On average, a typical florist makes between 8% and 12% in profit. If that number creeps higher into the 13% to 14% range, you would consider that a terrific year!
But what if I told you that you could make over 50% commission on a $50 order?. Would you do it? The good news is, you can! Here’s how:
For more tips on improving your floral business - along with other advice from experienced flower shop owners, please drop us a line below or give Bloomerang Solutions a call at (941) 806-1911.
As a florist, the goal is for all your local consumers to see your business name synonymous with buying and/or sending flowers. When I owned Beneva Flowers, we were recognized as having 70% of market share in Sarasota based on flower buying credit card purchase data. But how did that happen?
One of the most important things we did was partner with area schools and charitable organizations. We considered many items the schools needed and even started an initiative to have a classroom named after our business.
Every year we would be asked to participate in fundraisers and to run ads in yearbooks. Not only did I participate, I took it one step further…
Understanding we both need each other to survive, I came up with a program called Helping Hands. The way it worked was the school became responsible for getting the word out that Beneva Flowers would donate 5% of every transaction that the sender mentions the school or organization. It worked well for baseball teams trying to raise money for trips, marching bands, you name it. If the community was making an effort, we wanted to be a part of it.
These were the seeds we were planting and before too long, sending flowers and Beneva went hand-in-hand because local shoppers thought of Beneva every time they thought about flowers. Around town, the brand became synonymous with flowers.
Most grocery stores still offer paper or plastic bags at the checkout, but an increasing number of climate-concious customers are opting for environmentally-friendly reusable bags instead. Publix is one of many supermarket chains that sells reusable shopping bags to consumers for 99¢. Because they are able to buy them in bulk, they probably pay about 5¢ for each bag.
Many people will look at those bags as insignificant little 99¢ products to sell, but a better way to look at it as an opportunity.
Using Publix as a hypothetical example, encouraging the use of reusable shopping bags not only helps the environment by cutting down on waste, but it is also an excellent opportunity to build their brand image as a respectful neighbor.
Just by having the Publix logo on the bag along with Earth-friendly reminders of working together to make a difference, you create positive brand awareness at an amazing value for just 5¢ per bag.
The simple fact that the bags are reusable give them marketing value even beyond the doors of Publix because people use the bags everywhere they go. What a great deal for a 5¢ investment.
This is how it should be looked at. Do you think that Publix sells enough 99¢ bags to offset the value of giving them away to customers as a 5¢ advertisement? It depends on the value you place on branding. Giving away these bags is unique and outside the commonly used channels.
I like the message they would be sending out as well as the intentions they would be supporting. Publix already has a brand that is known for offering a clean environment, excellent services, supporting the community - and yes, they even sell some groceries too.
Today, we are limited in ways to get a message out. Newspapers are not what they used to be, and television continues to lose market share to the internet. The best option now for most small business owners is online digital marketing targeted at consumers browsing the internet and WAZE advertising for people searching on maps.
Bloomerang Solutions can help you with both! We have solutions for every sized business from websites to Google pay-per-click advertising and SEO that will boost your web ranking. We can help you interact with your customers through surveys and social media. Call us at (941) 806-1911 and let’s get started today!
One simple thing you can do right now will dramatically improve your chances of ranking better in local search results is making sure all the images on your website are geotagged and have all their important metadata information included.
Above is the metadata field for the image on the left. Geotags and other image metadata can be found by right clicking on an image and selecting Properties from the list. The Details tab (as shown above) allows you to view the metadata and edit it manually in the Value column.
Geotags are important metadata that show the exact coordinates where the image or video was taken. The visitors to your website will not see this information, but search engines do when they’re crawling the web and analyzing your site. Search engines all use their own proprietary algorithms to assign rankings to websites based on a number of different criteria. Their goal is to give their users the best and most accurate results for each search, so they all place a heavy emphasis on accuracy and repetition.
If you took a picture with a GPS-enabled device like a smartphone or digital camera, the image will be geotagged by default and will automatically embed GPS coordinates along with the name of the location if available. If you turned that setting off or have an older image, the information may still be stored among the Exchangeable Image File Format (EFIX) data. You can also add data manually or edit data that may be inaccurate or need updating.
Geotags are not new, they have been around for more than a decade and most people never noticed. The importance of geotags, however, has evolved from a novelty into a necessity as more and more consumers search for local results on mobile devices. The location information of a photo that matches the physical location of your shop will help increase confidence from the search engines that your site will enhance the results it produces.
Metadata is the core of what search engines use in their algorithms to determine ranking and results. Since most people do not pay very close attention to the metadata of the images on their site, a little bit of work will go a long way towards giving you a substantial advantage over the competitors in local search results.
Another big advantage you gain by making sure your images are properly geotagged is improving the likelihood of them ranking higher when people search by image. This is especially true for local searches. If someone is searching for flower delivery, geotagged images in closer proximity will generally rank higher since they provide more relevant results to the consumer.
Geotagging the images and videos on your website is one important aspect of search engine optimization, but there are a few other things you can customize that will help improve your ranking.
Change the Image Title (file name) – Since repetition and consistency are important to search engines, it is important to make sure all your image titles also include the name and location of your business because each instance, or citation, improves your ranking.
Use the Image Alt-Text field to briefly describe the image – This field is often overlooked but provides a valuable source of information to search engines. It also serves a purpose on your website by providing descriptive text when you hover over the image.
Add a Caption to provide even more detail – Captions are small block of text located under, or next to the image that describe the image to the visitor of your site. Search engines also use this field to learn more about the relevance of the image regardless of whether the caption is visible on your site or not.
To learn more about Geotagging and other aspects of SEO that will give you a substantial advantage in your search engine ranking, give Bloomerang Solutions a call today at (941) 806-1911. Our team of SEO specialists is ready to help you identify deficiencies that may be preventing you from ranking higher and make them work to your advantage instead.
Valentine’s Day is proof that people love to receive flowers, so why limit all that excitement to special occasions? What if there was an option for people to receive flowers from your shop - wrapped and delivered - for only twenty bucks? Why not make every Tuesday a special occasion and call it “$20 Tuesdays”? It could be just the trick to keep Valentine’s Day customers coming back for more and it is certainly a fantastic way to send a gift or greeting when people can’t get together.
When the occasion arises for a customer to consider sending flowers, we need to pull out all the stops and be sure they feel they can shop with us, the local florist. That’s why promotions like $20 Tuesdays (and $30 Thursdays) make sense, not only because they give the perception that our prices are reasonable, but also because they attract a broader customer base. You may not like this idea, and that’s fine, but where do you think those customers will go?
Most likely they will continue to search, or they will go take the extra time to pick up the bouquet at a supermarket and feel they saved so much that they have a workaround. Why give them that opportunity to leave and go away? Losing repeat customers is never worth what you hope to replace them with - we must keep customers with us.
The bottom line is that $20 Tuesdays make your shop approachable and show you are listening and affordable. We need to focus on transactions. Think about it, is it really worth losing a customer here?
The easier you make it to order with you, the more dependent the customer
becomes on you. They depend and trust you because you have earned it.
Everyone is on their phone today. If you can keep customers directly connected to you, you reduce the chance of having them stolen online by your competitors. You can engage with them on social media and even notify them of your deals when they drive by your shop. What more could you want?
Value doesn't mean cheap - it means more for your money. If your customer can feel you achieve this with them then you will win the battle to earn their business and trust.
In closing, the two most obvious ways people are earning orders are online advertising and social strategies. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, as well as Pinterest, are no longer for kids anymore. Customers use the platforms to learn more about businesses as they prepare to decide on who to use for that next big order or wedding.
Finding qualified people to run social media for your business is the greatest challenge. You wouldn't trust a kid out of high school to run your business, would you? Then why would you allow them to run your social? Leave it with professionals and judge them on how they report back to you with results from their efforts. Are they earning engagement? Well, if they are, how about orders? It's all there and growing.
Our industry is going through great change and while some shops get it, more shops don't. Don't let your competition get ahead of you. Call us and allow us to show you our GUARANTEED results packages. Guarantee means just that!
-Art
When people use Google to search for a business, the top result is typically a Google My Business (MAPS) page. The GMB listing is an expandable list of services, products and information that allows visitors to take in a quick but brief understanding about the company they are looking up - without having to visit their website. In many cases, questions about hours, phone numbers and directions can be obtained directly from the GMB, so it is more important than ever to make sure your listing is robust and accurate.
Google My Business also allows you to add a SHORT NAME of your business to make it easier for customers to find you. This is also a place to find REVIEWS to help you learn more - or you can post reviews of your own as well. More and more companies are focusing on optimizing this result by understanding the strategies you can apply combining images, Q & A's, Videos and even Instant Messaging. The truth is, the more features you use, the better your results will be.
Above the Fold is an old newspaper term for the upper half of the first page. The most important information in the paper appeared at the top - above the fold - so it would be visible on newsstands and boxes. Just like newspapers, the goal of most businesses is to appear ABOVE THE FOLD because that’s what will be seen on your computer screen on the first view.
The results are ORGANIC meaning the site is ranking high on its own and the position is not paid for, although paid ads can also appear in some searches.
It is proven that ONLY in this case do people avoid ads and look for the actual location whereas in traditional look ups, the paid ads do better because you can aggressively bid for position AND select what you wish to display, they are ads.
You will need a separate Google My Business account in order to manage and optimize your Google Business Profile. It’s easy to get your Business Profile (your Google business listing) confused with Google My Business so remember that GMB is the tool you use to enhance your Business Profile in order to boost visibility and effectiveness. Optimizing your GMB profile has several benefits.
It helps you engage with customers
Customers are able to interact with your Google Business Profile and you can use your GMB account to engage with them. GMB not only allows you to respond to reviews and answer questions, but you can also use it to publish posts like you would on Facebook or other social media channels.
It helps you highlight your business
Your Google Business Profile contains a limited amount of information about your business but a GMB account gives you the ability to provide hours, link to your website, feature products and pricing along with other details that make your business unique.
It helps you gain insights
GMB has analytics available through the profile dashboard that gives you key insights about your audience as well as your local search performance. You can see which queries customers are using to find you along with how they found you (Google Search or Google Maps) and what they do when they get to your site.
It helps enhance your local SEO
Google uses algorithms for ranking Business Profiles just like it does with websites and ads. Your GMB dashboard allows you to incorporate keywords to your profile and perform other optimizations to help you rank better in local results.
GMB is not only an outstanding tool for optimizing your profile and expanding your reach, but it is also a great tool to help with your local SEO, here’s how:
By targeting your information
It is extremely important to incorporate relevant keywords in your Business Profile so Google knows what you are trying to rank for. You should use as many as possible in the “from the business” description as well as in answers to questions, responses to reviews and the posts you publish.
By maintaining quality of information
The accuracy and completeness of your Business Profile has a big impact on how it ranks, so it is important to provide as much information as you can in every section of your google profile. It is especially important to make sure your NAP (name, address, phone number) are all correct, as well as your hours, attributes and relevant contact information.
By building trust
Consumers prefer to do business with people they trust and GMB can help enhance your shop’s reputation with reviews AND responses that can be managed through your GMB dashboard. Regularly uploading photos and publishing posts will also help show Google that you are active.
Google My Business is quickly gaining favor as the place to be listed so it’s important to make sure your GMB Business Profile is up-to-date. SEO is important for any business, but it’s especially important for small businesses to utilize targeted marketing to compete against larger competitors with bigger budgets. Now SEO is easier than ever before with the help of GMB.
Are you trying to maximize your visibility in your local market? Bloomerang Solutions can help you show up where customers are searching. Give us a call today at (941) 806-1911 or drop us a line below.
-Art
