So far we have talked a lot about encouraging customers to pre-order for Valentines Day and hopefully you understand the benefit.
The next question is what you offer them as an incentive. You want them to order now, they'd probably like to wait and hold on to their money. How do you get them to commit?
Some florists use discounts. Discounts are effective and easy - they really do work. The downside is that they also leave you with less money!
Is there an alternative? I like using points. Hopefully you are already running some kind of points-based incentive plan. The trick is to now copy some of the best marketers out there and offer bonus points for people pre-ordering for Valentines.
How do you do it? Typically you would promote double or triple points on all purchases made in January. Mention it in every conversation with every customer. Put that message on your receipts, invoices, statements, etc. Send out e-mail and postcards. Make sure everybody understands the benefit of ordering in advance!
Then on February 1 you are going to extend the special by another week. You're going to send another e-mail promoting double or triple points for anyone who places their order before February 8th.
This should help you generate lots of advance orders without giving up any revenue in the form of discounts.
Now - let's say you don't have a points program. What are your options? Discounting is still a very good possibility but think about add-ons instead. Rather than giving the customer a discount see if you can give them something for free instead.
What is the benefit? Let's say you were looking at offering a $10 discount on a $50 item - this leaves you with $40 in revenue. If instead you offer add-on x (retail value $10, your cost $4) your revenue increases by $10 ($50 instead of $40) and your costs go up by just $4.
