This is our fourth year to participate in the Northeast Floral Expo. Pictured below you can see myself, my wife Loranne and Leslie Cox.

It’s like going to a reunion and seeing family you haven’t seen in a long time. It is something we look forward to every year. Some of the florists attending are from Connecticut.  Others are from surrounding states like Massachusetts, New York and Vermont.  The convention gives us a chance to talk to florists in person.  We gain a better perspective of what is happening in their region.  We often come back with great ideas on how we can better serve the floral industry.

Many of the florists I spoke to were reflecting on their past Valentine’s Day business. Although this year’s Valentine’s Day business wasn’t the best in recent history, the general consensus was it was better than expected.  Many florists shared their business philosophies with us.  Some were altering the way they do business. Others were investigating new ways to promote their business both online  and off.

In fact, Leslie had a great conversation with a new member, MariEllen owner of A Dykstra Florist in Spring Valley New York. They discussed several ways that MariEllen could promote her FSN Custom eCommerce Website. Among other things, they discussed how MariEllen should claim her Google Local Listing to make sure that her correct website address was displayed.

Loranne spoke to several florists who were combining their online marketing efforts with their offline marketing strategies.  Several florists who are using FSN’s Holiday email campaigns were also sending direct mail to customers.   They use the emails and direct mailers to remind customers about upcoming holidays and to direct them to the florist’s web site to make their purchases.  Many of these florists were happy to hear about the direct marketing templates (formerly direct mail templates) Flower Shop Network will offer to members starting next month.

Florists weren’t the only ones we had a chance to speak to at the Expo. We spoke to vendors as well. At the beginning of the Expo, many vendors were concerned about how the economy would affect attendance. When it was all said and done everyone agreed attendance was good and the show was a success.