Back in my fancy corporate career, I spent a lot of hours sorting through other business’ brands. Yes, we talked a lot about logos but one of the key lessons we shared was that your any business’ brand is about much more than your logo. This is especially applicable in the floral industry where it's all about visuals. So today I'll be sharing my top tips regarding logo and branding for a floral design business.

Of course, we all want our logos to look good. We want it to be a reflection of our business. And yeah, as a brand guru and small business owner, I want you to feel proud to parade your logo around town.

But, when it comes to building a bigger flower business, your logo really isn’t all that important. It’s not going to make or break your flower business.

I know, I know, I know. You're probably tilting your head and questioning my sanity. I get it. But just hear me out, peoples!

A Look at Branding for Floral Design Businesses

There is so much that goes into what we offer our customers. Let’s take a super simple thing, like a $100 bouquet.

We need to make dozens of strategic, aligned decisions to make that one bouquet happen – that starts well before we even order the ingredients.

We also have to set up a website that provides a simple user experience for our customers. Then we implement a vibe and aesthetic on that website that reflects the tone of our business.

And not to forget, we need to think through that online ordering process, thank you page and confirmation emails.  

Even if someone orders our make-believe $100 bouquet over the phone, the tone of our customer service matters. the questions we ask, the signoff we, it’s all part of the experience we offer our customers. 

Of course, when we make the bouquet, we’re putting our skills to work to make sure we balance our design aesthetic and our customer’s expectations.

Then, when it comes to wrapping the bouquet, we’ve already put a lot of thought into the type and colour of wrapping, the ribbon or twine we use. And yes, of course, there are our labels or stickers.

What’s so valuable to see through this process is, when we take a look at branding for floral design businesses, that every single one of these decisions has just as much (possibly more) impact as our logo does.

In essence, our business’ brand is built one decision at a time and every one of those decisions needs to be just as intended and just as impactful as the decision of ‘which logo should I have.

So many floral designers put so much time, energy and money into crafting the perfect logo and completely overlook the things that really matter when it comes to providing a better customer experience and building a brand.

In our shop, I quickly realised the script and demeanour we use on the phone is way more impactful than our logo. 

I also saw that our website and user experience, the vibe of our Instagram feed, helpfulness of our captions, heck even the templates we use for email responses are so much more important than the logo.

Five Branding Tips for Floral Design Businesses

Yes, having a logo for your business is important. Yes, I want you, the CEO and Creative Director of your flower business to like your logo, but don’t stop there.

To help you stay focused on what matters most and build a better brand for your flower business, here are five branding tips to get you going:

Tip # 1: Define Your Vibe

I know this is going to sound overly simplistic, but before you even think about redesigning your logo or ordering more paper or even upgrading your aprons, I want you to sit down and very intentionally set the tone of your brand.

Like everything I teach, I like to keep this super simple. All you need to do is pick 2-3 adjectives you feel represent the mood you want to put out into the world. It might be “feminine, simple, and down to earth” or “modern, moody and textured.”

Have a sit-down. Brainstorm some words and play around. Pull out that old Thesaurus (or better yet, jump over to WordHippo.com for inspiration).

Tip # 2: Bring it to Life

We’re visual creatures. Because of that, I am a huge advocate for taking your vibe words, jumping over to Pinterest and creating a new board that is specific to your business’ brand and vibe words life. Use the search bar and start to explore, using your adjectives as inspiration.

Now, here’s my challenge to you: when you create your new board, avoid having more than 1 or 2 flower photos on the board. I want you to think bigger and set your sights higher. 

Instead, I want to encourage you to explore unexpected themes like travel, food, clothing, textiles, interior design, art and furniture design. You’re a creative. Be creative.

Tip # 3: Begin to Bring it to Life

At the end of the day, your brand is brought to life one decision at a time. You slowly get to use your new brand board to ensure all those decisions are pointing in the same direction.

With your new brand board in hand, you can now get to work on binding this vibe to life. Take it one design at a time – start to work through the next iteration of your logo. And then, revisit those aprons you were going to buy and have a look at your website.

I love looking at my brand board every time I’m sorting out my next round of posts on Instagram. I look at it the next time I’m ordering paper. And even when I’m updating our templates and scripts. 

This is why I love this approach to branding. Because it forces us to stay focused and provides a simple, but powerful process for us to manage our business’ brand. The process is so powerful because it reminds us it’s all about the implementation. 

Tip # 4: Keep Checking in

It’s so easy for us to just rush through making all the decisions, isn’t it? Yes, we have a lot on the go, a lot of balls up in the air and we want to check things off our to-do list as quickly as possible. 

But before you speed through your next set of to-dos, before you hit “buy” or are making new updates to your marketing materials, go back and have a quick look at the Pinterest board you created. 

Is that purple paper really in line with the vibe you’ve identified? Are those aprons right, based on your mood board?

It’s such a quick check-in and so helpful to do. It only takes a few seconds for us to double-check that the paper stock we’re ordering our business cards on is in alignment with our branding. And to see whether those stickers we’re about to purchase are right or not.

This my friends is how you build a cohesive brand. One decision at a time, each in alignment to a bigger, bolder vision. It’s so simple, isn’t it?

TIP # 5: It's Always a Work in Progress

Like everything else in our business, your brand is always a work in progress. At no point in time have I ever felt I had everything sorted and that my brand was 100% done. And no, I don’t ever expect that day to come either.

Everything is a work in progress. Always. There is no “there” there and no endpoint. Take the pressure off yourself for perfection and know that you can come back and change anything you want. And at any time you want. 

Because our visions for our businesses, our services and our offering evolves as our own priorities and tastes evolve.  This is the beauty of being in charge, being the one who takes the risk and takes the leap to start a business.

Dive Deeper Into Branding for Your Flower Business

In this week’s podcast episode, I’m diving deeper into branding and passing along more helpful tips and tricks. (Use the Spotify player below to get in on this goodness.)

Want even more goodness? Inside my Flower Boss Bootcamp, we go through all things branding + flowers.

I pass along my exact approach to elevating your business’ brand. I teach you the power of using your business’ brand to attract better clients. 

My Flower Boss Bootcamp is the only program available to floral designers, flower lovers and flower farmers focused entirely on the business of flowers. The program is run entirely online, so we can work together no matter where in the world you’re located.

I’m here to help you build a better flower business, to show you how to get more customers, make more money and show up with more confidence.

Inside this program, I’ll teach you about branding and sales. I’ll give you access to my exact how-to guides when it comes to setting up your websites. You're going to learn how to effortlessly attract those dream customers.

If you’re dreaming of making more money in your flower business but feel like you’re stuck in reactionary mode, I’m here to help. This program will change the trajectory of your flower business. I promise (yes, there is a money-back guarantee).

At the end of the day, flowers are fun. But so is making money. Click here to learn more about working with me.