How do I get my name 'out there' and promote my flower business? It's a question I often hear and you may be asking it now as well.
Marketing, in fact, is just like every other task in managing a business. It's the logical process of looking at the data and making decisions that will lead to a profit.
However, us humans make everything (including marketing) way harder than it needs to be. Why? Because our brains are complex pieces of machinery that run far more on emotion than logic.
The key to flower business marketing
Successful marketing of any business comes down to ONE thing: try a whole bunch of shit and see what sticks.
Yup, how to promote your flower business is that simple. The key is to be relentless about taking action and trying new things. Learn what works, and just as importantly what doesn't work, refine your efforts and do it again. And again.
To give you an example, our flower business in Bowral, Australia (population of 45K) had an average online order value of around $120.
However, if I was to start a business somewhere bigger (say Boston, Barcelona, Berlin or Bangkok) I would aim to promote my flower business to earn an average order value of three times that: $360.
And then I would experiment with a whole range of marketing and promotional tactics to see if this was possible: test Google Ads, tinker with my price points, test a higher-end landing page, curate my Insta feed differently, make changes to my website checkout etc.
Many of these things would not work, and that's exactly the point. It's how I'd learn what did work so I could readjust my efforts and move forward.
So why is it so hard?
Human beings add a lot of unnecessary meaning to trying new things: what if it doesn't work? It'll be concrete proof that I'm not good enough, that I don't know what I'm doing. That customers don't want what I have to offer.
And the crazy part? These thoughts run through our head before we've even taken one step towards trying something new.
The fear of failure paralyses us into taking no action at all. After all, you can't fail at something you never try to do.
However, we know that the key to marketing a flower business is to try a whole bunch of stuff. But if we're afraid of failing, what then?
How to conquer your fear
When it comes to promoting your flower business by 'trying a bunch of shit and seeing what sticks', adopting these four concepts will help you get over your fears:
- Understand you have limiting beliefs. There's a saying that sums this up: 'You don’t see the world as it is. You see it as you are.' How true! Our identities are a product of the stories we tell ourselves, whether they're true or not. It's why two people in the same situation may have two very different perspectives on it. We all have them, what are yours?
- Know your brain is working normally. The human brain is programmed for efficiency and to avoid danger. This means it wants to keep you doing the same familiar things and avoid the dangers of doing anything new. However, to promote a flower business you need to try new thing. So, lean in to the discomfort
- Set up a process to evaluate what is (and isn’t) working. Make it methodical, make it scientific, make it data-driven. Because evaluating the effectiveness of your marketing should be an objective review of the numbers. The math doesn't lie, it’s your human brain that wants to have opinions about what the numbers mean. So, let the numbers speak for themselves.
- Always be working on your mindset. Running a business really comes down to managing two things: the data and the drama. Therefore, spend time uncovering your limiting beliefs and get curious about the stories you’re telling yourself. What are you making the numbers mean? Because when you change the story you're telling yourself, you can change your results.
Help with your flower business marketing
And finally, learning about business and marketing doesn't mean you need a university degree or fancy-pants corporate experience. I do have these things and am happy to share everything you need to know.
If you want to learn more about my 1:1 Business Masterclass and see if it's right for you, sign-up for a free 20 minute Mini-Session with me.
💖
Kathleen
P.S. I've done a podcast on this topic which you may like. Find it on Spotify here or listen on the player below.
