NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014
Teleflora Delivers a Sweet Recipe for Floral Sales Success This Holiday Season!
table of contents 2
President’s Letter
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Employee Spotlight
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Tip from an Education Specialist
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Member Spotlight
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Top Members
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Small Business Saturday
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Christmas Feature
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Holiday Toolbox
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Holiday Calendar
12-13
Tips for your eFlorist Website
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Buddy Valstro
16-21
Holiday Merchandising
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Holiday Advertising
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Growing Business Sales
‘Tis the season to be busy! As we all gear up for the No. 1 floral sales season of the year, we are pleased to kick off Teleflora’s multi-million dollar Homemade for the Holidays marketing campaign that is sure to capture all the authenticity and spirit of festive family holiday traditions. The nationwide PR and marketing blitz includes a national TV commercial, web site ads, national talk show audience giveaways on ABC’s “The View” and “The Chew”, digital and social media promotions, and more. Teleflora’s lineup of Everyday for the Holiday and Bestseller Christmas collections are sure to be popular again this year as well. With such a wide variety of floral offerings, your customers have more opportunities to find the perfect gift for everyone on their list as you reap the holiday sales rewards. For more information on Teleflora’s products and promotions for Christmas, holiday florist exclusives, or to access the holiday toolbox including posters to promote in your shop, please visit MyTeleflora.com. Finally, as we near the end of the year we’d like to take a moment to thank you, our valued member florists for all your hard work and dedication in delivering floral joy and serving your local communities around the country. Today, Teleflora remains the only major floral service that channels 100% of all orders to our local member florists. The Teleflora team aimed higher and worked harder to help our florists succeed. With the acquisition of Flowerbuyer, our member florists generated big savings throughout 2014 with the ability to increase their profit margins through the purchase of quality, fresh flowers at dramatically reduced prices. We added key enhancements and sales tools to our multiple POS systems including a groundbreaking new Event Manager Module to help streamline the customer order fulfillment and invoicing process. We also introduced the best RTI Advanced Delivery System in the industry; Daisy, an e-Delivery for mobile devices, as well as an incredibly convenient SMS Messaging feature to the Dove POS system to help in the day-to-day management of floral deliveries. We also re-invigorated our creativity with fresh and impactful education and design courses, participating in more than 300 programs this year alone. As a faithful partner for over 80 years, we continue to strengthen our commitment and make new investments that help our florist members grow. We look forward to working handin-hand with you to make this a prosperous and successful holiday sales season, and an even brighter 2015!
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Sincerely,
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Let It Snow jeff bennett {president of teleflora}
design and education
employee spotlight
teleflora tip Here’s a way to save on time and money during the holidays from Teleflora Education Specialist Joyce Mason-Monheim AIFD, PFCI, AZMF:
Name: Kaitlyn Olsson Office: Los Angeles Title: Assistant Marketing Manager Time with Teleflora: 6 months Department: Florist Marketing What do you like most about your job? I love developing tools that help florists grow their business. I also love getting to know florists and seeing their impressive displays of creativity at events like AIFD and SAF. What do you do at Teleflora? I work on marketing projects and promotions that connect Teleflora with our florists. What are your hobbies? Crafting, spending time with my dogs, watching TV. What’s your favorite Teleflora Bouquet? Your Majesty
Evergreens—especially pine, fir, and cedar—are essential to the look and feel of holiday designs. They’re long-lasting and relatively inexpensive. Still, you can go one better by using cheap artificial garland, cut into pieces, to partially cover the foam in Christmas arrangements before you start adding fresh greens. The artificial greens can be inserted or pinned to foam weeks or even months in advance, and the foamed and greened containers stored, then soaked. The garland gets great coverage, which means fewer inser tions altogether, and less labor time. Once a few fresh holiday greens are added, they’ll mostly cover the artificial, and whatever does show will look more real. A great time to buy artificial Christmas greens cheaply is right after Christmas— but this strategy is cost-effective whenever you buy. In October, Teleflora’s team of top-notch Education Specialists Units shared business and design tips like this one in Teleflora Unit Programs, wholesale florist open houses, and similar events across the country. For a listing, visit the Design & Education section of MyTeleflora.com.
design ideas from Flowers& Magazine from the archives: november 2013
STICKS AND KARATS
Branches of gold glittered mitsumata add a festive touch to holiday designs, but the thick lower portion of the branches is sometimes harder to build into an arrangement. Here, designer Cindy Tole used the “leftovers” to offset the curving diagonal line established by four curling lengths of flat wire. Hanging from the ends of the flat wire are gold pine-cone ornaments that make delightful accents and keepsake gifts. Floral design by Cindy Tole
CHRISTMAS NATURALLY
Floral design by Tom Bowling AIFD, PFCI
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In this small but stylish holiday arrangement, strong vertical and horizontal lines are sof tened with cascading, diagonal seeded eucalyptus, mini artifical succulents, and a fanned grouping of magnolia leaves. The pine cones and the red and green color scheme establish the holiday feeling. The twin gerberas might fade faster than other floral materials featured here, but the design will still look beautiful without them—or, they can be easily replaced.
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member spotlight
Across the finish line If you think being a florist is physically and mentally challenging, consider what it’s like to run a 100-mile ultra marathon on a course that runs up and down over a remote and rugged mountain terrain as high as 7,000 feet. “You can’t ever really stop, because your body would start to cramp up,” says Don Hotton of Jory’s Flowers in Concord, CA. Inspired by his brother-in-law (seen with him in the photo), Don took up running about three years ago at age 54 and recently ran the Pine to Palm 100 in Oregon. Participants have a maximum of 34 hours to complete the race. “Part of the time you’re running at night, by a thin beam of light from your headlamp. Even with extensive training for the race, you get blisters along the way, numbness, injuries, and worse. Around mile 28 I started thinking, ‘Why, Don, what do you have to prove?’ ” But just like in business, he says, if you’re going to succeed you can’t really allow yourself to think about giving up.
Happy 100th, Ye Olde Yardley Florist! More than other businesses, a successful flower shop usually is deeply rooted in its community—all the more so after 100 years! No surprise that local dignitaries, including the mayor and the Bucks County area’s state representative, showed up for the 100th anniversary party of Ye Olde Yardley Florist in Yardley, PA this fall. People stop in regularly and reminisce about their childhood memories associated with the shop, says owner Susan Gorka, who acquired the business in 1992, adding, “People come to us for our expertise and experience, and hopefully the shop will still be around in another 100 years.” From left in the photo are Darlene Vucemilovic, Susan, Marybeth Moscarello and Sharon Centofanti. Here’s a wonderful side note: the shop announced a search for persons in the community who are 100 years old, offering a gift of a dozen roses! They have heard back from folks who have those extra-special milestone birthdays coming up.
A Golden Apple for the Teacher At this year’s Society of American Florists convention, Teleflora Education Specialist Joyce Mason-Monheim AIFD, FPCI, AzMF was presented with the Tommy Bright Award, presented annually to a member of SAF’s Professional Floral Communicators International, signifying lifetime achievement in floral presentation. What more deserving recipient than Joyce? A dedicated, approachable and sought-after educator who is also highly respected as an innovative designer. The Tommy Bright Award is the highest honor presented by PFCI to its members; past recipients comprise a pantheon of the industry’s most talented teachers.
Affectionate thanks to Bert Ford When Teleflora Education Specialist Bert Ford AIFD, PFCI showed up to deliver a program for the Maine Unit of Teleflora October 12 (“Marketing for the Holidays”), he little expected to receive an award of recognition from Teleflora, thanking him for his many years of dedicated service. Owner of Ford Flower Company in Salem, NH, Bert is a favorite designer and presenter in New England and throughout the country, known for his lively wit and business savvy along with his winning design skills. Seen in the photo are Monica Theberge of Flowers Etc. in Brunswick, ME, Cheryl McKeon of Ann’s Flower Shop in Auburn, ME, Barbara Frey of Chapel Hill Floral in Bangor, ME, Bert himself, and Teleflora Territory Sales Manager Bob Hurley.
Fresh paint
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At Volunteer Day 2014 for Teleflora employees in Los Angeles, participants were able to paint three murals and six picnic benches, build planters and completely clear and overhaul the garden at a local school. The day was fun, satisfying, and exhausting!
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top members
Arkansas This year Teleflora’s Marty Pulliam presented top-member plaques, with gratitude and appreciation, to Teleflora members in the great state of Arkansas, including Stacy James, David Perry, and Jennifer Hamilton of Artistic Florist & Gifts in Searcy; Bill Stephenson of Cabot Florist in North Little Rock; David Robertson of Expressions Flowers in Fort Smith; David Goodman or Mary & Martha’s Flowers in Arkadelphia; June Owen of North Hills Florist & Gifts in Sherwood; and Teresa Craig of Petals & Plants in Cabot.
Iowa In the Hawkeye State, Rick Gooding of Lowes Flowers LLC in Marshalltown received a top-member plaque from Teleflora’s Terry Brueggeman.
Illinois Top members in the Prairie State accepted plaques this year from Teleflora’ Dan Natalizio, among them Paul Seils and Linda Busse Seils of Busse’s Flowers & Gifts in Mount Prospect; Paul Deininger of Deiningers Floral Shop in Freeport; Liz Bremer of Fresh Flower Market in Barrington; and John Diedrich of Locker’s Flowers & Greenhouse in McHenry.
Missouri It’s not surprising to find so many top members in the Show-Me State! Seen here receiving plaques from Teleflora’s Terry Brueggeman are Sandra Ferguson of Allen’s Flowers in Columbia;
Joyce Kuntze of Arrangements by Joyce in Cape Girardeau; Nick McKaque of Busch’s Florist in Jefferson City; Gary Butchart of Butchart Flowers Inc. & Greenhouse in St. Joseph; Janine Bullock of Janine’s Flowers & Gifts in Camdenton (celebrating 35 years in business this September!); Kent Anderson of Kent’s Floral Gallery in Columbia; and Terry and David Hahlen of Tanan Floral in North Kansas City.
Nebraska Thanks and congratulations to Scott Taylor of Taylor’s Flower Shop in Omaha, seen here with Teleflora’s Terry Brueggeman.
Ontario Top members of Teleflora Canada include, in Ontario, Dave Devries of Cole’s Florist in Grimsby, and Denis and Debra Sunstrum of Town and Country in Niagara Falls. Presenting the plaques are Teleflora Canada’s Cam Wilson and Cathy Anstett.
Wisconsin myteleflora news
Boasting top member status in the Badger State are, with Teleflora’s Dan Natalizio, Danny Grogan of Alfa Flower Shop in Milwaukee; Debbi Freeberg of Bev’s Floral & Gifts in Stevens Point; and George Choles of George’s Flowers in Madison, with his daughter Denise and son Con. Congratulations all!
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SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY
Small Business Saturday Small businesses are the heartbeat of communities. To promote shopping local, American Express started Small Business Saturday, which encourages consumers to support their local community stores, instead of shopping at corporate giants. This year, Small Business Saturday falls on November 29 and is another perfect opportunity to get customers in your store. Hosting an Open House for Small Business Saturday is a great way to connect with individuals and families in your community who have Christmas gifting on their mind. According to the 2013 “Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey,” customers who were aware of Small Business Saturday spent $5.7 billion with independent merchants during last year’s holiday. Be sure to promote Small Business Saturday in your store with all of the great marketing resources available from American Express, including Posters, sample email templates, and sample social media posts.
Visit Shopsmall.com for more information
out of the box ideas A worthy cause, a great promotion One of the most tragic effects of war, and one that isn’t always acknowledged, is the high rate of suicide among those who have served—twice the national average, and so high that 22 veterans take their own lives every day, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. When she became aware of The Team Veteran Foundation and its Alive! program—which counts suicide prevention high among its many related goals—florist Karin Crawford of God’s Garden Treasures in Tempe, AZ decided she wanted to help. She launched the Flowers for Vets campaign as a national, joint campaign between her shop, The Team Veteran Foundation, and the American Legion. The program encourages participants to send a signature arrangement to a vet or to someone in active duty during the period between 9-11 and Veterans Day, 11-11. For every order placed, $5 is donated to the foundation. It’s not only a great way to raise money—it brings the healing power of flowers to some of those in greatest need! For more information, visit http://ttvfoundation.org.
Early Delivery Credit Did you know that Teleflora shares the early delivery fees with our florists? In addition to Teleflora’s standard $10 for delivery, a $10 credit appears on your statement each time you deliver a headquarters order specified for “early delivery”.
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Your one-stop online^shop!
Get everything you need for the holidays online in no time. themarket.myteleflora.com >
FLOWERS
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CHRISTMAS 2014
Chris
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Everything you need to m
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CHRISTMAS 2014
stmas {2014}
make Christmas a success!
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HOLIDAY TOOLBOX
Holiday Toolbox Bouquet Lineup To help you fill orders this holiday, Teleflora.com will begin to reduce the number of arrangements offered as the holiday gets closer, giving premium placement to codified products. The goal in reducing the number of arrangements is to give you as much flexibility as possible in filling orders as well as to assist you in selling through codified products. The starting lineup of holiday arrangements features the new codified products including the “Homemade for the Holidays” Collection and the perennial bestseller, Thomas Kinkade’s A Kiss for Santa. The new codified products are supported by a list of bestselling winter bouquets at a variety of price points – perfect for all customers. For the full starting lineup of holiday arrangements featured on Teleflora.com, visit MyTeleflora.com/XmasToolbox.aspx.
For even more great resources to help you succeed this Holiday, visit our Toolbox on MyTeleflora.com to find the following:
• Holiday Bouquet Lineup
• Holiday Container List
• Holiday Flower Planning Guide
• Holiday Social Media Kit
• Plus so much more!
Teleflora’s Recipes for Success Cookbook Much like a holiday recipe, the success of your business depends on a special recipe you have been refining over the years. This year, Teleflora presents “Recipes for Success” a compilation of the best information and tips to ensure this holiday season will be fruitful for you and your shop. The book features recipes to help you drive orders, tips on creatively merchandising your store and so much more. Recipes for Success is florists’ go-to guide for the Holidays, featuring:
• Christmas floral buying behaviors and statistics
• Buddy Valastro promotion information and
• Merchandising tips for Teleflora’s holiday products
• Tips for holiday success – open house, social media, web
• Christmas eFlorist exclusives
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marketing tips for florists
HOLIDAY CALENDAR
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
THURSDAY
WEDNESDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
NOVEMber 2014 1
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Start Thanksgiving social media outreach.
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Start a Small Business Saturday marketing campaign.
Review Holiday sales from previous years - plan bouquet assortment.
Stock cooler with centerpieces and bouquets for late Thanksgiving orders.
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SUNDAY
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MONDAY
TUESDAY
Confirm holiday temps.
Send Thanksgiving direct mail to your customers.
Thanksgiving!
Mark down all leftover fall inventory for Black Friday.
THURSDAY
WEDNESDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
DECEMBER 2014 1
Merchandise your store for holiday hang FSG Update Kit Holiday posters.
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Send holiday direct mail to your customers.
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Start holiday email marketing campaign.
Facebook, Tweet, and Blog behind the scenes holiday arrangement creation.
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Stock cooler with ready-to-go arrangements for last minute shoppers!
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Hanukkah ends
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Replace in-store Xmas marketing materials with Valentine’s Day items.
It’s Christmas Day!
Close out holiday inventory with a post-holiday sale!
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REST! (Valentine’s Day is coming!)
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Clean shop!
Hanukkah begins
Short on flowers? Check out last minute deals at Flowerbuyer.com!
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eflorist
Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas with eFlorist Tips and tricks to drive sales
Did you know the majority of your online customers are outside of your delivery area? Put your best foot forward online to show these customers how wonderful you are!
Give your customers the gift of giving
Email campaigns that include a promotion code are 84 percent more likely to convert to a sale. Try setting up Christmas promotion codes in eSat and include the codes in your marketing emails.
It’s the most sociable time of the year!
Start conversations with your customers through social media. Ask about favorite Christmas memories, post photos of your shop decorated for the holiday, and include promotion codes to entice customers to purchase an arrangement online.
Magical merchandise
Add any custom items you will be offering this Christmas, and be sure to feature them in your shop’s email campaigns!
Reward your customers
Use your rewards program to get more repeat sales! If you don’t yet have the rewards program set up, call web services to help, and start advertising on social media. Already using the program? Select one customer enrolled in the program as a “winner” and send them a reward, such as $5 off a Christmas arrangement or hostess gift. Get a list of everyone in your program through eSat.
eFlorist Calendar Please note that during peak holiday times, eFlorist requests can take longer to complete. Take a look at the dates below for information on requesting changes and more.
Thanksgiving:
Monday, November 10 - Last day for custom template changes, new websites and web address changes
Christmas:
Friday, December 12 - Last day for custom template changes, new websites and web address changes Monday, December 15 - eFlorist Support cannot guarantee requests to add custom products after this date Friday, December 19 - We encourage you to submit your website changes by this date to ensure timely completion before the holiday.
Website Occasions: (left: live date, right: end date)
Thanksgiving
10/17 – 11/22
Hanukkah
11/13 - 12/5
Christmas
11/20 – 12/27
Winter
11/29 – 3/17
New Years
12/18 – 1/1
eflorist
eFlorist Featured Florist for November Teleflora’s eFlorist is proud to announce Kennedy’s Flowers and Gifts as our Featured Florist Kennedy’s has been a part of the eFlorist family since 2001. They have done a wonderful job customizing their website with custom arrangements, and promoting themselves through social media. Annie, who handles most of the social media for Kennedy’s, let us in on some of the strategies used to get over 2,000 Facebook likes.
Plan ahead to ensure consistent social media posts When planning out their online marketing, they think ahead. “We try to plan at least one week out for social media, and one month out for emails,” Annie explained.
Divide and conquer to get everything done Kennedy’s utilizes teamwork by designating one staff member to update the website and another staff member to manage their social media. Annie said she meets weekly with Brenda, another Kennedy staffer, to discuss upcoming holidays and events. Next, they review products and make sure to include a variety of price points. As new products are designed, the team works with Teleflora’s eFlorist Support Team to add their custom products to their website.
Look beyond flowers to keep posts fresh “I frequently look to other employees and managers for input and fresh new ideas,” Annie said. “I also use my own Facebook feed to see what people are currently talking about.”
Annie wanted to encourage new florists with the following advice: “Don’t be afraid to try new things. Step out of the box, and be sure to track results so you’ll know what is and isn’t working.”
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Track your results
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CHRISTMAS
Teleflora and Buddy Valastro, the CAKE BOSS, have baked up a winning recipe for success this holiday season!
e b l l i w s a m t is r h “This C your sweetest ever!”
– About Buddy –
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Buddy Valastro is a master baker who owns seven bakeries, an Italian restaurant and is the author of 5 cookbooks! Carlo’s Bakery in New Jersey, has been in his family for 50 years. He runs Carlo’s with his mother, four sisters and their spouses. His show Cake Boss on TLC is the #1 rated cooking show on cable television. The success of Cake Boss led to 3 spin-off series: Next Great Baker, Kitchen Boss and Bakery Boss. He even has a line of Cake Boss baking mixes, frosting and cakes available at grocery stores across the country.
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Buddy is a true family man, married for 13 years with 4 children, his family plays an integral role in everything he does. Just like Teleflora and its member florists, Buddy’s bakeries are family owned and operated. As an artisan baker, Buddy creates edible works of art through his cakes and desserts and Teleflora florists are no different – designing expertly arranged bouquets every day for customers, nationwide.
CHRISTMAS
The perfect 3-in-1 gift for the holidays! Teleflora’s Homemade for the Holidays containers come with booklets featuring exclusive recipes by Buddy Valastro!
Buddy Valastro’s Merry Mocha
Buddy Valastro’s Christmas Meatballs
Buddy Valastro’s Chocolate-Dipped Cookies
Click here to view Buddy Valastro’s recipes now!
Homemade for the Holidays Florist Sweepstakes
Visit MyTeleflora for more information!
myteleflora news
Teleflora has created a sweepstakes just for you featuring Buddy Valastro, the CAKE BOSS! Florists with eFlorist websites who are codified for the Homemade for the Holidays containers (14X100, 14X300, 14X600) are automatically opted-in to the Homemade for the Holidays Sweepstakes. That means customers who purchase eligible Teleflora Bouquets are entered into a trip to NYC to meet Buddy Valastro, the CAKE BOSS.
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WINTER WONDERLAND This “Penguin Winter Wonderland” display centers around Teleflora’s Send a Hug® Penguin and festive items that complement the color palette of this display. The sweet as can be Penguin brings charm and laughter to the holiday season and is the perfect item to feature in a fun and festive winter scene.
Ingredients: Setting: The backdrop is a wall painted metallic blue and sprinkled with elements that feature a modern winter wonderland where penguins, reindeer, and polar bears abound. Display Elements: • Frosted Christmas Trees • Paper Christmas Trees • Hanging Icicles • Snowflakes • Fake Snow • Glittered Ornament Balls • Ornament Wreath Merchandise: • Teleflora’s Send a Hug® Penguin (14X500) • Teleflora’s Mercury Glass Royal Vase (12R700) • Patrician Candles (theMarket) • GUND Penguins, Reindeers, and Polar Bears (theMarket) • First & Main Polar Bears and Snowmen (theMarket) • Moonstruck Chocolate Penguin Truffles (theMarket) • Moonstruck Chocolate Holiday Collection Truffles (theMarket)
Instructions: 1. Create a focal point in your display. We used an Oasis ® 24” Mache Wreath decorated with ornament balls of various sizes and in shades of blue and silver. 2. Teleflora’s Send a Hug® Penguin is right at home in this winter wonderland. Include different styles of this bouquet to show it’s versatility – we used a Christmas tree with blue ornaments.
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3. Develop a color theme for your display. Here, the backdrop is painted metallic blue with elements that complement that color.
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4. Consider the accessories you want to sell alongside your main products when theming your display. Here we featured the blue and silver products from Moonstruck Chocolates along with silver and white candles.
5. Create dimension in your display with decorative elements like the frosted trees used in our example. Dimensionality transforms displays from static or flat, to something that is alive. We’ve also used icicles hung from the shelves to help your eyes flow between the merchandise. 6. Stuffed animals like the penguins, reindeer, and polar bears help to animate your display in a fun, whimsical and non-structured way. 7. Create a visually strong display by grouping like item. Here, high margin and important products are grouped to attraction the eyes of customers. 8. Draw customers in to certain areas of your display with sparkles. We used shimmering snow, glittered snowflakes and sparkling ornaments to help catch the customer’s eyes.
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homemade for the holidays Teleflora is partnering with Buddy Valastro, the CAKE BOSS, to make Christmas even sweeter with three codified bouquets: Teleflora’s Holly Days Centerpiece, Teleflora’s Gingerbread Cookie Jar Bouquet and Teleflora’s Merry Mug Bouquet. In addition to aligning with the “Homemade” theme, each container is FDA approved and can be used for baking or home entertaining after the flowers are gone.
Ingredients: Setting: The display is set against a wall painted in a gingerbread tone. It provides a neutral setting for the colorful and festive merchandise. Display Elements: • Jars filled with flour, sugar, and chocolate chips. • Kitchen supplies like a stand mixer, oven mitts, towels and cooking utensils. • Christmas greens and berries to accent the display. • Teleflora Posters: Holly Days, Merry Mug, and the Homemade for the Holidays Collection Merchandise: • Teleflora’s Merry Mug (14X600) • Teleflora’s Holly Days Bowl (14X100) • Teleflora’s Gingerbread Cookie Jar (14X300)
Instructions: 1. Establish a focal point in your display, we’ve used Telelflora’s “Homemade for the Holidays” Poster describing the Buddy Valastro partnership.
5. Placing items like marshmallows, flour, sugar and in glass jars keeps your display looking polished and professional.
2. Be sure to show empty products that can be bought alone as gifts and with bouquets.
6. Don’t forget to add cash and carry items to your display like boxes of chocolate, candy canes, and plush. It’s a great way to increase impulse purchasing with walk-in customers.
3. When creating cash and carry bouquets in the products you’re featuring, be sure to design higher value and unique bouquets that customers can only purchase in your shop. 4. Cooking-related items like a stand mixer, oven mitts, and cooking utensils push the “cooking” theme even further.
7. Using a neutral backdrop color such as this special shade of brown, not only allows the greens, reds and whites to stand out on your display, but it can also be used again, for a display in the fall. myteleflora news
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TRIM THE TREE WITH RADKO This display centers around Teleflora’s Radko® Starry Ornament and Teleflora’s Mercury Glass containers. These items are perfect as decorations or as gifts and will look good in any home. We’ve created a household setting to showcase the Ornament products. This merchandising display illustrates how well bouquets in the Mercury Glass containers look atop a mantelpiece, and helps customers envision the product in their own home. Ingredients: Setting: The display is set against a light gray wall fitted with a faux mantelpiece and wooden tree. Display Elements: • Christmas Tree: made of wood and painted green. • Mantelpiece • Presents: Cardboard boxes wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper. • Tall glass containers with ornaments • Festive foliage Merchandise: • Teleflora’s Radko® Starry Ornament (14X400) • Teleflora’s Mercury Glass Bowl (10X100) • Patrician Candles (theMarket) • Lion Ribbon (theMarket) • Garland • Wreath
Instructions: 1. A faux mantelpiece is a great way to help customers see how bouquets and merchandise look in their home. The mantelpiece also allows you to establish eye-level focal points in your store where you don’t have shelving. Faux mantelpieces can be purchased for under $400 and be used year-round.
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2. Teleflora’s Mercury Glass make for beautiful home décor bouquets. You can also use them as risers by flipping them upside-down in the display to create height and dimension.
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3. The main feature of this display is the green, wooden Christmas tree, cut from a 4’ x 8’ sheet of plywood. The ornament holes were created using a compass to draw 8” circles and then cut out with a jigsaw. You can use the cut-out circles as platforms for Teleflora’s Radko® Ornaments.
4. Make sure to feature your Teleflora Radko® Ornament poster! Our holiday posters are perfect for windows, but are a great addition to any in-store display and will grab the attention of your customers. 5. Don’t forget the floor space! While you want to make sure your most important items are at eye level, the floor can be a great place to finish the look. In this display, cardboard boxes with festive Christmas wrapping paper become inexpensive decorations that help support the display theme.
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advertisting
Christmas Advertising Plan Deciding the what, where, and how much when it comes to holiday advertising can be a daunting task. We’ve put together a guide to walk you through the things you should consider while putting together a Christmas advertising plan. how much to spend Like most other business decisions, your advertising plan requires thoughtful consideration to your business goals and budget. The amount you have available will determine how much and what kinds of advertising you can do. Advertising expenditures should be tied to and derived from your projected sales volume. Most shops spend between 3% and 4% of gross sales on advertising. That means that for each $100,000 in sales, $3,000 to $4,000 goes to advertising. For example, Christmas accounts for approximately 14% of the average florist’s annual sales. If that holds true for your shop, you would allocate 14% of your annual advertising budget to the Christmas season.
Seasonal Opening: Your Christmas advertising season might kick off with an announcement of an open house. Some florists advertise their Christmas open houses broadly – they want to attract any potential flower buyers. Others stage a more intimate affair for a select group of VIPs. Either way, a targeted direct mailer or statement stuffer is an inexpensive way to promote this season opener.
Download our free Marketing Guide on MyTeleflora.com
tele
What to advertise The next step is to choose which items you will promote and the tone the advertisements will take.There are several issues to keep in mind.
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teleflora’s happy holly days centerpiece
flora M A R K E T I N G
G U I D E
Deck the halls – and their table – with bowls of holly! This fresh, gorgeous centerpiece of crème roses, red carnations and seasonal greens is delivered in a festive ceramic serving bowl, making it two grand holiday gifts in one! Call or stop by today to place your order before the rush!
To give you your most profitable holiday season yet.
Christmas 2014
days. happy holly
Special Products/Services: You probably have one or two special items you could advertise. Perhaps a one-of-a-kind gift item purchased just for the holiday season. Or maybe your unique “Santa Claus” delivery option.
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happy holly days.
happy holly teleflora’s centerpiece
Your success is our priority.
christmas is thursday, december 25
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days
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Sales: Halfway through the season you may see that poinsettias aren’t moving as quickly this year as last. Perhaps you bought too many wreaths and find a good number still sitting in the back. Allocate some advertising dollars to promote specials on these items during the season.
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Your Shop Name Here 5791 Main Street, Anytown, HI www.yourshopname.com
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Name Here Your Shop wn, HI Street, Anyto 5791 Main opname.com www.yoursh
so c-c-c-cute!
Call 800-333-0205 to order your custom imprinted statement stuffers today! JOB NO.: FM3075M PROJECT: GRHWTHM-SS SCALE: 1 : 1
Send a Hug® Precious Penguin by Teleflora T14X500A
TRIM: 3.5" x 6" LIVE: N/A BLEED: 3.75” x 6.25”
merry kissmas.
star light, star bright.
Thomas Kinkade’s A Kiss for Santa by Teleflora T14X200A
COLOR: 4/C FM3075M DATE IN: 5-27-14 JOB NO.: TRIM: 3.5" x 6" DATE OUT: 6-20-14 LIVE: N/A PROJECT: GRHWTHM-SS PROOF ROUND: Rf BLEED: 3.75” x 6.25” SCALE: 1 : 1
COLOR: 4/CFM3075MDATE IN: 5-27-14 TRIM: 3.5" x 6" JOB NO.: DATE OUT: 6-20-14 LIVE: N/A PROJECT: GRHWTHM-SS PROOF ROUND: RfBLEED: 3.75” x 6.25” SCALE: 1 : 1
Celebrations by Radko® Starry Ornament Bouquet T14X400A
COLOR: 4/C
DATE IN: 5-27-14 DATE OUT: 6-20-14 PROOF ROUND: Rf
CHRISTMAS
Media SelectionS Once you’ve decided how much you will spend and what you will advertise, it’s time to look at media options. While you have many to choose from, some can be eliminated immediately because they are so expensive. Don’t forget e-mail marketing. It’s inexpensive and targeted, and it gets results.
Ways to determine where to advertise:
• Know your customer.
a. Where did your sales come from last year? Phone, Walk-in, Florist to Florist?
b. Once you know who your customer is, assign a value to each type. How much did Customer X spend vs. Customer Y? This will help you determine your potential return on ad investment.
• What’s available in your community?
a. Radio, local newspaper, ads, businesses
• Reach out to different companies and compare costs. Bump these advertising costs against the type of customers you foresee buying from you and how much you project they will spend.
Learning Process The best help in making difficult decisions is often your past experience. If you haven’t done so before, start keeping detailed records on the results of each advertising campaign. Be sure to repeat winning strategies. Likewise, make sure you don’t repeat a loser – unless you have an idea of what went wrong and a strategy to fix it.
Evaluate Your Results • How many customers responded? • How many sales were made? • CPO/CPS - What was the cost per order/sale? • Did one group of customers respond more than others? • Was the promotion worth doing?
business sales
Growing Business Sales this Christmas Season Corporate arrangements are an excellent way to increase sales for your shop and the holidays are a perfect time to remind local businesses both large and small that winter floral arrangements will help bring a warm, inviting atmosphere into their office space that will impress clients and lift the spirit of employees. Here are several suggestions to increase your corporate Christmas sales this year.
START AT HOME The first place to begin looking for new accounts is in your own shop. Dozens of orders per week that come through your shop are for businesses that are not identified as such. Teach your staff to ask if orders are for businesses when there are indications that there night be. When employees pull up customer files, they should always check to see if they are designated as a business account. When an order is taken, your staff should ask customers if they are calling from a business and if so, offer to set up a corporate account. More than likely, the caller will refer your employee to a financial person within their company. Connect with that person and offer to start an account, and incentivize the by offering a discount.
LARGE VS SMALL BUSINESSES Everyone wants more of the big floral spenders – business owners or individuals who spend thousands per year on flowers and home décor. Unfortunately, those kinds of accounts are few and far between and the ones out there are already taken by a florist. They are not just waiting for the right florist to come calling. Consider looking for commercial accounts that may spend $500 or so per year. If you get six of those, you have the equivalent of one $3,000 account. Those kinds of accounts are plentiful. If you knock on enough doors, you’ll find a few. During the holidays, be sure to target companies that have seasonal Christmas business, and could benefit from creating a festive environment around the holiday season.
myteleflora news
REACHING OUT
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Create a sales push by targeting 30 businesses per week and deliver a bud vase to them along with an attached business card. Choose an employee to make the deliveries who is friendly and well-spoken. If possible, have the representative wear something with your shop logo on it and a big smile. The employee should say something along the lines of “Hello. I’m Mary from Uptown Florist. May I speak to the person who orders your Christmas arrangements or flower orders?” In most cases, the receptionist will reply that they don’t order flowers for Christmas. Follow up with “If you did need flowers, would you be the one likely to arrange that?” After a reply say, “Here’s a gift from our shop – a beautiful rose to brighten your day.” The free flower breaks the ice and sets a friendly tone. Offer a digital coupon as a way of collecting the contact’s email address, and be sure to send them future promotions and offers. It is key to collect an email address for follow up, giving you the opportunity to reach out, instead of leaving it up to your target company.
business sales
OFFER INCENTIVES Don’t forget about employee floral needs within the companies you are targeting. Come up with a customized offer, such as 10% off or free delivery for employees of Company X. Create coupons to leave in the break rooms or common areas, and speak with a human resources team member to help you publicize your new offer to employees. Around the holidays, come up with a special holiday home décor package and remind employees that flowers are an excellent way to bring a festive atmosphere to their homes.
SHOWCASE YOUR WORK Be sure to showcase the variety of floral arrangements you can provide for the holidays. Put together a flyer or brochure and include all types of work. Include tips for each categories.
Here are a few to include: Décor: Arrangements for office decorations in various sizes. Include small arrangements and large arrangements. Include tips for where these can be placed: Conference rooms, lobbies, and reception desks. Gifts for Employees: Suggest the gifting of flowers for employees. Communicate the benefit of employees receiving flowers as a gift and something that their whole family can enjoy. Gifts for Clients: Recommend the gifting of flowers for clients.
myteleflora news
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