We're going to ask you to start 2009 with a thorough marketing plan. We're going to concentrate on Valentines Day (specifically generating Valentines pre-orders) but the principles will work through the year. We're also going to use this holiday - one of the busiest of the year - to help build the foundation of future marketing efforts.

More details will follow in the days and weeks to come but here are the basics:

• We're going to aggressively promote Valentines Day pre-orders through one or more of the following: E-Mail, postcards/mailings, phone calls, messages on receipts, invoices & statements and through the comments your employees make at the end of each sale. You'll come away with a good understanding of how to do this whenever you want in the future.

• We're going to come up with a strong incentive for your customers to order early but we're also going to try and do it without discounting your product. The goal is to come up with something that will generate a lot of results at very little cost.

• We're going to discuss how to take advantage of the high volume of traffic in your store over Valentines by efficiently collecting valuable marketing information from your customers. This information will be the foundation of a 365 day-a-year marketing effort.

More to follow!

Why are we so focused on Valentines Day pre-orders?

There are lots of reasons!

1. Pre-orders let you get the customer locked down before they go and spend their money somewhere else. If they haven't committed to flowers it's possible that they will spend their money on something else.

2. Because this year the 14th is a Saturday! As you know this is bad for florists and it means that even in a normal year your sales will probably be off 20%. The thinking is that people decide to go out for Valentines instead of sending flowers. Pre-orders help you get around this - if someone pre-orders in January they probably don't even realize that the 14th is a Saturday!

3. Having lots of pre-orders on the books helps take the risk out of buying. You aren't just taking a guess at what you will sell, you'll already have a pretty good idea what you will sell.

4. It also let's you buy smarter. If you know on January 20th that you are going to need X number of roses just to fill your pre-orders you can probably get a better price than if you wait until February 7th.

5. Better organization! The more orders you have locked down in advance the more organized you will be on the big day.

We believe that pre-orders are the cornerstone of a successful Valentines Day and much of this program will be devoted to helping you generate them.

In an earlier post we mentioned being sure to promote Valentines pre-orders whenever you are speaking to your customers.

While it might seem obvious to discuss it with men be sure to bring it up even if you are talking to a wife or girlfriend who is more likely to be receiving than giving on the 14th! You can say something like does your husband know we're your favorite shop? I'd hate to see him buying your Valentines flowers from the grocery store or the side of the road! Then you give her a magnet to stick on the fridge!

Seem pushy? It's not. Many guys are intimidated at the idea of buying flowers and nobody wants to buy the wrong thing for his wife or girlfriend. Most guys are happy if their partner is very clear about what they would like as a gift - it makes life easier for them!

You'll notice that throughout this program we keep getting back to promoting Valentines pre-orders.

If you put yourself in your customer's position one concern might come to mind - are you still going to be in business come February 14th? You may not be worried but your customer might be - consumers are seeing established businesses close left and right.

This is a good time to reinforce your history and reputation if at all possible. Have you been in business for fifty years? You should mention that whenever possible - including your marketing materials. Are you the biggest and/or oldest shop in your area? Promote that fact!

When you're promoting pre-orders you want your customers to feel safe.

There is a very easy (and absolutely free!) way to start encouraging your customers to order in advance for Valentines Day right now.

You should change the messages on anything that goes out to your customers (receipts, invoices, statements, etc.) right away to encourage them to pre-order for Valentines Day. Don't leave this one another minutes! The customer that comes in today probably won't be back until Valentines Day so don't miss an opportunity to reach them.

Also - train your staff to mention Valentines Pre-Orders in every conversation that they have with customers. Every interaction should end with a mention.

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.