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Point of View: October 2010
Recapturing the Events Market |
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Written by Patsy Deswaef
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For this month’s Point of View, we asked Patsy Deswaef, aifd, of Patzees Floral Scapes in London, Ont., to share her point of view on the event market. For this column, she tackled two specific areas: why are florists losing this market to event and wedding planners, and what can they do to get it back? Here’s what she had to say:
I personally think the current floral market as a whole has to shift its florist retail strategy to upgrade and deliver what the market is demanding.
This new field of the wedding planners came into effect because the market was demanding it. These planners are taking home mega profits to ensure the bride is not overstressed, and they are trained to stay within the bride’s spending plan. Trust me when I say they are definitely working for the client and for their piece of the pie, which, by the way, is approximately 10 per cent of the overall budget.
Event or wedding planners may or may not be trained in the floral business, but they can definitely meet the client’s ideas and visions. Most event planners either are highly trained to do it themselves, or can easily outsource with freelance designers who think on a larger scale and are trained to handle the stress of event planning.
The trend towards wedding and event planners started appearing in bridal magazines back in 1995. To counteract this, I began sourcing and studying other wedding vendors (unrelated to the floral market) that had great reputations and excellent business standing within the wedding market. I was inspired by a caterer who knew high-end food and great wine, and sold beautiful flowers with these products as a package. He was not personally trained in floral design, but was willing to generously pay the designers who could deliver his vision. This is when I realized that I’m in the events business – I create the client’s vision. At the time, I didn’t bake cakes, but I contacted a pastry chef who created gorgeous wedding cakes. I asked if she would be exclusive to me in selling her beautiful weddings cakes under the Patzees Floral Scapes name, and in return, I would pay her what she wanted for her cakes. By incorporating this segment with my business, I added 15 to 20 per cent over and above for profits. I’ve never baked or delivered a cake to this day, but we sell wedding cakes. I upgraded myself and gained the knowledge to sell the cakes, just as a professional pastry chef would, and the client leaves with a cake box full of cake samples provided in my name to me by the cake decorator/baker. I’m her new salesperson, pushing her cakes under the Patzees Floral Scapes name.
We do this with great DJs, hair and makeup salons, wedding venues and hotels, and out of this, our wedding network began. The client is all about co-ordination and convenience, and we’ve got it all under one roof. Wedding clients today can sit in my office and know it was one less stop for her to make, or one less phone number for her to dial. She knows we will take her stress away.
I remember the days of working for other floral retailers, delivering and dropping off the flowers at the hotels and running out the door without setting anything up, leaving the hotel staff to figure it out. Today, we have yearly hotel contracts, and I now understand how hotel staff felt when a local retailer would drop off 50 feet of head table garland in a bag, expecting the hotel to know how to set it up. I have structured my employees to take the time, and the bride pays for the service to ensure it’s placed as she envisioned.
By expanding into areas that I knew nothing about, and stepping out of my comfort zone into new areas like chair covers, specialty linens, napkins, lighting, backdrops and co-ordinated collections for rental, I’ve worked to create a one-stop client shop. I intrigue the client’s interest and they stay in my office longer, as I paint the bride’s dream wedding or the corporate client’s appreciation dinner or award ceremony. These clients require full-service, beautiful co-ordinating collections and a finished polished look. Your competition is already doing this – wedding planners and event decorators have educated themselves on all cultural aspects. They have accounting and business skills and network with other wedding vendors to
offer the full event or wedding day.
I am a floral designer/wedding planner/event decorator that owns all current and on-trend inventory. We are the floral experts, the lighting experts and a pastry chef (on consignment). I personally do not outsource so that I may generate our profits and pay my employees great wages. We own everything, oversee all the room décor and provide stress relief for the client from start to finish. We are the first to arrive at the party, and we are last to leave.
Here’s where I think the floral industry can improve in regards to the event market:
You need to create your own web content – not the “same old” that every other florist on the market features. Highlight your own quality pictures, your store front and wedding designs. Hire a professional photographer to make you look good, or ask a photographer for photos from weddings that you have been involved in.
Get in touch with wedding websites and organizations (e.g., The Wedding Ring, The Knot). These sites often blog about great local vendors to inform brides about the services available in their community. Gather real life comments about your business from your past brides, and post these on your website.
Source a great certified wedding planner that will promote your business and work with you. Do a great job, and the word will spread to brides and other wedding planners that you’re knowledgeable and your talent is essential. These people are your billboards and cost you no advertising dollars.
Network at bridal market shows. Your booth should feature the current trends – colour block your booth in the same family of hues and you will get noticed. Keep it clean and classic. If there’s too much confusion or clutter, you will lose your potential client.
It is important for each shop to think of the level of service they are willing to provide. This is the most important question to ask yourself. Think how these levels of service fit into your current situation and retail store.
Be prepared to study other related wedding vendors and markets. Evaluate the business side of how they generate their profits, and analyze if this would be a service or product that could enhance your floral business. Look for ways to create a wedding network in your area.
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