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pnyflr

pnyflr

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Mar 5, 2008
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Columbus
State / Prov
NE
I need help!!! Our small-town shop is struggling big time. We do great work, but we live in a very blue collar market and gas prices have closed my customers wallets. Our sales are down 30%. We compete with Hy-Vee Floral and one other floral shop in town. The other locally owned shop is struggling as well. We still get the same customers, but they are spending less. Instead of two families sending two pieces, they are combining into one order.

I would love to hear from you about two things. First, what new, hot great gift items are selling in your store, and where can I get them? Second, what are some of the most effective marketing ideas you have implemented?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!
 
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Hi and welcome to Flowerchat. I'm sure there are many solutions to the questions you have posed here. We just need to know more about you and your business. For example: The name of your shop, do you have a website, how long have you been in business, are you full service, how many members on staff, do you carry any wire services?

Thanks for taking the time to answer.
 
Welcome!
:)

In our smallish town - population under 25K - we find that networking with other business owners leads to new contacts.

Do you have a website? If so, do you personalize it so that it really reflects your shop?

Do you have a POS? If so, do you already market to your customers, with mailings, shop specials, or anything that gives them a reason to remember you? A reason to come back. How about a rewards type program ...

Gift items - we are scaling down our gifty stuff and foucsing more on floral related items - plants, pots, good quality artificials, sympathy related items. Do gifts sell already for you, or is the majority of your sales floral/plant?

Wherever your major sales are, focus and emphasize those. Go after the customers you already have, and sell what you already sell. Just do it better than the competition. You'll find tons of ideas here, when you're a full member.
Good luck, and welcome again!

tracy
 
Same thing happening in my town. I posted a sign that says "you name a price and we'll make it nice". Understanding your customers needs in these recessed times will help your appeal to people on a budget. Just be careful not to compromise you business integrity. One of the better things I learned in marketing was when people have less money, let them think they are getting more for it.
 
More info...

We have a Telefloral website, and TF is our only wire service. We recently dropped FTD, as having both was too expensive. We are the only shop in town with the computer system, and we ran the numbers, and it is worth it for us to keep one.

We have owned the shop for 6 years, and the previous owners had it for 13. We had a 3000 sq ft facility and downsized to a 2500 sq ft facility. Population is 20K. We have two fulltime employees and two parttime. We bring in the help of family and friends around the big holidays.

I like what you said about getting back to our core business. We do that, but also feel like we could take advantage of the foot traffic in our strip mall location by having some cool things. Also, I have to fill up the space.
 
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Networking with other businesses is the way.I take an arrangement around to local businesses with my business cards in them just for them to enjoy. We also take single roses with our card on them and have the locally owned restaurants pass them out to customers on the weekends. It helps alot and we do get some great orders and customers that way.

I don't carry alot of giftware either. I concentrate on unique vases,baskets,blooming plants and floral product. There are sooooo many ( I call them crap stores - no offense to anyone ) gift store/home accent stores by us it's not worth carrying alot of giftware.

Good luck - stay strong
 
Welcome to the community. I know there are countless answers for you in this place.

V
 
Hi I own a flower shop in a small town on the east coast and am feeling the pinch now too, but mine is more on keeping costs down and finding even more business to grow. I have found that corporations are still sending flowers and I would contact local business with a nice package. We put together a desk book in a half inch three ring binder with pics and prices from our website for funeral birthday good job new baby... we put in an intro letter and called first to the HR department to introduce the book and then dropped one off. The businesses were happy to have a local flower shop to use that is a personal connection. We offered, with our POS, to keep their birthday reminders and made the book very easy to use with a fax form for off hours orders and directions on our website's use. I hope this helps.

What is your profit margin and how is it calculated for your shop?

Thanks
 
I am sorry, it is 5am here and I couldn't sleep so I was searching for support and found this. I didn't expect to hear so fast. My shop is very small 750 square feet. My sister and I are partners and we have one part time employee who is a seasoned designer and wonderful. I am the other designer and run the shop my sister does the bookkeeping and a million other things. My shop is called Wisteria Flower Shoppe, LLC and is really cute. My sister and I each have four kids and busy families, sometimes we think we are crazy to have taken this on, but it is exciting and challenging. We opened in May of 2006.
 
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Welcome to this community... there is much to learn and I'm sure we have much to learn from you as well.

I love the name of your shop (I love Wisteria). :)

V
 
Welcome,
You have come to the right place. You will find lots of support here.
Flowerchat is a neccesity for all true florists, the advice and support is invaluable. I have been in the floral industry for 20 years (owning my own shop for the past 7) and I can't tell you how much I have learned from this group.
Go through old post and read , read , read... Enjoy.

Jennifer
 
I am in Maryland. Middletown Maryland to be exact. We are about 45 miles north west of Washington DC. Smallish town and I love it !
Business? about the same as you. The usual rollercoaster.

Jennifer
 
I am in Nebraska, and we were way off in January. February was fine, and March is just OK.
 
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