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Selling the Perfect Valentine’s Day
How to plan, purchase and profit |
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Written by Bernice Klassen
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This Valentine’s Day marks the first big holiday of 2010 and, for florists, a big opportunity to fill that cash register. When it comes to planning for the big floral occasions, keep in mind that every holiday starts the day after. This is when all the invoices are compiled, notes are made and an overall plan is put together for the next year’s holiday. I like to divide my holiday planning into categories: overall planning, purchasing, merchandising and execution.
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To pull off a successful and profitable Valentine’s Day, you need to have a great plan in place for the weeks leading up to the event.
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Overall Planning
Your biggest resource for this stage is to review what worked last year and what didn’t. Keep in mind that Valentine’s Day sales are directly related to the day of the week it falls on. Weekends are usually lower in terms of delivery as many work offices are closed and flower givers are more apt to bring home flowers rather than send them. You will want to brainstorm ways to encourage early Valentine’s Day purchases in the week leading up the big day. When the occasion falls on a weekday, there is huge peer pressure for men to ensure their sweetheart receives flowers, just like the girl in the next cubicle did, so increased daytime delivery needs to be factored in.
Product selection: Growers block off their rose crops in June for each supplier. There are certain gurus of the rose market – I for one consult the experts at Petals West in Winnipeg and the people at Golden Rose in Toronto, as they are both sources of great knowledge. It is imperative that all your roses be tested beforehand for lasting quality. Roses, particularly hybrid varieties, have a life span and after a certain number of years, they become overshadowed by newer, better varieties. Know the ratio of red versus coloured and how that plays into the overall pricing of roses. Don’t neglect other varieties for the holiday either – tulips can be huge on Valentines’ Day. Cymbidium orchids are also a great item that can be designed way ahead of time, utilizing staff and cutting back on overtime. This is an opportunity to develop new day-to-day clientele because you are delivering to women who are in charge of 80 per cent of household purchases. Her opinion matters!
Budget: Look at your percentage increase or decrease in sales. Plan your budget based on overall sales this year versus last year. Allot dollars directly to your main items such as roses, vases and plush, and give yourself plenty of breathing room for those great bargains and ideas that come along as Valentine’s Day draws closer. Begin this process right after the last holiday, revisit in six months, and again one month prior, to ensure you are not overextending yourself financially.
Purchasing
Know what you paid last year and find out what this year’s prices will be. Figure out which quantities you are looking at and calculate your ratios as per above mentioned. Above all, know what rose varieties work in your market, with your overall conditions. Book in June, revisit in fall and lock in at the beginning of January. Tulips, carnations and gerberas in Valentine colours require booking ahead as well. Be willing to adjust quantities to get better rates. For example, you need 100 red gerberas, but if you book 150 your cost goes down by 10 cents each, which equates to 30-50 cents each with markup. Can you negotiate your overall budget and increase your design planning to accommodate the extra quantities in order to get the better price?
Merchandising
Valentine’s Day is a role reversal holiday. Females like to shop, browse and check things out. Most of the customers who come through your shop doors on Feb. 14 will be male and, unlike females, they prefer to go from point A to point B as quickly as possible. What does that mean to your store? You need to evaluate your “path” to your cash register. Position satellite displays along the path from the door to the cash register. Easy pick-up items such as plush, balloons and cards will add extra profitability to your holiday.
Promotion: What can you do to set yourself apart and make that customer think of your shop when they are ready to order? In this day of cellphones and BlackBerrys, scream your phone number on your shop sign or buy a temporary road sign to get the message out. Send out e-mails to regular customers and go to your corporate customers with a flyer to present your featured items.
Execution
Staffing: Nothing eats into profits more than overtime. By planning six to eight main items that can be efficiently designed and embellished with finishing touches, you can cut down on extra hours, allow better purchasing plans and have knowledgeable staff ready to wait on customers. Write out descriptions of the designs and post these on a board by the cash register, next to the cooler and beside every phone. This will bring continuity, and make information easily accessible, in turn making your shop look professional, prepared and organized on one of the industry’s busiest days.
Having a staff meeting beforehand to discuss the overall plan leads to efficiencies you may not have thought of and gives ownership to all in the process. Rewarding them with bonuses based on profitability is a great incentive to keep employees on board.
Delivery: Have scheduled delivery times. Don’t be afraid to charge extra if there is a rush delivery. Have your routes planned and professional looking people doing your deliveries. They are the face of your shop and need to be trained on professional manners and how to handle any complaints. Creating a sheet with different scenarios and how to handle them will provide insight into how you want delivery people to behave when on the road.
So what is the timeline for all this?
- One year prior: On Feb. 15, begin your overall planning, so you can pinpoint next year’s objectives. Start a Valentine’s Day binder to house various ideas and planning notes.
- June: Sit down with your fresh flower supplier to determine your needs and approximate pricing. Do a tentative booking of roses.
- Fall: Before the Christmas season begins, do an overview of your plans and double-check with suppliers on product.
- November: Review your final Valentine’s Day planning and lock in your hard goods delivery dates.
- Beginning of January: Your hard goods should begin to arrive and merchandising and promotion begins.
- Mid-January: Verify final fresh flower orders and make adjustments as required.
- Third week of January: Confirm all promotions including newspaper and radio and double-check that you have all the materials needed for in-store marketing.
- End of January: Host a staff meeting to review your plans and procedures.
- Feb. 1: Begin your promotions and set-up your shop windows and displays. Start making corporate visits to drum up interest.
- Week before Valentine’s Day: Ensure your coolers and cash are organized; check your phones, computers
- and cooler temperatures to prevent a last-minute crisis from occurring.
- Week of Valentine’s Day
- Begin receiving product and be sure to follow correct receiving processes based on each product.
- Start creating designs based on longevity of product (i.e., cymbidium orchids first).
- Designate quantities and designers for each basic design. For example, have Sally do 10 rose vases by the end of Wednesday, 20 on Thursday and 30 by closing on Friday. Jane is responsible for red/pink/white gerbera bouquets: five by the end of Wednesday, 10 on Thursday and 15 on Friday.
- Give employees a list of tasks that includes time-lines. Expect them to take ownership but check back to see if they require support.
This year Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday and this can present different challenges or opportunities from previous years. Pull on the resources of your staff for insight into what might work to make this a profitable holiday. One idea is to create a Valentine’s Week similar to the Boxing Day week held right after Christmas. If you have a relationship with another shop in a nearby town, join forces to brainstorm and share promotions. Whatever you do, make sure you have a solid plan of action well before the event hits. Developing a strategy will help relieve stress, prevent last-minute issues and ensure Valentine’s Day is a success at your shop.
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