Storms Tear Up Midwest, South Midwest florists had more things to worry about last weekend than getting Mother's Day orders out, as thunderstorms and deadly tornados made their way through parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas and Georgia.
With the storms and twisters hitting late Sunday evening, many florists fortunately had already had their orders out the door and in the hands of their recipients.
Keeping flowers and local florists on the forefront of consumers' minds this Mother's Day sums up the result of Teleflora's "America's Favorite Mom" months-long promotion, says Teleflora Chairman Tom Butler, AAF. The contest for moms captured numerous headlines in newspapers and magazines, not to mention five back-to-back spots on the Today show, and a primetime TV special on NBC.
Mother's Day is a prime time to score coverage in the local media. E-Brief editors sought out a few samples of floral businesses making headlines and followed up to find out how they got them.
With consumers so choosy with discretionary spending, it is vital for florists to focus marketing efforts on promotions reminding customers about shop services and the benefits of giving a floral gift. To help drive orders to your shop, turn to a new sales tool from SAF. SAF's 2008 Local Marketing Kit, packaged in a skinny, white, rectangular box, was mailed to members late last week. If you are serious about increasing sales, open the box and put the materials and advice to work.
When Forbes.com turned its attention to flower imports from Ecuador just before Mother's Day, the story highlighted the industry's efforts to be proactive and environmentally friendly.
While the wholesale value of floriculture crops grew modestly in 2007, bucking a previous downward trend, the total number of floriculture producers declined from 2006 to 2007. Those were just two of the trends the Floriculture Crops 2007 Summary identified in a USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) report published in April.
What if... a hacker stole all of your customers' credit card numbers? It could happen in a moment if your business systems don't have the right protections in place — and when it does, lost customer trust will be just the beginning of your troubles.
