Find Your Cheryl Bakin (Parkway Florist), along with 4 other florists Clay Atchison (McAdams Florist), Lisa Greene (Nunan’s Florist), Melissa Mega (The Ivy Green) and Kathy Dudley (The Bloomery), recently attended the National Funeral Directors Association convention. After speaking with several funeral directors, Cheryl Bakin (Parkway Florist) developed a list of 8 tips florists should follow to aid in developing a positive relationship with funeral homes.
- Deliver On Time. Check viewing arrangements in the paper, online or call and deliver appropriately. (Deliver Sunday flowers on Sunday — NOT on Saturday!!)
- Do Not Deliver Old Flowers. Especially mums or other flowers that shed. Your funeral customer has paid the same amount of $$ as your everyday customer. They deserve the same quality of flowers!
- Eliminate All Hand-Written Cards. Cards should be on plain, or nearly plain, card stock & printed in block style printing that is at least 18 to 24 point type. (So that it can be read from about 3 feet away from the arrangement, and does not require a magnifying glass to read!)
- Include A Brief Description And Sender’s Info. On the back of the card, write a brief description of the flowers, or at minimum, the name and address of the sender to make sympathy thank you cards easier.
- Offer Small Take Home Pieces. If there is a short viewing followed by a service offer smaller pieces that family members can take home like plants, planters or vase arrangements.
- Learn To Display Non-Floral Gifts. While the funeral throws are popular in many parts of the country, learn how to display them well, on an easel — without taking up a huge space. (space in some funeral homes are somewhat limited.)
- Focus on Funeral Home’s CUSTOMERS NEEDS. Funeral directors have a deep commitment to the families they service. As a result, they expect florists to have the same commitment to these families. This means answering the phone after 1 pm on Saturday, attempting to get the pink roses that Grandma always loved, or delivering early to meet a family request for a private visitation.
- Educate Yourself As To What Is Appropriate. Sell appropriate pieces. Many funeral directors mentioned receiving “flowers in a box” or a “blanket in a box”. They were generally at loss as to what to do with them or how to display them.
The success of your sympathy flower business often lies in the hands of your local funeral directors. The stronger relationship you have with local funeral homes the greater opportunity there will be for funeral flowers.
As a Funeral Director for over 40 years and currently a Funeral Home owner, I think all of the suggestions given are great suggestions. However, I find more often than not that most of the funeral home owners and funeral directors in general have their hand out to the local florist who is willing to provide the highest “kickback” for arrangements. A great example is Sun City Center Funeral Home in Sun City Center, Florida. The Owner “Mike” has his florist of the week provide flowers based on his price list as well as his catalog of selections. He retains 33.33 percent of the billing, collects the money and then passes on the 66.34 percent to whoever his buddy is this week and makes them wait for 30 days to get paid. Its sad for florists who are subjected to business deals like this as well as those who go along with this kind of arrangement. When the community is small like Sun City Center, other florists that don’t play the game and depend on Funeral Tributes as part of their business mix are basically SOL. Unfortunately, these types of business practices will continue and Larger print, never printing the card nor any of the other suggestions help when it is all about the almighty dollar.