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 this section we're going to be concentrating on designs that are relevant to Valentines Day. The reason for this relatively narrow focus is that these designs will play a key role in your marketing campaign which is the cornerstone of this whole program.

We have some special designs coming your way but first lets think about what we want to do. Based on what we are hearing customers are spending a little bit less per order than they have in the past. We also know that to some extent a basic "dozen roses" has been effectively commoditized - you can get a dozen roses anywhere - the grocery store, the big box retailer, even the side of the road. Sure - you know they won't be as nice as yours but a lot of potential customers don't understand that and/or don't care.

What does it all mean? It means that customers will probably be spending a little less on their Valentines flowers than they have in the past and that cheap roses will be readily available from a number of sources. It means that if you want to compete in the dozen roses you are going to be looking at low margins.

So what should you do? What the other guys can't. They can sell cheap dozen roses all day long but they can't produce quality design like you can.

We want to bring you some attractive Valentines Day designs that you can sell for the prices people are willing to pay. These will be designs that unlike a "dozen roses" can't be found just anywhere. And most importantly we're going to try and make sure that they have a decent margin for you.

Each week in this section we will be introducing you to another source of valuable information on a variety of topics related to being a florist and running a successful retail flower shop.

No matter how long you have been designing flowers or succeeding in this business you need to keep learning and sharing ideas and experiences. Design and tastes change and so do the realities of running a retail business - especially when you are selling flowers! The wire service factor alone means that things are always on the move and you need to stay on top of them.

Fortunately there are a number of excellent resources at your disposal and we will be introducing them to you.

Coming Soon! Check back on January 4th, 2009.

In this section we're going to talk about getting your website in shape for Valentines Day. Along the way we hope there will be some valuable lessons about keeping it topical and user-friendly - it is after all your 24/7 salesperson so you want it to work as well as possible!

And of course for those of you that don't have websites we're going to have some information on how you can get set up quickly and affordably!

In this section we're going to to talk about you can:

• "Tune Up" your website to work it's best during the Valentines rush

• How features you may not even know about can help you organize one of the busiest and most chaotic days of the year

• How you can use the information already in your POS system to help you promote Valentines Day per-orders

• How you can use the holiday rush and your POS system to help build a valuable database of customer information

Stay tuned - there is a lot of good information coming soon.

In this section one of the most respected sales trainers in the industry will be sharing tips on how you can increase your sales simply by improving the way that you interact with your customers.

This kind of information is always helpful but it's most beneficial right now when you know that you will be processing a high number of sales - add just a little bit to each sale can mean a lot more money in your pocket on February 15th.

Here in the cost-cutting section we'll start off by talking about the basics of cost-cutting: Smart cuts that will save you money in the long run vs. "bad" cuts that can end up costing you far more than what you might save.

In addition to talking about cost-cutting principles that you can apply on your own we'll also talk about a few really obvious cuts that can help almost every florist. Finally we'll discuss the pros and cons of some of the most fiercely debated cuts that florist can make. This is one that you really need to look at!

While the coming months will be difficult for most retail florists there will be opportunities for some shops to thrive. In this section we will discuss those opportunities and how you can take advantage of them.

Most POS systems will allow you to customize the messages that appear on your receipts, invoices, statements, etc. Some also allow you to specify certain messages that your employees should repeat when speaking with customers.

You need to modify those settings right away. You want to use every possible means of communicating with your customer to promote Valentines per-orders. When someone purchases from you today their receipt should encourage them to order now for Valentines. Your staff should end every sale by encouraging customers to pre-order for Valentines.

It's cheap, it's easy, and it works. You just need to make the changes as soon as possible.

uBloom is the official site of renowned designer and educator J Schwanke (aaf, AIFD, PFCI). This site has a wealth of information for florists and it is all free of charge! This is a very valuable online resource that you should be checking on a regular basis.

Pay particular attention to J's featured designs. They are special in that they are beautiful, fun and - perhaps most importantly - salable. J doesn't just do esoteric designs that only appeal to other designers - he comes up with designs that your customers want and that you will have fun preparing.

Be sure to add uBloom to your bookmarks and visit it at least once a week.

Many shops have already closed their doors. More are likely to shut down right after Valentines.

This is sad for the people involved - that cannot be overstated. It can also be an opportunity for you. We'll talk more about how in future posts.

In the meantime you need to keep your ears to the ground. If a competitor is getting ready to close up you want to know about it in advance. The best way to find out is through your local network. Talk to your delivery drivers, your wholesalers, their drivers, freelance designers, your wire service reps, etc. If somebody is going out of business they'll probably know about it.

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.