urban myths, bad habits and antiquated handling methods and get everyone on the same page.
Train your staff to teach your customers
Delivering fact-based information to customers first requires providing
fact-based product training for your staff. Is there a program in place
to train employees on basics such as temperature parameters for different flower
types and ways to avoid Botrytis infection? Or is your shop culture
better described as a “learn as you go” situation? Are flowers treated
in the same way every time a delivery arrives to the shop? Or is it up
to whoever is working that day? Can salespeople answer customer
questions about flower availability or home care? Product training
empowers employees with the tools needed to respond intelligently to customer questions, offer tips on flower
identification, share where blooms are produced and ways to maximize
vase life at home.
Don’t just add the flower food packet – explain it!
A great starting point is the consumer flower food packet provided with
the purchase. Describe what it is and why it goes in the flower vase,
not in the kitchen junk drawer. Call it flower food rather than
preservative so consumers better understand its function. Explain that
the food packet should be mixed with the correct amount of water
indicated in the instructions. Adding too much water negates the
product’s effectiveness because there will not be sufficient biocides
in the under-dosed solution to keep pollution in check. Suggest storing
any remaining solution in the fridge for topping up the vase after a
few days. If the bouquet is large, it may require more than one packet
of food for the volume of water needed. Don’t assume consumers know why
you are providing two food packets; take time to give a description of
why and how to use the product.
Besides clarifiers to keep the solution clean and flowing, the food
formula contains an acidifier to lower the pH of tap water. Lowering
the pH improves uptake by dissolving air bubbles that block flow inside stems.
Lastly, it contains sugar to provide energy for bud opening and
standing strong in the vase. Glucose is commonly used because simple
sugars are absorbed more efficiently by flowers than sucrose (table
sugar). In response to the inevitable questions about aspirin, bleach,
Viagra, and Listerine, confidently set the customer right by explaining
that home brews have some element of truth to them, but only a
commercial flower food product contains the correct ratio of all three
needed ingredients for maximum flower performance: acidifier,
clarifiers and sugar.
Tell customers to start fresh and clean
Remind clients to begin with a freshly scrubbed vase. It’s surprising
how many people put containers away dirty after the bouquet is
finished. We need to work as cleanly with flowers as we do with food to
keep bacteria in check. The rule of thumb is that if you wouldn’t drink
it or out of it, neither will your flowers. Encourage consumers to give
each stem a fresh cut, preferably with a sharp knife or flower shears.
It’s important to remove at least an inch from the stem because
bacteria jam-up in the lowest five centimetres of the stem, blocking
water flow.
Temperature is another key to flower life. Flowers keep longer when
displayed at 18 C to 20 C compared to 25 C. Oftentimes, consumers place
flowers on the entertainment centre as a main décor feature so
discourage this action. Finally, give consumers information on flower
longevity and the differences between species. If the bouquet contains
iris, chrysanths and lilies, suggest they remove the iris when withered, but
leave the remaining flowers to enjoy to the end. Teaching customers how
to get 100 per cent satisfaction with their purchases is the perfect
way to encourage repeat business and to set yourself apart from your
competition.
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