Find Your Local Florist:Everything you want to know about flowers!
In the last several weeks, natural disasters have racked our country. There have been wildfires burning in the Northwest. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma wreaked havoc on the Texas Gulf and Florida, and there has been subsequent flooding and storms related to them.
Heartbreaking may be the first word to come to mind when you think of all the homes and businesses that have been destroyed. Lives have been interrupted, uprooted, and lost. [Read more…]
Nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains is Chantilly Lace Floral Boutique, a local floral boutique with deep roots. [Read more…]
“I can’t thank Poplarville Floral enough for the beautiful flowers my brother and sister-in-law received. I tried to go through [online floral retailer] but had to do a $100 order to get them delivered. So, I took a chance and ordered local. I will be ordering Christmas arrangements from this shop in the future.” – Dorothy Tasker
“So, I took a chance and ordered local…” [Read more…]
Take a second to think about what the most important thing to you is as a customer? LinkedIn conducted an interesting study investigating the top five things customers see as important. Out of the survey respondents, 48 percent cited value for money, cost, price or competitiveness as one of their three most important things.
The LinkedIn article states that, “47 percent of survey respondents stated that customer service was one of their three most important things. The ability of organizations to help consumers at every stage of the journey is critical here, including the ability and willingness to sort out issues as they arise.”
What is an online wire service?
When someone orders flowers from an online wire service they order a stock photo of a bouquet and then the order gets sent to a real florist. The problem though is that the wire service will take a large percentage of the order to profit for themselves, some even up to 50 percent. This leaves florists with a hard time making any money. There are also third parties, known as order gatherers, that have set up websites to look like flower shops but are not. Order gatherers set up gateway pages and use Google keywords to make them appear to be local. Order gatherers also take a large chunk of the profits again leaving florist at a loss.
It is impossible for these middle men to provide the same type of value and service that a local florist can provide, which is why at FSN we always send orders directly to real local florists without taking a percentage of the total. Only at a local florist can you trust that your money is going directly towards a high-quality arrangement. Here is a short list of the important qualities that you can only find in a local florist.
-Customized designs
-Personal attention and connection
-On-time delivery
– Years of experience
-High-quality arrangements
-Exceptional customer service from start to finish
Spread the word
Many people are unaware of these wire services and order gatherers that are hurting the floral industry. Take a stand with us and encourage your family and friends to always buy from a trusted local florist.
At Flower Shop Network we are a community committed to supporting local florists. We connect customers to florists in our network directly and NEVER take a percentage of the order. We also ensure that each florist in our network is a true, local business.
Don’t let order gatherers and wire services take chunks of your money.
Parent’s Day is the fourth Sunday in July, and that means it’s just around the corner. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to honor the ones who raised you with a beautiful arrangement from your local florist!
Parent’s Day was signed into existence by President Bill Clinton in 1994 to be a holiday that recognizes, uplifts and supports the role of parents.
Think of it as a combination of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day except that instead of lauding one member of the parenting team,you are celebrating them together as a team. A sort of exaltation of parenting in general.
Father’s Day or Mother’s Day can both be designated as a day to celebrate those physically responsible for bringing you into this world. But Parent’s Day celebrates those who made the hard sacrifices, stayed up late nights, and did everything possible to ensure you reached adulthood. In short, those merry folk who raised you. These may be the same people or not, but either way, they deserve some love.
When you buy flowers this Parent’s Day, don’t forget the shop around the corner. Your local flower artist offers so much when it comes to finding the perfect flowers. Because you speak to them directly, you aren’t limited by a photographed list of available options. You tell the florist what YOU want, and they will do their best to help make that request a beautiful reality. And if you’re not sure what you want? That’s not a problem either!
Don’t forget that your local florist is also a flower artist. If you want something special and maybe a little different, don’t be afraid to set them free. The results are sure to be something really impressive.
So now that you have that perfect gift idea for Parent’s Day, don’t let another day go by without contacting your local florist!
On a recent trip to Washington, D.C., Flower Shop Network’s Brock and Loranne Atwill had the opportunity to visit with other florists as well as lawmakers to discuss issues facing the floral industry. Working with lawmakers to overcome those issues is an endeavor Brock and Loranne feel is important. To learn more about how FSN is working with lawmakers read SAF’s article SAF Members Host Fundraiser for Arkansas Senator.
Here’s what caught our eye on Pinterest recently. Big, bold and completely beautiful arrangements that feature some stunning blooms. These colorful creations all show traditional design principals that seek to inspire and command a presence.
Each work is far-reaching and open – inviting contemplation and appreciation of undeniable beauty.
It is designs like these you’ll find in the best sympathy arrangements as well as reception hall centerpieces and memorials. Enjoy the thematic color palettes and expert arranging from these talented florists! And let us know what you think in the comments below.
A New Beginning – Moore, Oklahoma
“Patriotic spray”
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City Flowers – New Buffalo, Michigan
“Just another day in the shop!”
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Flemington, Floral Company and Greenhouse – Flemington, New Jersey
“tropical arrangement”
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This week’s selection from Pinterest has us examining how florists create beautiful high points and cascading lows to add drama and movement in a floral piece.
While all 3 arrangements have different styles, colors and textures, the element that unites these 3 lovely works is engaging movement!
Take a look.
Klamath Flower Shop – Klamath Falls, OR
This fun bright arrangement features pink gladiolus and glitter picks for height with a few yellow pom surprises throughout. [Read more…]
Luke and Nathan Harwell, the owners of Greenbox Floral, paid a visit to Flower Shop Network headquarters this week. While they were here, we took the opportunity to learn about their upcoming product release.
From left to right: Loranne, Brock, Luke and Nathan.
Luke Harwell chose to follow his father in the floral industry in 2002, attending the Benz School of Floral Design at Texas A&M and becoming a Texas Master Florist. He assumed the role of President of Baack’s Florists and Greenhouses in January of 2008. There is no doubt that he understands the floral industry and the challenges that retail florists face.
Greenbox floral believes in the local florist. They believe each local flower shop is unique and their success should be driven by their own creativity and quality. And they believe one of the key elements needed to grow an inarguably shrinking industry is an opportunity for each shop’s artists to showcase their impressive talents to the customer.
The Greenbox solution begins with your unique designs.
Luke and Nathan believe the cooler is prime marketing real-estate. It showcases your work, giving the customer who walks in your door the opportunity to see current examples of your unique designs. It also allows for immediate upselling.
A customer sees that perfect item in your cooler and knows she wants to make a purchase. And because she’s already seen it, she doesn’t have to wonder if the finished product will live up to her expectations.
Or perhaps she sees multiple examples of talent and creativity expressed in your unique designs. She is impressed, and now when she has need of a talented florist, she knows to come to you.
They place cameras in your store which broadcast an ultra-low frame rate live stream. Using Greenbox’s proprietary software, the live stream is uploaded directly to your website. The result is a live feed, allowing customers who come to your site an opportunity to click on the designs in your live stream and purchase the exact item in real time, already made and ready to go.
With the proprietary software Greenbox has developed, you are able to price each item so customers can mouse over the arrangement and see a price pop up directly on their screen. Each individual arrangement is clickable so that customers can go straight to a purchasing screen for any floral arrangement they want.
Because online shopping is becoming more and more popular, many of your customers will never have a chance to see the inside of your shop. But due to the live, interactive display designed by Greenbox, the value of your cooler is translated to an online medium. The customer can see your creative designs, can be impressed with your individual work and can see exactly what she is purchasing when she purchases it. Brilliant!
We greatly enjoyed having Luke and Nathan stop by our offices this week. They not only gave us an opportunity to learn more about their product, they showed us the passion for the floral industry that fueled them to develop it. Click here if you would like more information on Greenbox Floral, or if you’d like to see the Greenbox Floral solution in action, visit Baack’s Florists and Greenhouses here.
