Online Flower Business Tips

Online Flower Business Tips – 5 Steps to Success

Looking for online flower business tips? You're in the right place. If we've learned anything from 2020 + 2021, it's that if you want to have a successful flower business, being online is a must.

No longer is having a cute little brick and mortar shop the secret to success. In order to get customers and grow your flower business, we gotta level up our online marketing skills.

Even though we had a physical flower shop, we conquered the online game early on in our business. It's one of the reasons our business was so profitable.

So, I thought it might be useful for y'all if I put together five lessons, five online flower business tips to help you cut through all the confusion and see what matters most when it comes to growing your business.

Know this: the whole world of online flower business tips can be overwhelming.

There is a lot to learn. The learning curse is steep.

Setting up a successful online flower business requires a lot of Googling, trying stuff, stepping outside your comfort zone and embracing technology. But it's worth it. I promise!

The Most Important of All Online Flower Business Tips: The Same Pricing Models Apply

One of the biggest mistakes to avoid is not pricing correctly. It's really tempting to think all your customers want is cheap flowers and low-priced options but they really don't. (After all, that's what we as consumers are bombarded with every day, right?)

Now, just because you're not forking out for high street rents doesn't mean you don't need to follow the same pricing model.

I'll encourage you to keep things super simple and just decide that you too can follow the same pricing model as those who have a fancy shop.

As a business owner, you've got enough to think about and enough new things to learn that keeping pricing simple is one of the best gifts you can give yourself.

Once you accept that pricing can be simple, then you can shift your energy to learning all the other things – the things that will help you get customers and grow your business. Things like, figuring how to set up a new website, sorting through your online catalogue and conquering SEO is complicated enough.

You don't need to compound that by second-guessing your approach to pricing.

The fact of the matter is, even if you did have a physical retail shop, in order to get the volume you need to run a profitable flower business, the majority of your customers are going to be ordering from out of town anyway.

So they aren't even going to set foot in your shop anyway. You working from your garage makes no difference to them.

Just decide today, right now, that the industry-standard approach to pricing applies to you too.

Tip #2: Your Website is Your Most Valuable Asset

This is true whether you have a shop or not. In today's world, more customers are shopping for florists online, which means your website is your single most important asset to your business.

Having a full functioning online ordering system is a must. Having a mobile-friendly, responsive website is also mandatory. Being able to go in and update your prices, adjust the content, announce closures and sort through your images is also important.

When it comes to learning online flower business tips, a Facebook page or Instagram profile is not the same as a fully functioning website. Yes, they can be helpful (see Tip 5 below) but in today's digital age, you gotta get your business online and fully transactional.

The truth is, humans are lazy. Your customers are lazy. They want to be able to place their order in as little as three clicks. If they need to send in a form or place an enquiry and wait for you to respond, they're just gonna pass and move on to your competition.

Tip #3: Set Your Sights Higher

When it comes to getting your website sorted, it's the perfect time to step out of your comfort zone and set your sights higher.

The first impression you make with your customer matters. A lot. How user-friendly your website is, how easy it is to navigate (on desktop, mobile and tablet), the overall vibe and level of professionalism all contribute to gaining trust with your next customer.

That trust is what instils your customers to finally buy, to put in their credit card info or send through that enquiry form. If your website isn't top-notch if it doesn't feel professional and high quality, you're going to miss out on a lot of money.

Now, that's not to say you need to spend 10s, or 100s of thousands of dollars on it. But having beautiful photos, easy-to-read typefaces and a great layout matters.

Better yet, set up your website for the business you want to have in the future. Don't limit yourself to what your business looks like today.

Tip #4: Win the Google Game

I know it's easy to get swept up in the Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, Pinterest world. But when it comes to getting customers, attracting clients and getting found online, Google matters.

Set up your Google My Business listing, sort through the details of SEO and, if you're doing daily flower deliveries, get yourself set up on Google Ads.(Be sure to check out this recent blog post to learn a few insider secrets for Google Ads.)

It's not enough to have a website, but getting found, being accessible and getting on your customer's radar is just as important. Google makes that possible.

Tip #5: Use Social Media to Bring Your Customers Behind the Scenes

Love or hate it, social media is here to stay. And if you run a business, having a social media presence is a standard of entry.

Better yet, social media is a great way to build more trust and provide guidance and expertise to your future customers. It's a way to show your customers you're alive + ready to help them.

Use Facebook to build relationships with your local community. Use Instagram posts to showcase your work and provide expert advice.

Post to Instagram Stories to showcase what's in season, show your customers you're open for business, share what's new in-store and bring them behind the scenes.

Want more helpful tips? Check out this super helpful YouTube video we put together a few months ago: Easy Instagram Story Ideas for Flower Business Owners.

Want more tips to help you conquer digital marketing for florists?

Learning to navigate all things Google, sorting out your website and coming to terms with the fact that being a floral designer + business owner requires us to learn a lot is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to making more money in your flower business.

What no one tells you about being a human being and running a business is that your success comes down to your mindset, learning how to overcome limiting beliefs, navigating imposter syndrome and continuing to show up even when things get hard.

I stayed stuck for so long in my business because I was waiting for things outside of me to change. I signed up for all the workshops, did my formal certification and have invested a huge amount of money in learning the craft of floral design. I wish someone had told me sooner that learning the art of being a creative entrepreneur, learning how to step into the role of CEO and embracing the discomfort of personal growth...those are the real secrets to building a thriving business.

At the end of the day, no one really cares whether we're formally trained, have all the credentials in the world or if we can claim "expert status". Our customers just want to know we can help them solve a problem. But every florist I know has struggled with imposter syndrome at one time or another.

If that's you, you're in exactly the right place. Be sure to check out this recent podcast episode:

Enjoy the Podcast?

Branding / Google / Instagram / Marketing / Sales / Systems + Operations / Website - 02/23/2022
Marketing Tips for Florists

Marketing Tips for Florists: How to Get Found Online

So you've spent all your time and energy getting your website sorted. But now you're left scratching your head, wondering why the orders and enquiries aren't piling in? Now you're wondering, WTF do I need to do to get found online?

I've gotcha covered. Check out these three super helpful marketing tips for florists.

Marketing is a 'Thing'

Before I started my flower business, I spent 15 years working in fancy corporate marketing jobs. In fact, I've been studying marketing for over +20 years. I did my undergraduate degree in marketing and even have my masters. #overachiever

To say I LOVE marketing is an understatement. I'm totally, utterly obsessed with deconstructing and dissecting how the big multinationals market their business, how they attract the right customers, at the right time, with the right message.

Even more than that, I love taking those same business and marketing principles and teaching florists the right and wrong way to market their business and make money.

When it comes to marketing tips for florists, one of the most important lessons I learned was that we gots to approach our marketing from a totally different perspective.

Where other businesses need to grow their following, increase engagement and prioritise exposure, we floral designers get to approach marketing from a totally sideways perspective.

Why?

Because our customers shop differently. Our customers behave differently.

Let's pause for a moment...If you think about your dream client, the person who is going to place the next online order or send through the next event enquiry. Close your eyes and imagine you are that person. Put yourself in their shoes.

Quite literally. Close your eyes and think about how they would approach it. When they're looking for a floral designer, what do they do? Get super-specific.

When they jump online, where is the first place they go? If they're on Google, what do they type into the search bar?

If they're on Instagram, what do they type into that search bar? If they're somewhere else, what do they do? Envision the process in all its itty bitty fantastic detail.

The most important part of this planning process is to get super duper specific:

  1. Get specific in the platforms that your ideal clients use
  2. Get specific in the words/phrases/hashtags your clients use

Putting yourself in your client's shoes, envisioning the experience from their perspective is the single most powerful thing you can do. Seriously.

Stop Following the Crowd

Our industry teaches you that you need to do a heap of styled shoots, get exposure and worry about being featured on some famous blog. Then, and only then, will you be able to attract the kinds of clients you're dreaming of, yeah?

Wrong. I'm happy to tell you, there is an easier way. But it requires you to stop following the flower crowd.

Winning at floristry, building a thriving flower business requires you to learn a new approach to marketing.

Of course, you could go to business school, get all the degrees and geek out on all things marketing. Or you could shortcut your success and spend your energy focused on three super simple marketing tips for florists:

  1. Be in the right place
  2. At the right time
  3. With the right message

The Golden Rule of Marketing

If I had to distil down the single most important lesson from all my years as a fancypants marketing exec and spending thousands of dollars on all the degrees and qualifications, it would be this:

Get out of your own head and put yourself in your customer's shoes.

When it comes to getting found online, this really is the secret to success. It's not rocket science. It's not about being the best designer and it's definitely not about being famous or popular.

It's about being your most empathetic, helpful self. Using your imagination and really getting in touch with what matters most to your customers.

If you find yourself constantly second-guessing, over-thinking and over-complicating things (like we all have a tendency to do, being smart AF humans), hit pause for a hot second.

Go out into the real world and find 1-2 real-life humans who embody your dream client (or at least a kinda close proximity to a version of your dream customer).

Have a conversation with them. Buy them a coffee. Or a cocktail. And ask them to explain to you their research process – where would they go if they needed a florist? Get super specific and write it all down. Verbatim. Better yet, ask them if you can record the conversation and then get it transcribed.

Flashback to my corporate days, working with the likes of Dominos Pizza, Expedia and HSBC, we used to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on focus groups. You can do the same thing. Just on the super cheap.

It's time to take a page out of the successful big business multinationals. Learn from their process and do the same thing in your flower business. It's time to stop overcomplicating things, overthinking things and get back to basics.

You will be so surprised at how simple this can be. And even after just one conversation, you'll start to see how differently you can think about this whole marketing thing – you will start to be able to answer that burning question: How do I get found online?

Marketing Tips for Florists

At the end of the day, the right marketing mix is going to depend entirely on what services you're offering in your flower business.

Customers looking for a flower delivery behave differently to those looking for a wedding stylist. Someone looking for table arrangements for a christening behaves differently than someone looking for a casket cover.

Putting yourself in your customer's shoes truly is the secret to figuring out the right approach.

If you need it, here's a quick list of marketing priorities for floral design businesses:

Daily Flower Deliveries

Wedding Flowers (without a Planner)

  • Instagram Hashtags
  • Google My Business Listing
  • Search engine Optimisation

Floral Subscriptions

  • Local media + influencer partnerships
  • Instagram / Facebook paid ads
  • Word of mouth

Remember, every flower business has its own subtleties, its own nuances to consider. But use this list as the foundation for your marketing plan. Build on it and call out your own BS when you start to overcomplicate things (yes, we all do it).

Start tracking your data and test out new ideas. And if you ever feel like you're off track, make a plan to sit down with another real-life human being. Ask them to explain their process again and then recalibrate your approach.

No matter what, just keep going.

You got this, peoples. Let's go!

And don't forget, if you want to get my A-Z blueprint to marketing your flower business, join us inside Flower Boss Bootcamp. This is THE program to help you grow your business, get customers and make more money.

You get my exact approach, my step by step system to make it work. Click here to learn more.

Google / Marketing / Sales / Systems + Operations / Website - 01/06/2022

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