Show the difference ... help customers choose

We’ve all had it … the customer who harrumphs that they “can get cheaper in my local supermarket”.  It’s enough to make the blood boil and reduce a normally happy florist to a very angry florist because you know that the difference is chalk and cheese and that the good things in life aren’t always cheap!

Trouble is that the lay consumer doesn’t have a clue when it comes to grades, length, and weight especially when it comes to roses.  To most a rose is a rose is a rose. They don’t have a scooby doo that a small headed, thin stemmed sweetheart is a totally different beast to a lush long stemmed, multi petalled, hybrid tea type! Until they see them side by side.

Which is why having examples of your range on display NOW is SO important and can be hugely helpful to show the different products side by side – not just to show the size and length difference but to manage expectations as well.

If the customer sees – either in your shop or through your marketing comms - a vase of 80cm Naomi, Explorer etc next to a 50cm small headed variety they can instantly see why one costs so much more and make their buying decision based on hard fact and not expect something that isn't possible.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with a bouquet of sweethearts, you just don't want your customer thinking they were getting something else! 

Get a display out early enough … like this week … and you can show the vase life as well.  We know of one florist who was so confident of her buying that she ran a 10-day rose vase life trial and showed a picture of how they were performing every other day on her social media channels. Not only did it give her content – she showed the date using a newspaper cover so people could see it was real – but gave her customer’s confidence to buy from her.

And if you really want to be cheeky you can always get a bunch from a supermarket and put it next to your lush, bespoke, and only from a florist offering … a sure-fire way of showing the difference. 

Yes, it means investing in some roses but as an advert and way of inspiring confidence and knowledge to us it’s a no brainer!