The August issue of Floral Management magazine came out today. There are (as always) some great articles – in particular one where Mary Westbrook talks to top wedding planners and venue managers and finds out what it takes to earn a spot on their preferred florist list. Tim Huckabee also a has another great article on selling.
At this point most florists have ecommerce websites and count on them as an important part of their business – available to serve their customers, make a good impression and generate orders all day every day. But how can you be sure? How do you know the site is online and working and performing well for your customers?
The answer is a monitoring service. A website monitoring service checks your website continuously (as often as every minute) checking for any number of potential problems. Should it spot anything it will alert you by email, ems text message or through a dedicated app.
The misleading promise of a "free" floral website can trick florists into choosing the most expensive possible e-commerce option for their flower store.
True professionals, truly focussed on how their ecommerce websites perform... they were all at the 2016 SAF Annual Convention, learning and evolving.
Whether you are a bride hiring a florist or a florist hiring a website developer you are paying for their expertise. It pays to listen to it.
Retail floral is different, and florists can't settle for any website. They need a flower shop website that was designed and built for the flower business.
Too many florists believe they have responsive websites that work well from mobile devices but don't. Mobile is vital & you need to know what to look for.
Credit card surcharging (the practice of adding a surcharge or checkout fee to credit/debit card payments) is now allowed. Is it a good idea for florists?
The retail floral industry is a different kind of retail, & the implications of the EMV payment standard (and October deadline) are different for florists.
Understanding the primary function of an eCommerce website is the first step towards better eCommerce performance (more sales, less abandoned carts, etc.)
Understanding the merchant side of a credit card payment can help avoid declines and deal with them efficiently when they do happen.
The flower business has much in common with the restaurant business (often more than with other retail) and florists can benefit from foodservice research.
