mercury messenger August 2016
brighter birthdays Introducing Four New FTD Exclusives PG. 2
FTD Rewards in Full Bloom PG. 3
Fink Flowers & Gifts: Three Generations of Floral Devotion The FTD® Birthday Brights™ Bouquet BD2p | DSRP $6999
PG. 5
what's new
Letter from Tom Hello everyone. I hope your summer is in full swing! It was great to see Society of American Florists’ Mother’s Day survey reporting that the majority of florists grew their business. Importantly, the top three drivers of this growth were cited as marketing changes, an improved economy and higher retail prices. I encourage all of you to apply this insight to your business to drive positive change. We are confident that FTD can assist you through our many products and services, high order values and local marketing support. Now that the key holiday season is behind us, the summer months are an opportunity to think, plan and take action that will help you grow. In this edition of the Mercury Messenger, I want to specifically call out a few initiatives that will add value to your business: •
All FTD Member Florists are now automatically earning points under our new FTD Rewards program, which was designed to help you save money on your number one cost of goods, flowers.
• The FTD Flower Exchange is ready to help you create standing orders for all of fall’s most popular flowers.
Arriving Now: Two New FSGs and a POP Kit The 2016 FTD Floral Selections Guide and 2016 Wedding Floral Selections Guide (FSG) will arrive at your shop in late August featuring hundreds of new designs and some long-standing favorites! These beautiful display binders are the perfect tools for helping customers select bouquets for everyday events, holidays and milestone celebrations. Workbooks with product recipes are also included. All FTD Member Florists receive the FSGs as a benefit of membership.
If you aren’t using Mercury Point of Sale, now is a perfect time to check it out and invest. You’ll see the value in how easy it really is to use, including the new real-time delivery confirmation features on the Mercury Mobile app.
• Last, but not least, make the time to participate in one of our education programs to learn and develop new skills.
Thank you all for what you do and how you do it. We look forward to helping you take your business further!
Executive Vice President Florist Division
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$_________
THE FTD® GIVING THANKS™ BOUQUET by Better Homes and Gardens® $_________
F4, F1 ©2016 Florists’ Transworld Delivery Inc. Printed in the USA.
Point of Purchase poster
exclusives
New Floral Selections Guide binder
Please do not reject shipment
Questions? Contact FTD Member Services at 800.788.9000.
Deliver the season's
brightest Birthdays Just in time for the most common birthday months – August and September – four new bright and cheerful birthday bouquets are now available on FTD.com and as florist-to-florist orders. Check out the Mercury Messenger blog article about capturing more birthday orders at blog.ftdi.com. Contact your FTD Marketplace Representative at 800.767.4000 to place your order today.
Please also be sure to read the terrific story about one of our own members, Fink Flowers & Gifts, and their learnings as a thirdgeneration florist. Examples like this are what makes the FTD florist network the best in the industry. In closing, I want to highlight the many FTD Member Florists who support their communities every day and, in particular, during times of great loss and tragedy. During the tragic event in Orlando in June, it was inspiring to see how our members came to the aid of victims’ families and friends. Our team also did a terrific job helping our members with flowers, containers and monetary donations.
THE FTD® YOU’RE SPECIAL™ BOUQUET
You will also receive the FTD Fall & Winter 2016 Point of Purchase (POP) kit this month. The kit contains artfully designed posters featuring FTD codified exclusives, including the new Hallmark Flowers line, to attract customers to your shop and help drive sales. The popular workroom calendar is also included.
• The innovative products in our new Everyday and Wedding Floral Selections Guides are all crafted by our florist design team to drive higher retail prices and improve your net order margins. •
ALLURING AUTUMN
Birthday is the top-selling floral occasion annually.
The FTD® Happy Day™ Birthday Bouquet by Hallmark HMDp | DSRP $6999
The FTD® BIg Hug™ Birthday Bouquet BHBp | DSRP $6499
The FTD® Set to Celebrate™ Birthday Bouquet BD1p | DSRP $6999
celebrating FTD Member Florists
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A. Paul Seils and his daughter, Heather, of Busse’s Flowers & Gifts Inc. in Mt. Prospect, IL, accept their 100 Years in business plaque from FTD Regional Vice President Ed Cronin. B. FTD Regional Vice President Jim Weedon presents Dennis Feld and Michele Miracle-Feld of Evans Flowers & Greenhouse in Peabody, MA, with their Top 100 Sender plaque. C. Erin Millus of Designs of the Times Florist in Melbourne, FL, crafts a bouquet during a design workshop at FTD Boot Camp in June. D. FTD Regional Vice President Jim Weedon and Field Business Consultant Dave Galvin present Jim Clifford of Clifford’s Flowers in Quincy, MA, with his Top 100 Sender plaque. E. FTD Regional Vice President Ed Cronin congratulates Paul Bachman of Bachman's in Minneapolis, MN, on his retirement. F. FTD Regional Vice President Wendy McGoff and Executive Vice President Tom Moeller present Rich and Kathy Viskocil of Heritage House Florist in Downers Grove, IL, with their 25th Anniversary plaque. G. FTD Field Business Consultant John McCormick visits with Sharon Lubbers of A Rose of Sharon in Portland, OR, over Mother’s Day weekend. H. FTD Regional Vice President Wendy McGoff, Field Business Consultant Edgar Delagarza and Executive Vice President Tom Moeller congratulate Mary Ann Kutnick of Schaefer’s Greenhouses Inc. in Montgomery, IL, on receiving her 75th Anniversary plaque.
FTD Rewards in Full Bloom The new FTD Rewards program is our way of thanking you for your partnership! This program, only available to FTD Member Florists, kicked off on July 1 and all florists now automatically receive points for purchases on membership, products and services. The points that you earned in July posted to your account on August 2 and are available to be redeemed for products on FTDFlowerExchange.com. Moving forward, monthly emails from FTD will alert you as to how many points you earned each month, your total amount of points and when your points expire. To learn more, visit FTDi.com/FTDRewards.
Freshly bloomed Affordable. Powerful. Easy to Use.
FTD Mercury Point of Sale For more than 30 years, FTD has led the floral industry in bringing the best business technology systems to florists worldwide. FTD Mercury Point of Sale is a comprehensive shop management solution that cuts overhead, handles day-to-day floral management tasks and lets you focus on delighting your customers. The system and its tools are regularly updated with powerful features that increase efficiency and add value to your business, including new real-time delivery confirmation capabilities.
Ready to see how Mercury Point of Sale can benefit your shop? Visit FTDi.com/MercuryTechnology to learn more or call 800.767.3222 to schedule a free demo.
Learn Something New in 60 Minutes: Register Now for FTD Webinars
FTD and Random Acts of Flowers: Delivering Smiles Together
FTD’s webinar series is a collection of FREE educational presentations available online to help you increase your sales and profits while reducing costs.
Trimming Your Cost of Goods Presented by Skip Paal, AAF President, Rutland Beard Floral Group Tuesday, October 18, 2016 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT Learn insider tips and tricks for cutting your cost of goods without lowering your customers’ expectations.
Skip Paal, AAF FTD is proud to partner with Random Acts of Flowers (RAF) and support their mission of brightening lives through the gift of flowers. Founded in 2008, Random Acts of Flowers recycles and repurposes donated flowers to deliver beautiful bouquets and moments of kindness to individuals in healthcare facilities across the country. To date, RAF has donated more than 140,000 bouquets. The charity has branch locations across the country in Chicago, Knoxville, Tampa Bay and Silicon Valley. An Indianapolis location will open this fall.
Hire Employees Every Day of Their Career Presented by Glenna Hecht President and Founder, Humanistic Consulting Tuesday, December 6, 2016 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT
Glenna Hecht
Florists operating within RAF’s service areas have multiple options for getting involved with the charity, including:
Learn how to create a memorable onboarding experience for new employees that will help keep them engaged throughout their careers.
• Helping to train the volunteers who assemble Random Acts of Flowers bouquets for donation
Register at FTDi.com/FTDUniversity.
• Communicating to brides and event planners that they have the option to donate their flowers for charitable reuse
Missed a webinar? A library of webinars is available 24/7 at FTDUniversity.com for FREE. Each session is recorded and posted for future viewing.
• Donating vases (florists can host a vase drive and thank donors with a coupon toward their next purchase)
To learn more about Random Acts of Flowers, please visit RandomActsofFlowers.org. 4
Florist spotlight
Blossoming Across Three Generations
Fink Flowers & Gifts
Fink Flowers & Gifts, located in Bristol, PA, boasts a history that spans more than a century across two continents. Owner Lori Sabatini spoke with FTD about her family’s generationslong dedication to the floral industry.
Are there any current floral trends that really excite you? I have seen the industry change in many ways over the past 35 years. I love the new creative ideas for prom and wedding work, as well as the new sentimental tributes for sympathy.
I am proud to be an FTD Florist and will continue to be for many years to come. Lori Sabatini, Fink Flowers & Gifts
Fink Flowers and Gifts circa 1956.
Can you tell us about your family’s history with the floral industry? My grandfather, Hermann Fink, was born in Switzerland and studied floral design in France before settling in Trenton, NJ. In 1905, he opened his floral business, Hermann Fink and Sons, and several greenhouses, growing cut flowers for design. My father would help in the greenhouses along with my two uncles, aunt, grandmother and cousins.
We understand that your shop utilizes FTD Mercury Technology. What would you tell a fellow florist who is unsure about adopting the technology? I have seen many floral software demos over the years. I would have to say that FTD has one of the best point of sale systems in the industry. It is fast, efficient, easy to use and their tech support is always there to help. It has great marketing capabilities to help grow your business. What do you value about your partnership with FTD? FTD always seems to be coming up with better ways to help florists market their businesses, save time and be able to do the things we need to do. They are always available when you have a question and treat you as a business partner for success rather than just a number. I am proud to be an FTD Florist and will continue to be for many years to come.
How long has your shop been in business? How long have you been an FTD Member? My father, Alfred, and my mother, Gloria, opened this shop in 1956, so we’re celebrating 60 years! I have been in the floral industry all of my life and am the third generation in my family. We have been an FTD member since the shop opened and a FTD Top 1000 member since 1977. What do you enjoy most about being a florist? Each day is different with creative challenges. Some days are easy, some are stressful, but all the while you’re surrounded by the color and beauty of flowers. What advice do you have for florists looking to attract new customers? Don't be afraid to try new ideas. Sometimes they are great and lead to more ideas. If they fail, you still learn something from them. How do you try to set yourself apart from the competition? Customer service, absolutely. Always put your customers first. Greet them with a smile, always be a good listener and be efficient in helping them place their orders. Owner Lori Sabatini poses in her shop.
5 www.ftdi.com
Education
& Events
FTD is proud to sponsor dozens of state and national association conventions and education programs each year. Our mission is always to support our florists and help them succeed by sponsoring continuing education and promoting lifelong learning.
9-11 September
Ozark Florist Association Convention Quapaw, OK Ozark Florist Association www.aboutozark.com
10-11 September
North Dakota State Florists Association Convention
Minot, MD Gretchen Barnick 701.251.2030 Featured FTD Design Program: “The Smart Designer” presented by FTD Education Consultant Ann Jordan AIFD
13 September
Delaware Valley Florist Association Design Show
Philadelphia, PA Ellen Assal 610.532.6200 Featured FTD Design Program: “The Emotions of Color." presented by FTD Education Consultant Jacob McCall AIFD
1-3 October
23 October
National Alliance of Floral Associations Conference
Society of American Florists 1-Day Profit Blast
8-9 October
5-6 November
Franklin, TN National Alliance of Floral Associations www.aboutnafa.com
Texas Floral Forum
Addison, TX Texas State Florists’ Association www.tsfa.org Featured FTD Design Program: “Weddings with Personality" presented by FTD Education Consultant Deborah De La Flor AIFD
Iowa Florists’ Association Convention Iowa City, IA Iowa Florists’ Association www.iowafloristassociation.com
14-16 October
Montana Florists Association Convention Helena, MT Montana Florists Association www.mtfloristassc.com
Denver, CO Society of American Florists www.safnow.org
Calif Flora 2016
Los Angeles, CA California State Floral Association www.calstatefloral.com
6 November
Society of American Florists 1-Day Profit Blast Minneapolis, MN Society of American Florists www.safnow.org
Check out the 2016 education and events calendar at FTDi.com/FTDUniversity.
21-24 September
Society of American Florists Annual Convention Maui, HI Society of American Florists www.safnow.org
Book Now: Fall Standing Flower Orders
CONNECT WITH US www.FTDi.com | 800.788.9000 facebook.com/MercuryNetwork instagram.com/mercurynetwork YouTube.com/MercuryNetwork blog.ftdi.com
Summer’s warm rays might still be here, but now is the perfect time to pre-book your fall standing orders. The FTD Flower Exchange offers all of the season’s best sellers, including sunflowers, poms, roses, lilies, hypericum, oak leaves and more, as well as convenient combination boxes. Call 800.767.4000 to learn more about a Thanksgiving standing order offer.