The Internet And The Local Florist

Here we are in the doldrums of summer. June has passed, Bridezilla is on her honeymoon, and all the hard work we put into the weddings of that month are but a memory. Wouldn't it be nice if the flow of business wouldn?t slow down quite so much when the electric bill is at its highest? I am here to proclaim that I have found a solution and it came from the most unlikely source.

My name is Jill Frost, and I am the owner of the Pink Pelican - Sebastian Florist in Sebastian Florida. Having begun my experience as a designer over 25 years ago, and having owned my business for the past 19 years I have experienced the ups and downs of any small-town local florist. Let me start by saying I am currently a member of the Teleflora wire service, and use a number of their products as the backbone of my business. I have a point-of sale system, an accountant, and I actually balance my statement almost every month. Those of you laughing at this are either not florists, or you are florists, but know exactly what I?m referring to (you know who you are).

The point of this article is to attest to the fact that the real turnaround in my business began when I built my website two years ago. Presently, my website is generating over forty percent of my volume and has become an invaluable asset to every part of my business.

The first thing a florist must do when getting a website is to see it as an integral part of their business. Usually, florists are completely creative creatures and understand little of technology, the internet, and (sadly) most basic business practices. The typical florist that does go so far as actually getting a website then often sits on them as though they were simply a piece of furniture in the shop that someone might come along and be interested in, but that would never see the slightest bit of advertisement. This is mistake number one.

To begin you road to online success, the first thing you must do is to actually subscribe to an Internet Service Provider (an ?ISP") so you can see your site. Since you are reading this online, I assume you have done that. Next, you must visit your website at times beyond just when it causes you a problem. I know of florists who have had a website for months and even years without once checking to see that the prices are correct. Of course, they are the ones bemoaning the success others are having on the internet and wondering why they never see an order from it.

The next step is to get involved in the website itself. I use a combination of Teleflora products and my own custom designs. This meant getting images taken of my custom products and requesting images of my drop-ship items from my fulfillment companies. You then have to get them added to the site. If you are lucky enough to be in Teleflora like me, the amazing Webmasters at Teleflora Web Services will do all the hard work for you. All you have to do is get the photos to them. If you would like to see examples of this, just go to www.sebastianflorist.com and peruse my website.

For a website in this industry to be successful, one must promote the site like promoting a new business line, or even a new shop. It must be included in all signage including delivery vans and street signs, must be included in all advertising and phone-book ads, and must be advertised every time the telephone is answered. You must then purchase ads in all available online directories. I am in Find-a Florist, Locate-a-Flowershop, and a few others. These typically run between $100.00 to $300.00 dollars per year. It is my advice to avoid pay-per-click search engine advertising at this point as there is a very serious learning curve involved with this, and is not for the inexperienced or those with a limited advertising budget. More can be done through the use of directories and local promotion that you can imagine.

If you will follow my advice on this, with just a little luck and that dogged persistence that I know you have, you too can be successful when the rest are just praying to make it to the fall. I will continue this in my next article titled Floral Internet Success 201 advanced website success. Until then, if you have questions, you can email me at justjill73099@hotmail.com
TaTaaaa!!!

Jill

The Pink Pelican and Sebastian Florist is a family owned business serving Indian River and South Brevard counties for over 16 years. We give our customers the highest quality in customer service and designs.

Jill Frost, Owner of the Pink Pelican Florist has over 25 years of floral design experience, making her one of the most qualified and consistently creative florists on the Florida Treasure Coast. She is also the proud mother of two grown children, and previously spent nearly 10 years volunteering with the Sebastian Panthers football organization, eventually being voted President of Football Operations, and later nominated Sebastian Florida-Woman of the
Year.

We specialize in custom one-of-a-kind floral arrangements. With over 30 years of combined experience, we have achieved many honors in the floral industry such as winning the Ft Lauderdale Florida-Designer of the Year award; working with M.T.V. on two Super Bowl VIP parties; and providing flowers for the Royal Prince Charles.