Have you ever been caught without your business card on hand? While in a meeting recently, someone asked me for mine. I apologized and admitted I didn’t have any with me. I have business cards – lots of them, actually – because I wear a few different hats around here and there is a card for each role. I have a drawer full of business cards. I just never think to carry them.
That request reminded me of my early days in publishing. I was the editor, ad manager, subscription salesperson plus bookkeeper, so I needed a business card that was all encompassing. I had one printed with the title Publisher on it, but I rarely gave it out. Instead, I always gave out a copy of the magazine. It had all of my contact info in it, and no matter which aspect of my job we were talking about the magazine covered it. It was my best marketing tool, and it could also be my worst. There was no hiding from the errors and omissions that sometimes snuck into the final product.
Being a florist isn’t all that different: while the marketing and advertising you do are an important part of your store’s success, the product you deliver either reinforces the message or undermines it. Every bouquet or arrangement that leaves your store has the potential to be the best advertisement of your services or the worst. No matter how much time or effort you put into every other aspect of your business, the part of the experience that goes home with the customer will make the lasting impression.
Lisa Lautenbauch of The Watering Can, tells Michelle Brisebois (see page 21) that flowers are a key part of the advertising mix: “The flowers are our best ads.” Brian Vogt of BB Blooms agrees. Despite a limited advertising budget his shop continues to donate flowers to targeted events for the exposure and top of mind awareness its arrangements generate. These are great practices, and the same attention needs to also be paid to the everyday arrangement or the hundreds of flowers that go out on occasions like Mother’s Day. The purchaser and/or recipient have an even higher expectation of excellence because they have paid for these flowers and the arrangements are sent with emotion. Taking the time to do a quality check on each arrangement or bouquet before it leaves your shop increases the odds that your calling card will do just that…get them to call.
It didn’t take the latest recession for retail florists to realize that competition for sales is tough. This industry has been dealing with a shrinking market share for the last decade. Quality, signature arrangements are the best leave-behinds you can offer, but don’t forget to throw in a business card, just in case.
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