Economic concerns caused justifiable distress for floral designers ahead of Valentine’s Day, but early returns have been positive. The key takeaway from the holiday is consumers are still spending their dollars on gifts, even with inflation remaining a consideration for purchasers.
Valentine’s Day was a taste of what’s to come for floral designers in 2023, as it’s the second-biggest holiday for the industry. Mother’s Day is truly our industry’s Super Bowl, and it’s approaching rather quickly. It’s time to start preparations for this huge selling opportunity.
It’s important to distinguish yourself and your unique abilities as the best gift provider in the area on your social channels. There are multiple ways to do this. First, do market research, and find demographics that are prominent in your area; this can be done with free data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Also, update your designs by gathering inspiration from floriology, searching trends from NAPCO, and being aware of other trendy colors and styles. Greeting cards were a hit this Valentine’s Day, and we predict the trend will continue for Mother’s Day. If you have access to BloomNet Commerce web system, it’s easy to offer greeting cards through our exclusive partnership with CardIsle. Promoting stellar customers on your social feeds and offering personalized same-day delivery is another way to get your shop in front of your audience.
Becoming a digitally savvy floral designer can amplify your presence to consumers, too. Prepping your social storefront—your website—can bring in new customers; check our Renato’s Digital Marketing article about practices for search engine optimization for spring holidays. Also, promote your staff’s strengths on social media through the platforms that are popular among your demographics. For example, use Instagram for Millennials and Facebook for Gen X and Boomers. Video also gets your shop out there; you can get up to 10 times the engagement than normal posts. Lastly, updating your systems can allow you to better track your deliveries and provide the top-tier service you’re promoting online.
Across all generations, floral designers are hardworking and help others within their community. In addition to Mother’s Day preparation, we’re just beginning tradeshow season. If you attend these shows, look out for the BloomNet sales and floriology teams at these events. We’re always here to help.
DINESH POPAT
President
