FLORIST SPRING/ SUMMER MARKETING GUIDE from Corsage Creations
Proms and weddings are the perfect way to generate consistent sales from the start of spring, once the big Christmas/ Valentine s/mother s Day rush is over. So Corsage Creations has made this sparkling marketing pack for florists, offering all you need to know for filling the post-peak void with bucket-loads of additional sales, which could and should transfer into lifelong customers. -1-
contents STEP 1: POST-PEAK SEASON PLANNING FOR PROMS & WEDDINGS Create your wedding & prom calendar 3 Target the right market and gain new customers 5 Your digital space: websites & social media 7 Don t forget in-store displays 11 Remember to up-sell add-ons 12 STEP 2: MAXIMISE SPARKLING WEDDING SALES & MAKE THEM LAST Tips for boosting wedding sales 13 How to make the most of wedding fairs 14 Your template wedding flyer 15 STEP 3: PUTTING THE (STRETCH-LIMO) PROM WHEELS IN MOTION How to write to schools before prom 17 Your template letter for schools 18 How to visit schools before prom 19 Your template corsage & buttonhole flyer 21-2-
create your wedding and prom calendar In the UK, Summer Balls tend to be held in June, after students end of year exams, but prom season can stretch from early May to July, and as florists you ll already be well-aware that peak wedding season falls from the start of spring but hots up throughout summer. Which means it s essential to plan your work as soon as you ve had your post-mother s Day party and lie-in. YOUR CHECKLIST FOR A SUCCESSFUL SEASON OF PROMS Plan your online presence, personality and style. You don t need to schedule hundreds of Tweets or write reams, but you do need to decide on your overall company tone and general image, colours and style. Gather testimonials from previous brides and grooms, display them proudly on your website, in the shop and don t be afraid to share regularly from your socials. Book yourself into relevant wedding fairs; check to see if any are happening locally to you, otherwise decide whether you want to invest in a national event. There are now a whole host of options from very mainstream to most curious. Check the dates for your local school proms. Sort through your wedding and prom photo libraries; pick your best shots from previous years, create catalogues and online albums and make sure you ve a strong pricing structure to match. Check out the latest design styles online and in magazines, browse the updated Corsage Creations range and practise gluing techniques to create your corsage and buttonhole product line. Contact local prom and wedding related businesses and see if you can collaborate. Offering packages or simply displaying one-another s leaflets and sharing social media posts all helps. -3-
CHECKLIST CONTINUED Find out who is in charge of the prom decision making at your local schools. Make sure that you know who will be your key contact person for all the prom needs. Send letters to all the members of the school prom committee and even to the Heads for Yr11 and Yr13. Plan your promotional events. Schedule an open house, design show, prom party or other event to promote your business. Make sure you give your customers enough time to order what they will need. Know what you will carry, including flower, corsage bracelets, buttonholes, brooch bouquets and accessories. Research the target market to learn what will be popular this year. Make sure you are not carrying last year s look for this year s customer. Plan your pricing. Make sure all your sales team is able to have an educated conversation with all their customers. Contact last year s customers. By doing so, not only will you make sure you do not lose the order, but you will also show them that they matter to you and your business. Train your sales staff. Make sure they have a working knowledge of the products available in both hard goods and fresh. Set up your prom display. So many florists find a pick n mix prom bar works wonders for boosting sales as teens are excited to pick their items and add-ons. Remember a wedding day is your customer s big day, so plan for special touches and you could gain customers for life. Good packaging, congratulations notes, chocolates or simple little add-ons could all mark you out as their florist of choice -4-
target the right market Gaining new customers is always important. A. to grow your business, and B. because people move, switch supplier/ florist and even pass away. Whilst proms and weddings might seem like one-off cash injects, if you play the big events right, they could actually provide a steady stream of loyal future customers. Think about this little synopsis of what a teenage prom customer could mean... 1st Prom 15 2nd Prom 20 Wedding 700 30 Anniversaries @ 30 = 900 30 years of Birthdays for 4 people = 4500 30 years of Sympathy, Get Well, and Just Because gifts= 4500 Total income from one teenage girl = 10,635 Know your area. It hopefully goes without saying and you re already doing this throughout the year, but make sure you re offering products to match your possible customer base. If you re based in a wealthier area, you ll be able to charge more. If you always sell-out of Rainbow roses, you ll probably do well with Corsage Creations coloured feathers and gems. If you re near schools that have high proportions of foreign students, cater to where they re from. Don t just stay within the same four walls. Your customers are out there but you need to get out and find them. -5-
and gain new customers Go where the customers will be. For proms, we all know the girl needs a dress, and the boy needs a tux, so make friends with those business owners in your area, and do the same with wedding suppliers. Wedding fairs can prove excellent and collaborate with other suppliers wherever you can. Host or find an event that allows your customers to visit many or all their prom and wedding needs at once. A prom party or brides cocktail evening might seem like a lot of work but could really make your summer sales, and strengthens your reputation locally. Give them a reason to come to you. Research your target market, know the styles that your customers will want and have them on display in your store and share via your socials. Think about advertising in your local press, or even national wedding magazines if you can assess that the cost would be worthwhile. Use your database of current customers (if you have one). Been keeping a list of customer email addresses, phone numbers or addresses? If you asked for permission to contact them in future, use this to your advantage with a prom or wedding refer a friend scheme, or similar idea. Special Prom Tips Send thank you notes, include little charms they ll keep forever, include cheap add-on gifts for mum and dad to gain their custom too. Special Wedding Tips Send thank you notes, keep a diary of wedding dates to send happy anniversary cards, make sure packaging is pristine (special tissue, white boxes, labels etc.), think about little freebies (like short-stemmed roses or similar) for Mother of the Bride etc. -6-
your digital space: social With the peaks out of the way for another year, now s the time to concentrate on strengthening your online and social media presence. The web is the first place people go when they re after something... Anything. Which is why it s so important that you can be found. It s proven that Google gives preference to independent businesses when possible, and whilst social media work can sometimes feel like a waste of time, remember weddings is where it can really work to your advantage. websites & blogs -7- WEBSITES Your website is like your 21st Century shop window. Ideally it should look slick, be mobile friendly, show pictures of your designs (no stock photos) and offer a buy-online function. Having a personal touch (an About Us page and photos of your team) has also been proven to boost, as has having a quick Buy Now button for your most popular products on the homepage. Ask your web designer to make sure your SEO (search-engine optimisation, or where your site falls on the Google rankings) is the very best it can be. Don t ever have out-of-date imagery or promotions on your homepage, e.g. take down the Mother s Day offer at 5pm on Mother s Day. Be prepared and have prom and wedding promotions or photos ready to go live instead, and if you offer unusual products like brooch bouquets or unique corsages, make sure they re one of the first things your prospective customer sees on your site.
media, SOCIAL MEDIA Why is social media important for florists? It can create day-to-day contact with a relevant audience. It allows you to ask for feedback in an open environment. It can create a recognisable identity for your business, establishing you as an expert in what you do. It offers an accessible face for your business it s an easier place for customers to post order queries or ask for flower care advice. It can build trust, as it allows you to easily build relationships with customers and potential customers, in turn building brand loyalty and engagement. It allows you to be a part of the outside florist world, you can keep an eye on what other florists and local business are saying or doing. -8-
tips: social media There are a million and one places to learn about social media; The Girls Mean Business and Flowerona are just two florist-relevant tools if you re after more detailed information. Here are a few tips. It s not about quantity of followers. Especially for a small, local business. Having thousands of Likes from people all over the world probably won t translate into direct sales. Encouraging online engagement and interaction from your locals will be far more beneficial. Find your voice choose a tone and write every post in this voice. Usually friendly and approachable works best but stay consistent and remember that and remember you re the flower expert. Use that to your advantage. Give them a chunk of you people like to buy from personalities. Be yourself and interact. If they ve engaged with you or even had a small part to play in your business (like by taking part in a name the bouquet competition), then they ll feel like a part of your brand and will follow you. -9-
Don t get carried away it can be tempting to post all the time but you don t want people to switch off because they re oversaturated with posts from you. Have a plan social media can be time consuming, but setting a strategy can help make it more manageable. If you set a strategy, you can then delegate to your staff, or use one day per week to schedule that week s posts, but do remember to track for feedback regularly. Communicate social media is conversational so get stuck in with talking to people. If someone comments, always reply and don t be shy. Send to send Tweets and comments to others because all interactions boost your views and strengthen your brand. Don t just sell always make sure a post is one of the following: interesting, informative, entertaining, aspirational or good looking. -10-
don t forget: in-store displays The most successful people in proms and weddings embrace their customers. The best and probably the simplest, but often forgotten tool, is an in-store display. By creating a small in-store display you say to the customer We not only want your business, we specialise in it. Start with what you already have. Create unique designs with silk and permanent flowers already in your store, or if using fresh, create a showstopper piece with long lasting flowers. This will show you re in the market for proms and weddings and by showing one or two well-made pieces, you prove you know what you re doing and have the skill to match. Have current wedding and prom magazines for reference, giving your customers another reference tool and showing you re up-todate, or have swatches of current trend colours on display. If you ve the space for it, many florists specialising in events have an area of the shop dedicated to bridal consultations, with -11- DON T MISS! Spend over 100 with Corsage Creations (by stocking up on all your prom wristlets and buttonholes, investing in a few brooch bouquet designs, or taking advantage of all the other florist kit on offer), and receive a FREE three-bar display stand. a sofa or set of chairs, where you d leave your magazines, swatches and samples and where you d sit to discuss plans. The best way to promote your prom wares during the peak season is to set up a pick n mix prom bar. Have all your wristlets and accessories on display plus a few made-up designs with flowers. Corsage Creations sell a range of display stands for wristlets and designs. Make sure you have a pricing grid with everything, including addons, clearly marked.
remember: add-ons for prom sales Add-on sales like chocolates and balloons, or even mini plants and gifts, generate additional income so asking customers is always worth a shot. All they can do is say no. Not just for hand-tieds, add-ons can also be generated from your prom sales, and in more ways than one. During prom season, have your Corsage Creations bracelets on display and sell the bracelet first. Girls know pretty jewellery when they see it and will likely fall for those before the flower choices, especially when marketed as a school leaver s keepsake. After she s picked out the bracelet, then begin adding floral and additional items to the design whilst costing up. There s a range of boutonnieres to tempt the boys in too. Offer a single, short-stemmed rose as an add-on. Offer it at a discounted price to the usual and, especially if the corsage is a gift, they ll be hard-pressed to turn it down. If it s a teen boy buying for his date, why not suggest he gives it to her mother! Always remember to up-sell and train staff to do the same, but gauge reactions as you go and don t be too pushy. Display accessories to add to the design, like Kara s Kisses, Metallic Leaves, Feathers and more, and have the prices clearly marked. This should increase your average sale and once you ve totalled-up the design, even if comes to more than the original budget it s unlikely they ll want to lose any of the addons! -12-
tips for boosting wedding sales: how to sweep a bride off her feet At your first consultation, offer something for free, for example free rental of lanterns, lights, vases or Corsage Creations accessories. During the first meeting, ask if they d like to leave the deposit today to reserve the date. It sounds obvious but during meetings, always remember to offer refreshments and don t appear rushed off your feet; make it clear that your brideto-be is important and deserves your time. Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate. Create packages with fellow wedding suppliers or simply share one-another s social posts and leaflets. There are a number of wedding awards florists can enter into to boost their profile in the sector, such as the Wedding Industry Awards (www.the-weddingindustry-awards.co.uk) and the British Wedding Awards (www. thebritishweddingawards.com), there are also loads of local awards across the country. Be upfront about costs. Don t assume your bride-to-be knows that a Calla is more expensive than a chrysanth, so give an outline of pricing structures and the concept of seasonality from the start. A big gig like wedding flowers is important and the relationship has to be right. So don t feel disheartened if a possible customer has opted for someone else, and don t be afraid to say Sorry, I can t do that if their requests don t work for you. -13-
how to make the most of wedding fairs Taking the plunge to exhibit at a wedding fair? There are now a wide range of options to choose from, with independent regional events popping up all over the country, so Google to find one near you, plus larger organisations like The Wedding Fair who run them in London, Manchester and Kent. Then there s the biggies like The National Wedding Show and Brides the Show plus there are now a range to suit tastes like A Most Curious Wedding Fair for more eclectic tastes, The Luxury Wedding Show for bigger budgets, and many more. Make sure you plan what you want to exhibit on the day and stick to it. The costs really add up if you just keep making more and more. When exhibiting, try to showcase a varied range of designs, for example one showstopper, one sure-fire popular style and one unusual piece. If you offer brooch bouquets, show them off! Always have loads and LOADS of leaflets, business cards etc. to hand out. Suss out the other florists attending your fair and try to do something different. Don t just sit down behind your stand. Stand to the side or the front and chat to as many passers-by as you can. But remember lots of people might not want talking to, so don t let it get you down, just keep sharing your knowledge. Brides are often overwhelmed at fairs and will appreciate advice or recommendations. Do a few things really well, rather than trying to showcase lots and lots of different ideas. Use the fair to connect with your peers; create a community of fellow suppliers and you could get shoots and collaborations out of it. Many florists say that a theme or sticking to one colour palette works well, and make sure you have at least one showstopper piece rather than lots of little bits. -14-
your template wed Not a whizz at Photoshop but need flyers for your wedding business? There s a neat little website called Canva (www.canva.com), which makes designing your own flyers and stationary a million times easier and to a designer-like quality. Whilst you ve no peaks to worry about, it s well worth sitting down for a few hours to make the investment. Then once you ve got your finished design, either go to a local printers or use a quick, cheap online service like Instant Print (www.instantprint.co.uk), Prontaprint (www.prontaprint.com) or Vista Print (www.vistaprint.co.uk) -15-
ding flyer Designing your flyer Canva offers hundreds of flyer layouts to choose from. We turned this template for a pizza place into a wedding flowers flyer in a flash. Remember to provide full contact details and try to really portray the personality of your business through the style, images and wording you use. Happy creating! PLUS! Take advantage of Corsage Creations huge photo gallery to showcase design ideas for both proms and weddings. All their images are totally free to use and come in a wide range of styles. -16-
how to: write to schools before prom There s no harm in contacting your local schools to try to open up business for proms. Writing a polite email and offering to donate a small percentage of your corsage sales could mean you become the official supplier for years to come. Either call or write to the prom committee (if there is one), or the school Head or Heads of Year 11 & 13. The more people who see your letter the more people will be talking about the letter and therefore your shop. One group may not be interested, but then one of the groups may be interested in supporting your visits to the school. Find out when and where the prom is be very well informed. Offer a range of options and services, from suggesting that your flyers go out in the next school newsletter, to arranging visits with a trestle table and a pick n mix prom area, organising a combined fundraising effort or even have a go school sessions. Is there a theme? Be aware of it and offer ideas to suit. Who makes the final decision? Do not just -17- wait for them to call you. Plan adequate time for your message to be seen and read, and then start making follow up calls yourself. If you ve arranged a visit, try to schedule more than just one day to visit the school to allow for those who did not plan or did not bring their money. Customize your approach by school. If the band or football team are important in your area, find students to be your ambassadors. Use the same strategy with any other groups that are important within the school. Is there an After Prom event? Find out and see how you could cater for it.
your template letter for schools Dear [insert prom organiser s name] Your Year 11/13 prom is coming up on [insert prom date]. This is an important date for both of us, because here at [insert florist business name], we provide the beautiful, unique and creative flowers which provide the perfect accent to your students prom dresses and tuxedoes for this special event in their school career. We are always evaluating how we can provide new and unique ways to support the school and our community. This year we would like to offer you a fundraising opportunity in conjunction with your upcoming prom. We would like to arrange with you a way to donate a portion of our corsage and buttonhole sales to help support your upcoming prom. Our proposal is to donate XX% of our prom flower sales to the prom organisation or another student fund. As a way of maximising our donation and providing the best service we d love to arrange a time to come to the school and show the students some of our prom flower offering for this season. We could set up a pick n mix style prom table, or we could even run have a go sessions, offering students a chance to try their hand at floristry during a breakfast or after-school club. All activities would, of course, be conducted entirely professionally. We could bring in beautiful samples and some very unique displays to show the different types of wristlets and boutonnieres that we have to offer for this season. This year, we are also carrying a line of Corsage Creations flower Bracelets and Boutonnieres, which means that after the prom, the flowers can be removed and a beautiful keepsake bracelet or boutonniere can be saved to either wear again on another special event or to keep in a special place as a memento of the prom. If you think our floristry might be of interest to your students but a school visit might not be feasible, we d be happy to provide a flyers including a proms discount for the students to send out in a school newsletter, or if we can help in another way please do get in touch as we d love to discuss further collaborations. You can give me a ring on [insert phone number] or reply to this email, we ll look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, [insert your name and contact details] -18-
how to: visit scho Be prepared, have a goal and have a great time. Get the word out many times before you go to the school or college, use social media, advertise in your shop and build excitement so that everyone wants to come and see what you are offering. If you visit at the start of the day, try offering a few freebies for them to wear during the day (and hopefully they ll get attached!) Remember that teens have their own tastes so make sure you have lines that the younger generation likes, not just things that you like. For example the Corsage Creations Rocker wristlet is perfect for a punky teen. Set up a referral program. Have students hand out cards with their name on it. For every (xx) cards returned with an order, they receive a free corsage. -19-
ols before prom Or bring a number of corsages for teachers, secretaries etc. They ll appreciate the extra effort and as they wear the flowers around school, they can tell everyone about your event and your store. Remember, the staff could be your customers too. Have your offerings mentioned in the morning announcements at the school or college. Have beautiful samples made up. Some people make silk samples, others bring corsages made-up with fresh flowers. Be sure to bring a selection of accessories like brooches, picks, pins, stickers, charms and ribbon. You can buy it all at corsagecreations. co.uk. Emphasise the value of a keepsake with Corsage Creations wristlets and boutonnieres. Make sure your space is beautiful and stops passing students and parents in their tracks. Have a few show-stopper designs on display along with popular designs that are sure-fire crowd pleasers plus some unique and unusual ideas too. Have fun! Answer questions, chat to everyone and prove you re the expert with your wealth of knowledge. Parents will be interested by any lesser-known flower care tricks you can offer. People like to watch you in action, so if you re not busy chatting, be creating something to make them stop and watch. Keep in mind that your shop may get the order to decorate the actual prom venue! If you have any questions contact Corsage Creations at sales@corsagecreations.co.uk -20-
Your template cors flyer for students Not a whizz at Photoshop but need flyers for attracting teens to buy corsages and buttonholes for prom? There s a neat little website called Canva (www.canva.com), which makes designing your own flyers and stationary a million times easier and to a designer-like quality. Whilst you ve no peaks to worry about, it s well worth sitting down for a few hours to make the investment. Then once you ve got your finished design, either go to a local printers or use a quick, cheap online service like Instant Print (www.instantprint.co.uk), Prontaprint (www.prontaprint.com) or Vista Print (www.vistaprint.co.uk) -21-
age & buttonhole Designing your flyer Canva offers hundreds of flyer layouts to choose from. We turned this church flyer template into a corsage advert in a flash. Remember to provide full contact details and try to remember your teenage customer base with the style, images and wording you use. Happy creating! PLUS! Take advantage of Corsage Creations huge photo gallery to showcase design ideas for both proms and weddings. All their images are totally free to use and come in a wide range of styles. -22-