Jan 22^nd – 24^th and even through today, what a week! There was a wide variety of topics discussed and some great ideas brought to the table by our Members. Being an AMS Member is special and by invitation only. Advanced Marketing Solutions (AMS) sums it up. This is a forward moving and forward thinking group of retail florists that have been invited to use and share technology developed by Sarasota based web solutions developers, GravityFree. Started back in 2001 when Beneva Flowers was the first retail florist website developed together by Art Conforti and Scott Heaps of GravityFree, it has grown to over 50 users today using industry leading technology called FlowerManager.

The week started off with a sunset welcome cruise, followed by a gathering at Café Epicure to watch the Giants advance to the Super Bowl. Monday we had an overview of the week ahead and discussed the industry, and Tuesday we were joined by the GravityFree team to discuss all the new enhancements to the web technology as users shared individual uses of their websites. All users have exclusivity in their local area. The form is very open and, since there are no competing markets, the discussions were wide open.

The GravityFree team shared information about maximizing email campaigns, SEO tips, and so much more, while they also reviewed all the new features being added to the website and future enhancements.

Art also shared reports from his phone system that validated his marketing efforts with the use of telephone reporting on every sale (as Art sees it, every retailer that does any marketing needs this phone system). The system is developed by another local company called IPitomy, owned by Nick Branica. This too is an exclusive offering from Conforti for retailers. Tracking the phone numbers takes all the guesswork out of sales and marketing efforts. As Art says, “How can you spend money on marketing and not track your results?” While many do it the old fashioned way with coupons, most companies use tracking URL’s. The technology used on these GravityFree websites allow you to use tracking phone numbers along with URL’s to register every phone call and order placed.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” says Art. Having local relationships with GravityFree for web technology, IPitomy for telephony solutions, and another local company who developed floralapp® for the floral industry, Sarasota may become “Silicon Sarasota” before too long for the floral industry. Voted #1 beaches in the world, it looks like technology development has also found a home in Sarasota.

• exceptional service/product
• prompt delivery

More shops need to figure out logistics before the holiday hits.  Do you know how many orders you can deliver per hour?  Can you make timed delivery requests?  Asking these questions is a good place to start.  Too many shops take more orders than they can fill in the time frame allowed.  Let’s face it, Valentine’s Day is over, for most, at 4:00 p.m.  People want the recognition more than the flowers.

Offering an exceptional service and product is #1, and delivering timely is just as important. Most of the time, Valentine’s Day “competition” is taking place amongst customers in offices, while florists are competing with other florists.  All of our red roses are 70 and 80 cm, and other colors are 60 cm.  We want people to experience the Beneva difference. We are confident that our product stands above the rest.

Valentine’s Day can be a dangerous holiday.  Look for Paul Goodman’s story in the upcoming Flowers& Magazine about a lesson we learned 10 years ago.  It woke us up.

Remember, there are two types of experiences people never forget:     1- exceptional and 2- horrible.  Use your experience and knowledge to be a smart operator.  Be sure everyone has an exceptional experience when they order from YOU, the local flower shop!

It was a great night at Nordlie’s in Warren, MI speaking with local flower shop owners about the state of our industry and where it is going for those stepping up.

Last night, customers of Nordlie were fortunate enough to get an invitation to get together and not only hear the presentation I had to offer, but to share ideas and solutions for improving the experience at their shops. I always say, “If knowledge is power, reports are priceless.” I shared a simple illustration that was good and yet bad. What was good was there were 4.2 MILLION unique visitors shopping for flowers in the last year. The bad news was they were all on FTD.com, 1-800-Flowers, Teleflora.com and Pro Flowers. Why? This was the question that we answered, as well as HOW to bring customers BACK to shopping LOCAL. Yes we can all do it and I feel confident, from the discussions that went on after my presentation, these shops have revamped and are ready to evolve into the future.

We gave away a FREE floralapp® to Dave and Jay at Charvat the Florist. Dave shared some comments on why he was so excited to win as he was buying one anyway. His comments about where shopping is headed were very accurate. It is clear the shops that attended last night will be moving ahead of their competition with the technology enhancements they have acquired. Thanks to Nordlie, there will be over a dozen more floralapp® users in this market, and more to come.

floralapp® is the only shared app in the industry. We have made it affordable for EVERY florist to have this technology. FTD and MAS have also made it affordable to use with a $0.00 per order fee to use their technology to receive the orders. As Dave said, “Why wait till everyone else has it and play catch-up?” As they say, the early bird gets the worm. Tim from Norton’s also added some very useful comments and tips on how he is maximizing his floralapp® which he purchased through Florists for Change.

This industry has become very fragmented. Florists working with us at Beneva Solutions have one main goal in common, improving their local business. It was great to meet so many shops last night who I had only known by name. Those who were able to attend improved their business and hopefully have a new strategy for marketing that will clearly show them that the light at the end of this tunnel is not an oncoming train.

A big thanks to Bill Schodowski for visiting and  Frank Mancuso for showing me around Detroit as well as visiting his shop and his staff. Another true, YES WE CAN florist with the right can do attitude.

Nothing beats working in an industry with people being on the same page. We need to increase exposure, decrease expenses and improve profitability, but the very first step is connecting with our customers! Tonight we will be discussing just how EASY this is to do. We all need to “GET OUT OF THE BOX” with our thinking process.

We are no longer able to count on doing business as we once did for profit. Where at one time wire orders originated from all parts of the country, many today are originating in your own town. Just watch the card messages at Valentine’s Day… Do you really think orders incoming from 1-800-Flowers, WESTBURY, NY are all just happening to send to your town? Then you see the card message to read, “Happy Valentine’s Day see you tonight.” Think about it. In many cases, customers IN YOUR TOWN are calling 800 numbers and/or other companies to order Valentine’s Day for these reasons:

1) Easy to find

2) Easy to order

3) Lower price

4) Technology

So what do we do? Here are some suggestions:

1) Easy to find: Are you in your local newspaper or radio stations the week before Valentine’s Day? They are!

2) Easy to order: Is it easy to order at your shop? Pull out all the stops. Make it easy. If you don’t support and direct your sales team to take orders making it easy, they won’t!

3) Lower price: You don’t have to be the cheapest. Educate. Here is what we say when someone asks why we can’t sell roses for $29.99, ” Mr. Customer Name, we would never take short stem roses, put them in a box and ship it to your Valentine. Imagine what it really will look like after your Valentine attempts to put them all together. With us, you can expect a quality delivery that truly shows your sentiments, hand delivered and guaranteed. Best of all, no assembly required! By the time you pay the additional fees and shipping, how much will you really save?”

This is not a big deal, is very simple, and IT WORKS. If you want to capture this sale, you must educate and you only have a few seconds to do it. Use this script, modify it, but most important, think about it now and do it! You will see more sales and it does not cost you anything to do it.

4) Technology: Today I still see shops with websites that require people to call to order. This is not a good model. You need to be accessible. From a toll free phone number to an enterprise website and an app, this is how people choose to order, are you ready?

Here is an interesting stat, in September 2011, 2 out of 3 people placed ORDERS using SMARTPHONES! It can’t be any clearer, people expect you to be technologically prepared for their business.

Also, after hours. FTD and Teleflora offer these services to every member. There is no excuse for not being available 24/7 in today’s market. Answering machines are like FAX machines and gift certificates. It makes us look like we are behind.

These are points to think about and some of the topics of discussion tonight. Best of all, there ARE solutions and opportunities.

Come join in the discussion and let’s “GET OUT OF THE BOX”!

6:30pm at Nordlie

25300 Guenther, Warren, MI 48091

After spending last week with Brad at Allen’s Flowers, it is great to see shops prospering in an economy like this. Brad upgraded his website and put into action marketing strategies that will surely keep him ahead of any competition with a focus on customer retention and LTV (Lifetime Value). Check out our LTV calculator here.

We just finished setting up the newest member to our web user group FLOWER MANAGER, Brad Levy of Allen’s Flowers. This company has operated 3 locations in this area. From downtown Market Street to La Mesa and El Cajon, Allen’s Flowers provides service from San Diego up to Oceanside.

Brad and his father Max are at the shops daily, and mom Marilyn handles weddings and special events. Allen’s is clearly a quality driven florist and pays great attention to every detail. They are a true YES WE CAN florist. Max started the business in 1982 selling flowers out of his trunk, and WOW, what an accomplishment today as Brad (over the last 15 years) has been moving the company more towards technology and is now prepared to increase his exposure to all of San Diego, La Jolla, and up through Oceanside.

Brad will be maximizing rewarding his customers with our Rewards Points, targeting recipients of his deliveries with Lucky Stems, and plans on loading floralapp® on every walk in customer (and boy do they have a strong walk in business with the locations)! Max and Brad strategically set up these shops to cover this wide area.

We are proud to have Allen’s and the Levy family sharing technology. Mary got floralapp® set up last night as Brad pulled it up for the first time on his iPad2 pictured here.

We met with local newspapers and discussed many online strategies. Allen’s is set up with all the tools and tracking they need to ensure you won’t miss them the next time you visit the areas where he has a retail shop. Allen’s is a quality flower shop with the finest flowers brought in fresh from the markets every day. The designs he is preparing to showcase on his website are like no other in the industry as the event work they create is as creative as any you will find.
Open 365 days a year, Allen’s is, in my opinion, the best choice when anyone should need to send flowers to San Diego, La Jolla, La Mesa, or anywhere up through Oceanside.

There is no wonder why this company continues to increase sales. As Brad stated, “Customers continue to expect more when placing an order and we are now prepared to maximize the experience and never let them forget Allen’s when sending flowers across town or the entire USA.”

If you open your mind to accept what is happening you will see that retailing has changed more in the past year than in the last 5. Years ago, people looked for coupons and deals here and there. The combination of a recession, which very few of my generation ever experienced, and companies like Groupon created a monster consumer. Today, if there is no additional value to shop with a retailer, people will move on until they find one. Is it just discounting? No. It’s about service and convenience, too. I have found that in today’s consumer, they want

1. good value
2. great service
3. convenience 

So, there you have it. If you are revamping your business to conform to 2012 shopping, then this is the model you need to create to attract sales.

Let’s look at convenience. How easy is it to shop at your store?  Are you computerized? Do you provide lists of previous purchases and reminders?  Do you have a website? Toll free number? Mobile app?

I don’t believe a savvy retailer can afford not to have any of these.  When the world wide web became available for all to use, florists have said…

• “My customer won’t shop from a computer. It’s impersonal.” 
• “My area isn’t into online shopping, we are more traditional.”
• “It’s a fad… it’s not for selling flowers”

They chose not to see what was coming. Look where retailing is today.  Let’s fast forward to 2012… 

MOBILE- MOBILE- MOBILE

 Guess what? I have heard EVERY one of those excuses from florists again. Not all florists. There are many who have floralapp and are now seeing business from the downloads. But yes, some shops actually say this. Can you imagine?

Look around you, go walk a mall, and you will notice that everyone has their head down looking at their phones!  Now look at this article stating that 2/3 of all smartphone users have made purchases using smartphones. Read for yourself.  These are facts. 

I still can’t understand anyone who refuses to accept change, and that not only are people changing, retailing is changing. There once was a time that it was expected for a retailer to have a toll free phone number. Why wait until everyone has captured customers with apps when you can have one for the price of a toll free phone number?

To think, once you purchase a custom app, the cost to offer it to your customer costs the same as a toll free phone number, and you never pay an order fee, and you get free updates! What could you be waiting for?

Yes, I do believe that 2012 will be the year of mobile retailing.

There are several shops seeing floralapp orders everyday. Apps are very complicated programs to create, build and maintain, especially considering two platforms (iPhone and Android), various operating systems, devices, etc.  But you don’t have to worry about that!  We have and will continue to do this.

The easy, affordable ability to create your own mobile apps will not become easily available any time soon. Remember, you must get approved by Apple and Android and get your app on the marketplace. Imagine thousands of flower shops to choose from? It won’t happen. Apple is not a search engine. Floralapp is an approved platform that all florists can use and once someone downloads floralapp with your shop, you are with them as long as they have the phone! They cannot type someone else’s URL into an address bar and leave. You have your customer.

 Now that you are aware of the realities, let us help you execute. Take advantage of technology available to you, make improvements on your websites and be sure to look for ways to improve your print marketing and offers for your ads. Remember, marketing is not to just create an order, it is to develop a relationship and built into the LTV (lifetime value) of the customer. To do this, be sure you have more than one reason to shop with you.

Call 1-800-560-0501 or email us and let’s develop a custom program for you!

 Happy New Year! 

Arthur F. Conforti

Beneva Flowers | President

6980 Beneva Road | Sarasota, FL 34238

941-308-3117 | www.beneva.com

Take us with you…download our FREE floralapp today

at www.beneva.com/floralapp (keyword:BENEVA) and see

just how easy ordering flowers and gifts anywhere can be!

1) It came early and died off

 OR

2) It was so quiet then it came on late

That concerns me as those who marketed with ads, radio/TV, and with at least 2 drops using inserts in the paper said it was overall the best holiday in years! I have to agree with that. This isn’t about bragging, it is about sharing the truth. The truth is MANY florists did very well and won’t toot their own horn. I say, TOOT! Share the good news. I am glad to hear others did well too. Of all the shops I spoke to other than us, Allen’s Flowers in San Diego will also be open Christmas Day. That’s dedication. This doesn’t mean everyone has to do it. I open because it is a day I reflect on 25 years that started right here in a 1,000 square foot store. We started being open 365 days a year and today, 25 years later, I will be in. Even if just for a few hours, I will never forget where I came from.

This year was the inaugural year of the floralapp® which enabled us to share industry leading technology with florists across the nation. Florists got into their customer’s cell phones before the competition did. The day I heard that Phoebe Floral had developed an app for $8900.00 for iPhone only, I realized we can do this if we get enough people together. Today at just $995.oo we made it affordable for florists to have this technology available to their customers at a price everyone can afford. Thanks to all the florists who joined, you helped make it happen.

The first quarter of 2012 we have some great upgrades in store for all. From reminder programs to a gallery feature that is totally interactive with your shop, the best is yet to come. Even better there is NO additional cost. You all get it for FREE! Some florists really saw an abundance of orders. It seemed that those who marketed it saw lots of downloads and orders. If you ever called Trias in Miami, you will see why it is no wonder she is one of the most active in orders as the floralapp® value and convenience is being reminded to her customers consistently on her phone. It is just one more reason for someone to shop local, what was your reason? We all need to be sure customers have every reason to shop local that makes you unique!

The other was the 1st edition Spode. The sales for this item came on strong at the end. I will agree the picture did not do it justice as the actual piece was so big and beautiful many shops had people come in for just the train itself. We codified everyone on http://www.localflowershop.com so it was easy for everyone to find each other. Anyone who got the train agreed it was a big difference in value when you actually saw it. It wasn’t a container. It was clearly a beautiful gift complimented with flowers. Even better it was numbered.

Next, we will have the 2nd edition coming next year. We will also give you copy to mail to everyone who purchased this year to reserve their train for next year. People love to collect. I had one customer order 3 in Long Beach. Since we did not have a shop there, she said to mail them to her in California and SHE would take it to her shop to design. Then, she took 4 more to give away as gifts, AND a deposit for next year. She wants the collection.

The shops we send 1 and 2 to as well to fill orders ended up ordering 6 and 12. Let’s face it, with minimum order amounts of just 12, how can you afford NOT to have this on hand? Check if it is available in your area, the exclusives are growing fast. Several shops were turned away as the markets were taken. Shops like Riverdale were sold-out early, as well as Mancusos and others across the USA. Markets like Atlanta, Phoenix, Seattle, Wilmington, Miami, St Louis and so many more are already exclusive. If you have the opportunity to secure this line and get listed on http://www.conforticollection.com please let us know.

A trusted source and friend at UPS said that a year ago Pro Flowers was their #3 customer and not on the radar this year. People have been burned and it looks like local has a greater chance than ever if we can all adapt the YES WE CAN attitude and make it happen. Customers are why we are here, let’s never forget that.

As we close out 2011, I find we have more opportunity than ever in 2012!

Wishing you all a very Happy Holiday season and good health for the New Year,

Arthur F. Conforti

What does this mean to retail florists?

UNMARKETED consumers will be driven to Teleflora.com to see more value in sending flowers using Teleflora. Teleflora has not revealed the discount they will be offering, and are going to ENSURE retail florists they will get full value as they will make up the difference. So the shopping experience will be with Teleflora as the best value when sending flowers, but using local flower shops. What I found interesting was the items they are promoting were not codified containers. I would like to see this effort directed to drive consumers to local Teleflora florists with an offer. But they would need you, the local florist, to commit to the effort and discounts.

MARKETED customers have placed, and will continue to place orders with their local flower shops as YOU the local florist has EARNED their trust and business.

Florists that have been marketing this holiday season seem to all be doing well. Those waiting for incoming orders are wanting marketers to do the work as they fill the orders. Whatever you feel is best for your shop is YOUR choice.

Beneva Solutions has been helping florists capture customers and build a brand locally. There is NO excuse for your customer to shop anywhere but with you if you do your homework. For example, I will share some retailing tips that you can consider or choose to ignore. It is clear that Teleflora is not ignoring the obvious…

LTV. If you are still looking to just get orders and don’t understand LIFETIME VALUE, I hope this link is a life changer for you. View now.

By Teleflora capturing the customer, they will market them to keep ordering with them. You can do the same. When you get that incoming order, your opportunity is with the recipient. Don’t let your paid advertisement go out without a call to action from YOUR shop with the recipient.

4.2 Million unique visitors ended up on 4 major websites, where did they come from? See them here.

* Customers are discount driven today. Do you offer specials? If you do, are they clear? (Ex: do they have to spend $40.00 to get 10% off? Isn’t 10% off the same with $1.00 as it is at $40? It is scaled, leave out the small print and get the order)

* The Sunday newspapers are STUFFED with offers to make purchases. Almost every offer has an incentive. Are your ads there too?

Teleflora, FTD, 1-800-Flowers, and Pro Flowers are all out there driving consumers to purchase flowers. They use every possible tool to make it easy. They advertise in statements, in magazines, and even in Home Depot. What is your strategy?

If you are shaking your head by now, YOU HAVE SOLUTIONS.

a) floralapp®. If you don’t have it, you can. It is the new and upcoming way to send flowers. 1-800-Flowers has an app, why don’t you. We can set you up in 48 hours and you never pay an order fee!

b) YES WE CAN. Take out all the stops. Forget about delivery cutoffs. Get the YES WE CAN attitude and simply charge for services requested.

c) Little margin is better than no margin. Price adjustments? Got a wire in for $47.50 and need an additional $2.50? Think about what your time is worth and then think about what you are really netting after the effort. You will spend more time trying to get $2.50 than if you just fill the order. Little margin is better than NO margin.

d) SPODE is your local flower shop way of building a brand without competition. Although we are almost sold out of our limited edition Spode collector train, it is a unique gift that is NOTHING like an industry container. It is special and will have another design released next year driving customers back to YOU, the local retail florist. Best of all, you won’t see it nationally advertised for less later. Think about it… the minimum purchase amount was just 12. Wasn’t it worth it to be exclusive? Even if you made 100% margin on each sale, it would not make or break your holiday sales figures, but you would have developed brand recognition and a REASON to shop local.

Thomas Kinkade doesn’t sell as well as Teleflora promotes! You will find more successful selling when you create more successful promotions. We are happy to help you with that.

Wire services need orders to survive. They have all been helpful in giving us the opportunities to get the orders ourselves. If we don’t get them, who will? Keeping orders in the industry is paramount. So far, it is something I am glad to see Teleflora continuing to stand by. FTD continues to provide webinars to help florists retail better, and is the only wire service to offer FLORALAPP® at a discount through the end of Decemeber. So look for the value that is offered to go take back your local business. YOU and only YOU can, and will, need to make the move and do it.

It was amazing to see the interest from florists who were ready to hear ideas on “Taking Control of Your Business.”

It was very clear that retailing has become more complicated than ever before if you don’t understand the changing environment. It’s not just marketing, it’s retention and focusing on LTV (Lifetime Value).

We reviewed sample marketing stats and strategies as I stressed the importance of capturing not only the first order, but the 2nd one as well. After sharing stats with everyone, we turned to a slide which defined INSANITY by Albert Einstein. He said insanity is “The art of doing the same thing over and over again yet expecting different results.” It seemed I got a lot of people thinking when I asked, “This holiday season, think about what you are doing different that will most likely be the difference in your end results.” While some shops will be ready to fill incoming orders, others are concentrating on capturing their own orders. Look at my previous posting about the compete.com results showing that last year, over 4.2 MILLION unique visitors visited the top for websites.

Where do those people come from? OUR BACK YARDS! They come from all our local markets. Besides having a listing on http://www.localflowershop.com or even a FREE verified listing at http://www.localflowershop.com/florists/getListed.cfm there was the stat showing the amount of time people spent on websites and APPS. What an increase! We illustrated the increased purchases of smartphones, and how they increased while the purchase of computers and laptops have almost flattened.

With that being said, I was able to explain my passion for the mobile floralapp®. It is not just now, it is the future and is just around the corner. While I see the florists getting dozens of orders every day, I also am overly pleased as I knew it may take a little time to get people to download, but WOW, some shops are getting orders DAILY! These people are locking down their customers as the app is IN THEIR PHONE. That icon brings up YOUR shop every time they click it! Little chance they will shop anywhere else since they can only see your shop, your offerings, your coupons and in store specials. They can also use their PRIVATE contact list to look up an address, and then with one click, the form is completed! It just takes one order and we have found most shoppers have been very pleased.

Do you know the most common question a customer asks when downloading the app is, “So I can use this to send flowers anywhere through you?” Isn’t that the goal? Try asking your customer if they know you can deliver anywhere and watch what they say.

floralapp® is one way to lock down your customer before someone else does in your town.

App technology, some tips on securing future orders on the phone, and the lost order logs were only a few of the things discussed and shared. There were also some great questions asked by the florists. Please visit  www.FTDUniversity.com to view the webinar.