Gaining the trust of your potential customers is a necessary step in helping your flower shop grow. That's why building credibility is such a big deal. Credibility means that others look to you as a reliable resource, and trust you to do a good job when they're doing business with you. Building credibility won't happen overnight–it has to be earned, just like respect. Establishing your credibility shows that you are committed to your business and that you're serious about providing…

As a flower shop, one of the most important things to know is who your target audience is. In case you're unfamiliar, target audiences are the people who are most likely to buy your products or services, a.k.a the ones that will be the easiest and most reliable to market your products to! Your target audience can be anyone from couples looking for wedding florals to consumers searching for a special occasion arrangement or just because bouquet!

Knowing your target audience can help you better…

Reviews about your business are some of the most viewed items when a potential customer is researching you. They can make or break your first impression and help them decide whether or not they want to move forward with you. There are so many ways to take advantage of your business's reviews, but responding to them is just as important. Here's why:

It doesn't have to be hard to grow sales in the world of eCommerce. Trying new things and getting creative is a great way to do it. Check out these tips that make it easy to increase revenue in your business.

Instagram is a social media network that uses photos and videos to interact with others. Users can upload content and share it with their followers or with a select group of friends. They can also view, comment, and like posts shared by others on the platform.

Like Facebook, Instagram has a Newsfeed. When you follow someone's account, their photos and videos will show up in your feed. Similarly, when you create a post, that photo or video will be saved to your profile and will also show up in…

Email marketing comes in a few different forms. Today we’ll be focusing one great email option for florists: newsletters! A regular newsletter can help boost brand awareness and engagement, promote your shop and your products, build customer relationships, and more! Keep reading to learn how to implement newsletters into your marketing strategy.

Marketing is evolving daily, but blogging is a great way to consistently reach potential and current customers! Customers can find businesses easier than ever through blogs while learning more about a business and its goods. Blogs also provide another way to connect with customers through multi-channel marketing. They’re a great way to create engaging and informative content at little to no cost. Check out some reasons why you should incorporate blogs into your marketing strategy!

We've shared tips and tricks for what you should do when it comes to improving your flower shop's social media, but it's also important to talk about what you shouldn't do. There is a lot of flexibility with social media, and when it's used the right way it can be a great tool for creating brand awareness and developing customer relationships. However there are some things that could do more harm than good when it comes to running a business account. To help you avoid those mistakes, we've…

When you're seeking out a new restaurant, looking for your next binge-worthy show, or searching for the perfect pair of shoes, what do you do first? Prior to your own research, you'll likely ask your friends and family for their recommendations and put your trust in their suggestions. This is essentially how a referral program works! A referral program is a low-risk, high-reward marketing tactic that relies on word-of-mouth referrals. Existing customers will direct their friends, family, and…

Email marketing is a great way to communicate with your audience and generate new leads with minimal effort. One easy way to create consistent email content is to start a drip campaign! If you're new to marketing your business or you've never spent much time on email marketing, the idea of setting up an email campaign can seem daunting. Don't worry though! We'll cover the basics for you here and you'll be planning regular drip campaigns before you know it.

Mother's Day will be here before you know it, and with it comes an increase in floral sales. Mother's Day is considered one of the biggest, if not the biggest, holidays in the floral industry, and it seems to get bigger every year. Check out the tips and suggestions below to make your Mother's Day easier and more successful! 

It's springtime! For many of us, that means it's time to do our annual spring cleaning both at home and at the office. While scrubbing the windows and sorting through your extra inventory is important, you might want to add data cleaning to your to do list this year!

As a business owner, you probably have many tools that make your job easier. They may even be essential to get the job done! With digital marketing, it's no different. Marketing your business online can be daunting, but with the right tools, you could take the stress out of marketing your business while optimizing your marketing strategies.

In marketing, most of your decisions are going to be based on information you have gathered through different analysis methods. This new age of digital marketing has made it so much easier to gather information about your customers and how they interact with your brand. Tools like HubSpot, Mixpanel, and Google Analytics are all great options for doing so, but keeping up with the latest in these tools is important for gathering accurate data.

Looking for a quality, customer-approved form of content for your digital marketing? Why not give User-Generated Content a try! If you read our blogs (and you should), you'll have already learned a little bit about User-Generated Content, or UGC. It's not only a trending source of content on social media, but it's also an easy, successful form of content that keeps on giving and makes the content generation process a little easier for you! There are a lot of ways to use UGC, so we thought…

In the world of digital marketing and e-commerce, the first impression your customer has of you is often online. Or maybe your business is completely online and you rely solely on digital means to display your products or services. Whatever your situation may be, your product photos say a lot about your business! It's important that you display them to the highest standard possible. You don't have to be a professional photographer to take good photos or stand out—you just need to take a…

If you own a flower shop, you need to have a business website. Websites serve so many purposes that can directly impact the success of your shop. From your credibility with customers to SEO, and a lot in between; we could argue having a good website is a top three must for business owners. Still not convinced? We're prepared to back up our claim! This entire blog is dedicated to the reasons you should have a website. So without further ado, we present what makes a website essential.

Many people think of marketing as a way to create brand awareness. After all, the more people that know about your brand, the better, right? Making people aware of your brand is super important and definitely a great idea, but sometimes quality is better than quantity! Our goal in marketing should be to create meaningful, long-term relationships with as many people as we can.

Your customer base is made up of all kinds of people. People of different ages, abilities, sexual orientations, races, and more will likely use your flower shop's services. So why would you only market to one demographic? The short answer is: you shouldn't! We all know how important diversity and inclusion are in a business, and that doesn't stop with marketing. How you market your flower shop is how people see it and what you stand for; which is why you should strive to reach as many…

We had a blast doing Petal It Forward this year, and we know you did too! FSN celebrated the day by spreading happiness and flowers to our employees and community. We gave each person two roses, one to keep and one to pass on!

A lot of marketing is about internal review. It's essential to continue working on your business from the inside; but sometimes it's good to step back and look at the big picture.

Love it or hate it, social media is a big part of our society. That means it should also play a big role in your business. A strong online presence isn't complete without social media, and the better your content on social media, the more likely you are to create brand awareness, reach new customers, and build relationships.

One of the most common tips you'll get as a flower shop owner is being active on social media. This resource is invaluable. It's open to all (usually for free) and gives you a chance to engage with your customers, stay informed about their likes and dislikes, and seek out potential customers. If you aren't already taking advantage of that, it's never too late to get started!

As a business owner, you'll spend a lot of time thinking about your brand. From the font you use to the products and services you offer, it's essential to make sure your branding is cohesive on all fronts. So how do you do that? Consistency is the key.

We've got more tips and tricks to boost your summer sales! One of the best ways to level up your summer sales is to host an event. Check out a few of our favorite summer events below!

One shop is making the most of the warm weather and summer season! Bloomin on Broadway, LLC has started offering classes to their community members to learn to make arrangements. Learn more below!

We're back with more tips and ideas on how you can boost your sales this summer and every summer! Check out some fun and exciting ideas below!

With summer in full swing, one florist is making the most of the warm weather and good vibes! Simply Creative Flower, Fashion, & Gifts, a shop in Wheatland, WY, has been doing a Random Acts of Kindness day every month for almost 2 years. Learn more below about this amazing endeavor this shop is doing!

Summer is in full swing, and we want to make sure you're keeping your sales HOT this season! Check out these tips and ideas on how you can boost your sales this summer and every summer!

Whether you're in a service industry, sell one product, or offer an array of products, every type of business can benefit from customer loyalty. In fact, it can cost up to five times more to attract new customers than it does to keep existing customers coming back. Loyal customers can also help a business increase its profits, growth, and brand advocacy. While most floral orders are a one-time product, you can still market your shop in a way that increases the chance of those customers…

Welcome to the green team! Running a sustainable business is not only good for the environment but also for your brand! It can definitely pay to go green, and we're here to give you the tips and tricks on how to do so.

When starting a business, you'll likely spend a lot of time focusing on your online presence. One of the most important, but easily overlooked aspects of that is Search Engine Optimization. SEO is THE way customers find your website when they use a search engine and if you don't use this tool to the best of its ability, your website could be lost in the crowd.

Marketing your flower shop can be intimidating. There are a lot of things to consider when deciding how you're going to represent your brand. However, it is SUPER important to be involved in digital marketing. The internet is where everything is happening and where many people get their information. There are tons of platforms out there for you to get started, but there is one platform we recommend getting on no matter what—Google.

Step up your marketing game with Instagram Reels! Social media trends are constantly changing, and we're here to give you all the details. Learn all the basics and how you can create fun, trendy, and informative reels that will get people interested!

The world is constantly changing, and so should your business. But making the right changes can be tough, especially when you're unsure of what's benefitting your business and what's not. That's where the SWOT team comes in! We'll show you exactly how to do this simple analysis for your business to adapt as the world changes.

Did you know that there are different types of writing? You may have heard of a few like creative writing, professional writing, or academic writing, but what about strategic writing? While it might be a new type of writing for you, it's actually one that you are probably already using to an extent. Let's take a closer look:

Your website is a place where your business can share its story and can often be why a customer chooses to go with your shop over one of your competitors. The few short moments you have with a customer when they're surfing the web can make a long-term impression, and you want to be sure you set yourself up for success through your website's user experience.

One of the most common questions we get is, "How can I market my business?" While this question doesn't take a rocket scientist to answer, it does require a decent amount of thought to help find the best solution for each individual flower shop. Every small business is different, even if they function in the same industry. Some tactics may work better for one than they will for another. Combining multiple strategies to fit your flower shop's needs is a great way to help increase your…

Like many other industries, florists are struggling with supply chain issues. From lack of stock to long shipping times to limited options, we know that finding vases and containers is harder than ever. So what's the solution? Implementing a vase/container recycling program.

Advertising can sometimes be complex, especially when it comes to Google. But getting your brand in front of new customers is imperative to growing your business. Google is one of the most-used search engines for literally everything, so it's worth it when it comes to Google Ads. Although it looks like a lot to take in, we’ve gathered the basics to get you started!

Your goal as a business owner is to always strive for continued growth and improvement for your business. In order to do this, you have to listen to your customers and give them what they want. The problem is—you can’t do that if you don’t know what it is they want. That’s where customer feedback comes into play.

In today's market, there are thousands of products, brands, and services available to consumers across the globe. Consumers can find most products easily from numerous websites, making standing out from the crowd even more difficult. So how do you break the barrier and convince your audience to choose you over your competitors?

One of the most important things that a business has is its reputation. Good or bad, your reputation is how you will continue attracting potential customers. But how do they know what your reputation is? Reviews.

Surveys are one of the easiest ways for a company to receive feedback. They help drive your business forward in more ways than one and can help you make decisions as a company. In the past, collecting data was a long and strenuous process; however, recently, receiving feedback from your customers, employees, or even the general market has become easier than ever before. Surveys are an essential part of growth, so here are some tips on how you can create the perfect survey to help your…

Do you struggle to get your audience to take action on your website, social media, or ads? It could be because your call-to-action doesn't impact them the way it should. Having a strong call-to-action will help guide your online viewers into doing what you want them to do, when you want them to do it. So how can you improve your calls-to-action? First, we need to talk about some basics:

Getting a message across to your potential customers has never been easier than with email. Email marketing is the perfect way to communicate with those who are already interested in your brand.

Is focusing on customer loyalty worth it? Absolutely. Customer loyalty can be the driving force behind your business! Find out more about the importance of customer loyalty, how you can get it, and the types of customer loyalty programs that might be right for you and your flower shop.

COVID has made life crazy over the past year, with things changing drastically for everyone. With the introduction of vaccines, a lot of places are starting to transition into some level of what life was like before COVID. But with these transitions, a lot of businesses aren't sure how to go forward. But no worries! We’ve got some tips on how you can easily transition into a post-COVID world.

Referrals happen when a current customer of your business shares what they like about it with a potential customer. This could be a friend, family member, or even a stranger. Either way, this word-of-mouth marketing has a huge impact on the growth of your business. We're here to teach you about the value of referrals and how to get them.

Brand equity is important for all businesses, especially florists. But what exactly is it? And what are the benefits that come with it? Here's what you need to know:

Social media can be a fantastic tool for your flower shop. It can provide many benefits and give you an advantage over your competition. But how do you get followers and create a more loyal customer base?

Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and with it comes an increase in floral sales. This holiday is typically a very busy and successful time, but this year it's trending to be even bigger. Check out these tips and suggestions to help make your Valentine's Day easier and more successful!

Customer service is one of the most critical functions of any business, especially now. If you don't show your customers that you hear them and support their needs, you risk losing credibility as a business. Upkeep of your online business has always been important but never more so than in 2020 when you can't be face-to-face with your customers. Customer service comes in many shapes and forms and has transformed over the years as technology progressed. It's critical to any business and can't…

Christmas is right around the corner and with it comes some uncertainty, especially among the floral industry. In Christmas 2020: Trends, we discussed the trends that we and other floral industry experts believe will unfold during the holiday season. To recap: we're expecting it to be big and online.

Keeping your audience engaged is extremely important, especially right now. One of the ways you can do this is by featuring a digital deal 'scavenger hunt'! This is a fun and exciting way to engage with your audience and drive traffic back to your website. Here's how you can do your own digital scavenger hunt:

In light of COVID-19, many florists have had to step back from their brick-and-mortar shops and focus more on their online stores. Though your brick-and-mortar shop gives you numerous benefits, like a reliable location and a gathering place for your customers and employees, your online shop is just as important and provides an array of benefits.

As a local business, your community is where you will gain traction and make real progress towards achieving your goals. In order to do that, local marketing is a must. Connecting with your community is essential to the growth of your business.

Mother's Day 2020 will go down in history as one of the most successful floral holidays ever recorded. Florists nationwide saw a huge increase in orders despite the restrictions due to the ongoing global pandemic.

While COVID-19 caused for more restrictions and regulations, there's some debate that it contributed to the success of Mother's Day. Regardless of why this Mother's Day was as big as it was, one thing is for sure: eCommerce is booming, and florists need to get on board.

In an ever-changing world, technology has taken a forefront in the way that we promote our businesses. The market changes daily, meaning the way you communicate with your customers also has to change. There are numerous ways to promote your flower shop, and the best option for other brands might not be the best option for yours.

Summer is in full swing! While this summer might look a little different than past summers, there's still a lot of things you can do to grow your shop. While there’s not a wide variety of holidays in the summer, there are a few pretty big ones. Take a look at what you can do for the summer holidays at your shop:

Colors can tell a story, evoke an emotion, and set the mood. That's why choosing the right ones is such an important decision in visual fields like floral design.

Wanting to grow your flower shop this spring? It's time to start thinking about all the ways you can promote your shop to help achieve that goal! Spring is chock-full of holidays that provide perfect opportunities to market your flower shop. There are plenty of ways you can incorporate holidays into your marketing strategy this season, but if you're not quite sure where to start, we have some ideas.

Brand awareness is crucial to any business, defined as "the extent to which consumers are familiar with the distinctive qualities of a particular brand of goods or services." By building your brand awareness, you are building your reputation within your community. This is a huge step in gaining new and repeat customers for your business and standing out from your competition. So how do you build brand awareness?

Emails are the perfect way to stay in touch with your customers all year long. By sending a variety of emails, you can keep them interested and coming back. Not sure what types of emails you should be sending? Don’t sweat it! We know just the ones:

Valentine's Day is a great opportunity to showcase your most extravagant, love-filled arrangements. Loved ones are shopping for something special to surprise their significant other, and we've got some marketing tips to help you promote the perfect gift this holiday.

Since the rise of the internet, online shopping has become the preferred way to purchase for many customers. With the advancement of mobile technology over the past several years, ordering online has never been easier than it is today. Now more than ever, it's essential that businesses cater their websites to fit mobile platforms.

Winter is a wonderful time of year, filled with holidays and cooler weather. Use this winter’s most popular trends to keep your customers satisfied this season!

After the holiday season, New Year often gets overlooked in terms of marketing. However, it’s a great opportunity to boost your sales going into 2020 with a little festive promotion. Ring in the new year with these marketing tactics!

It's so important to know what your customers expect from you so you can provide them the best experience possible. It's not always an easy task, but we're here to help! Check out some of our tips on how to exceed your customers' expectations.

Christmastime is almost here and we can't wait for the festivities. If you haven't already started marketing for the most wonderful time of the year, it's not too late. Try a few of our holiday marketing ideas and watch your sales soar like Santa's reindeer this Christmas season. It's time to pull out all the silver bells and whistles to get your shop in the holly jolly spirit!

Did you know that Google receives a total of 5.6 billion searches per day? Many of these searches are from active shoppers ready to make a purchase. Learn how your business can rank higher and communicate effectively on search engines with Google My Business!

November 30th is the 10th annual Small Business Saturday! We think it’s a great idea for florists to get involved this year and draw more of your community into your shop. There are lots of great resources available to you to make Small Business Saturday a success.

Thanksgiving is approaching quickly, so that means it's time for you to start thinking of ways to market your flower shop for the holiday. Gobble up our great ideas and get prepared for the big day!

When choosing arrangements to upload to your website, it's important to remember that high-quality photos play an important role in your potential sales. The better your photos look, the more likely you are to sell that product. Creating quality product images may seem like a big undertaking, but it's not as difficult as it sounds! We have a few tips to help you get started.

From wickedly good puns to ghoulish events and activities, Halloween offers especially creative ways to promote your flower shop, more so than other holidays.

Go above and beyond for your customers with this season's hottest trends! Fall for these autumn floral design trends and take your designs to the next level.

A lot of people today believe that e-commerce is going to be the end of brick & mortar stores. That's not really the case. Consumers love the convenience of ordering online, but that doesn't mean that it isn't important to have a physical location that customers can come to. In the floral industry, it's especially important to have both!

Word-of-mouth recommendations are just as important today as they have ever been! However, the ways people are getting the word out about what they like and dislike have changed significantly since the advent of the Internet. We’re taking a look at the ways people are using online word-of-mouth and how you can best utilize this as a florist.

There are so many ways to market your flower shop locally. Traditional ads such as those in the newspaper or on the radio are a great way to reach a local audience, but there is so much more that you could be doing! Check out just a few ways that you can engage with your local audience.

Many businesses consider Gen Z too young to focus a marketing strategy on. This is simply not true. The oldest members of Generation Z were born in 1997, making them 22 years old as of 2019. This means that many of them are already in or about to enter the workforce, which provides a great opportunity to grow your business. They will represent 40% of consumers by 2020, and it’s reported that they have $44 billion in buying power, not including their influence on parents. We have some…

In our last post, we discussed Facebook business pages and how to effectively post on them. Facebook can be used for more than just posting, though. Advertising on Facebook is a great way to gain more traction for your business, while Insights can help you figure out the kind of posts that your audience is most responsive to. Keep reading to learn more about these great Facebook tools.

Facebook is a continually changing social platform with a ton of features that can be great tools for your business. However, using Facebook for personal vs. business is very different. We’re here to help you understand the difference and the best ways to use Facebook for your business.

Creating a brand that is easily recognizable is an important step in reaching your full marketing potential. Build your flower shop's brand with our simple tips!

Reaching your audience has never been easier than today in the online age. There are so many ways to communicate with potential customers, and having a strong presence online is one of the easiest and most relevant ways to reach them. The Internet is the first place customers are going to turn to learn more about a business, which is why it is so crucial for your flower shop to have an online presence.

Email marketing is a simple way to consistently keep in contact with your customers. Keep your business in front of customers' eyes by sending out regularly scheduled emails featuring your latest products, deals, and events.

Every year, a few new trends appear in the floral industry. Keeping up with these trends will help you know what your customers are expecting and help attract new ones! Take a look at a few floral design trends that are making waves this summer.

Instagram is an excellent way to market your business to your ideal customers. As a florist, you can use your Instagram to target a specific audience who, by continually seeing your posts, will keep your shop in mind for any occasion that they need to order flowers. Check out a few of the most effective ways to use Instagram for your business!

Social media is a great tool, but if you're just putting your posts out into the void of the Internet without interacting with your followers, you're missing out on an opportunity to communicate with your ideal customers. By engaging with your audience, you're building a following that knows, likes, and trusts you.

So, you got a negative review online? Don't worry, it happens! As much as you try to please every customer, sometimes it's just not possible. We're here to tell you how you can turn your negative review into a positive for your business.

Mother's Day is right around the corner and now is the time to start thinking about your customer experience strategy. While some may think that customer service and customer experience are interchangeable, it's not. Customer service is handling a customer situation by situation whereas customer experience is giving the customer something they can feel, attach an emotion too, and go on a journey

Last year, as I was on my way to Michigan for the Great Lakes Floral & Event Expo with two of my coworkers, our flight got delayed. A quick look at the weather and we realized that our connecting flight might not even be able to make it due to snow. So, what did we do? We decided to reroute through the south and then go up north. However, that plan didn't work out either. Our Minnesota flight made it okay, but our Alabama flight was experiencing many delays, and we ended up getting separated…

• Be sure that you have your cutoff set for when you can no longer take orders.

Website Checklist

• If you still have product but not enough to create the exact arrangements on your website, you now have the option to set the Designer's Choice Disclaimer on your website. This button is…

Summer can be an excellent time for florists; or, it can be an extremely slow time for florists. If you are a florist who has a lot of weddings booked, then you probably aren't going to see any downtime. However, you may have only one or two lined up. So, what can you do to help increase sales during the summer when there aren't many holidays? Here are some blazing marketing tips to help you out!

If you have been using Instagram in the past year, you will have noticed that they have added a feature to their platform known as Instagram Stories or Instastories. This is Instagram's version of Snapchat that they are using to pull in the younger generation that loves Snapchat. The great thing about Instastories is that they have added so many new great features, but it's easy to get lost in what the nine different features do. Before we take a look at what each feature of Instastories…

Customer experience is an important piece of every business. As florists, you want to ensure that your customer has a wonderful floral experience, even when you might not be the florist that actually delivers the order. To help florists give the best to their customers, we have some tips for sending and receiving wire orders.

If you have been offering the same flower arrangements for Mother's Day the last few years, it's time to think about changing things up! Upgrade your style this holiday season to stand out against the competition. Your loyal customers will love seeing your new fresh designs. Here are some of the latest trends that are easy to create and will give your style a quick upgrade!

Many local florists say they are struggling to compete with with large big-box stores. At Flower Shop Network we want to empower local florists to grow and be successful by providing resources to help you take advantage of your potential as a local business.

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