By the time you read this column, Valentine’s Day will be either a happy or a disappointing memory. Was a Monday better than a Sunday? Did more roses sell through than last year? In the weeks leading up to Valentine’s I am seeing the usual deluge of floral images. I am using a lovely floral bookmark that is actually a subscription card for House Beautiful magazine. Air Canada’s En Route magazine tells me that the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris flies in 9,000 blooms a week from the Netherlands. A furniture showroom I walked past had two backdrop walls paved in blooms.
Flowers are being used to sell just about every product on this planet, and yet we in the industry seem always in a state of angst. “Who is trying to steal our market share? We lost potted plant sales to the grocery stores, box stores are taking our market, bucket shops are undercutting our business . . .” Maybe the answer is that we are giving away the business or just leaving it for the taking.
At our recent Canadian Florist Business Forum I listened to people talk about floral holidays and floral gifts, but I didn’t hear anyone talking about everyday flowers, personal buying habits or flowers as home accessories. We study floral consumption habits by asking people, “When was the last time you bought flowers for someone else, or when was the last time you received flowers, and how did it make you feel?” If flowers make a person feel so good, why aren’t we telling customers to buy themselves a bouquet on a regular basis so they can feel good all of the time? Let’s take a page from the diamond industry that realized there was a long time between an engagement ring and the 25th year anniversary trinity ring. It started to tell women it’s OK to buy yourself diamonds too. The slogan changed from “she’s worth it” to “you’re worth it.” The message is clear – don’t wait for something to be given to you; go out and get it!
Think about it: chocolates last a moment on the lips and a lifetime on the hips. A nice meal lasts a couple of hours and a good bottle of wine lasts two hours (depending on whether or not you share it). Most of these things cost as much as, or many times more than, flowers. Retailers do not apologize for the price of these items. They choose their price point and market to the appropriate audience.
Flowers are an element of design in art, décor and emotional espionage. You can sell them as an element or as a finished product. But you have to believe the customer needs more flowers – more often – if you want to make more sales. It’s OK to sell flowers.'
It’s more than OK. Florists need to step away from the bench and announce loud and clear: “I am a florist. I sell flowers. They are worth it . . . and so am I!”
|
