2017 Valentine's Day Success Guide

Valentine’s Day SUCCESS GUIDE

SEARCH: GETTING TO THE TOP OF GOOGLE TELEFLORA’S “HANDMADE with LOVE” CAMPAIGN

FLORIST TIPS for a successful VALENTINE’S DAY

HOW TO SELL THROUGH MORE PRODUCT

2017 Valentine’s Day Success Guide

JANUARY S U N D AY

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M O N D AY

T U E S D AY

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W E D N E S D AY

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T H U R S D AY

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F R I D AY

S AT U R D AY

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Display merchandising items from Teleflora’s FSG Update Kit.

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Send Valentine’s Day Statement Stuffers and other mailers.

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It’s the last Tuesday/Thursday Flowerbuyer.com special auction. Grab your floral favorites before it’s too late!

Finalize your lineup – See Teleflora’s projected Best Sellers on page 10.

31 Valentine’s Day prep – Staff Meeting.

FEBRUARY S U N D AY

M O N D AY

T U E S D AY

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Upload custom Valentine’s SKUs on your eFlorist site.

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Order using Flowerbuyer.com’s Buy the Bunch® to complete your Valentine’s Day bouquets.

Last day to order your Valentine’s Day Flowers on Flowerbuyer.com using priority overnight. (Available in the US only).

T H U R S D AY

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F R I D AY

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Last chance to buy your flowers via the Flowerbuyer.com auction for Valentine’s Day!

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Valentine’s Day!

Post, Tweet and blog behind the scenes Valentine’s Day bouquet creations.

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W E D N E S D AY

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2017 Valentine’s Day Success Guide

HELPFUL VALENTINE’S DAY TIPS FROM LOCAL FLORISTS Since Valentine’s Day will fall on a Tuesday this year, we’ve included tips from florists to help you prepare!

TIP #1

Review Your POS Sales Data

TIPS for TUESDAY

“Pull your 2012 sales from your Dove POS, which was the last time Valentine’s Day was on a Tuesday. That will give you a good snapshot of the what a Tuesday holiday will look like. Factor in your sales growth per year to get your expected sales for 2017.”

-Vonda LeFever, AIFD, CFD, PFCI, Niceville, FL

TIP #2

Order Your Flowers Early!

“Start early! By the 15th of January our store is ready for Valentine’s Day. By the 15th, our flowers have been ordered, our advertisement has been set, and our specials have been decided on, and the extra staff has been contacted. We also make sure we have weekly meetings with all staff to make sure everyone knows what is going on and what is expected. You want to make sure everyone is on the same page and try to avoid all surprises.”

- Jim Coombs, Coombs Flowers, Inc., Morgantown, WV

TIP #3

Extend Your Hours and Increase Production “Since Valentine’s Day will be on a Tuesday this year, we will take full advantage of the quiet ‘calm before the storm’ weekend that precedes Valentine’s Day. We will have full staff both Saturday and Sunday (at our shop we are always open on Sundays, but we will have extended hours on 2/12 to get everything ready). We will increase our production 30% over what we did last year to be ready for the increase in business that will occur with it falling on a Tuesday.”

- Heather Sullivan, AIFD, CFD, Durocher Florist, West Springfield, MA

T REND RE P O RT

dramatic hues

Vibrant shades of purple and scarlet red, elegant finishes with high-end accents Bring the trend to life in your shop: • Cover your display table with a luxurious red satin table cloth for a classic romantic feel.

• Create a dessert bar in your shop. Include mini red velvet cupcakes with heart shaped candies.

• Add the tri-fold merchandising piece from your FSG Kit to complete the look.

Love’s Passion Bouquet

by Teleflora

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T REND RE P O RT

golden blush

Golds and pinks, looping whimsical script, foils and glitter, hand-drawn hearts, and love Bring the trend to life in your shop: • Fill gold and pink metallic bowls with sweet treats to accent the vase.

• Accessorize your display with DIY glitter candles in gold or pink. Create using spray adhesive and glitter.

• Host a romantic couples bouquet-arranging class, complete with champagne and dessert.

Teleflora’s True Lovelies Bouquet

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T REND RE P O RT

ombre inspiration

A gradient from pale pink to bright ruby red creates a new and sophisticated use of color atop the neutral backdrop of this container Bring the trend to life in your shop: • Group natural tone, artisanal-style stoneware together with the container for a classic look.

• Add pale pink and bright red flowers to mason jars for a beautiful ombre display.

• Decorate with heart accessories that you have on hand, or cut paper ones to hang from shelves and ceilings.

Teleflora’s Swirling Heart Bouquet

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This Valentine’s Day, Teleflora is focusing our marketing campaign, “Handmade with Love”, on our unique partnership with you, our florists.

Since 100% of Teleflora’s orders go to local florists, our ads will remind millions of people of the benefits of hand-arranged, hand-delivered flowers.

The multi-million dollar, nationwide campaign will use a variety of print and digital channels to get in front of consumers when they are ready to make a purchase, driving more orders to your shop.

Check your email inbox for our special florist versions of the 15-second ads, ready for you to post and share!

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2017 Valentine’s Day Success Guide

TIPS TO MAXIMIZE PRODUCT SALES FEATURING DON HOTTON, JORY’S FLOWERS Containers are an important component of any florist’s business. Just ask Don Hotton of Jory’s Flowers in Concord, CA. Don has been refining his product and marketing technique for years and offered these techniques to sell through product.

Look at which vases sold best last year, and order similar vases in the same product category this year. If a certain product sold well in your shop, be sure to buy this year’s version!

Gather customer and staff opinions. Poll your walk-in customers, asking which bouquet they would be most likely to purchase. Also, ask each member of your staff which containers they think customers would like best. Keep these opinions in mind as you select your order quantities for each container.

Don’t forget to take holiday dates into account! Last year, Valentine’s Day fell on a Sunday, yielding lower sales than usual for many florists. In 2017, Valentine’s Day will fall on a Tuesday, which will likely lead to increased order levels.

List last year’s products as clearance items at the beginning of the holiday to make room for new holiday containers. For Valentine’s Day, you can re-use containers year-round for Romance or Anniversary occasions.

Consider merchandising your Yelp page with current holiday images, in addition to merchandising your website. According to a study conducted by Nielsen, a whopping 85% of customers find local business information online, where reviews, store hours, deals, and maps are just a click away.

“I b u y Telef lo ra p ro du c t s

because they work. Plain and simple. I don’t need to recreate the wheel. You can tell a lot of thought and research goes into their products, and I know I am getting something that my customers will want.”

-Don Hotton

2017 Valentine’s Day Success Guide

SOCIAL MEDIA calendar

To help you plan for Valentine’s Day, we’ve created a social media editorial calendar full of posts ready for you to share with your customers!

JANUARY JANUARY 11TH - Visit the Valentine’s Day Toolbox at MyTeleflora.com/VDToolbox.aspx to download post images, cover images, and suggested copy – all ready to use.

JANUARY 18TH - Mix up your bouquet posts with a picture of cute animals or a baby with flowers to engage your customers.

JANUARY 13TH - Post a photo of a happy customer holding their bouquet.

JANUARY 23RD - Ta k e p i c t u r e s o f y o u r m e r c h a n dising display and post on your social media site – invite customers in to see it.

JANUARY 16TH - Post an image of a unique bouquet you created. Your customers love to see your creative side.

JANUARY 25TH - Post a Teleflora Valentine’s Day product image from the social media kit with a link back to your site.

FEBRUARY FEBRUARY 1ST - Use one of our cover images from the social media kit to refresh your page to a Valentine’s Day theme.

FEBRUARY 4TH - Offer a special Valentine’s Day promotion to encourage your customers to place their bouquet orders early.

FEBRUARY 6TH - Create a contest or giveaway to remind your customers that the holiday is coming and to place their orders. Give out a free red rose a day to a follower that “likes” and “shares” your post.

FEBRUARY 11TH - Post “Last day to order your bouquets” to help drive final orders.

FEBRUARY 12TH - Post a behind-the-scenes craziness photo of you and your staff preparing for the holiday.

FEBRUARY 14TH -

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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2017 Valentine’s Day Success Guide

TOP 12 PROJECTED BEST SELLERS

Teleflora’s Shining Heart Bouquet T17V100A

Love’s Passion Bouquet by Teleflora T17V200A

Teleflora’s True Lovelies Bouquet T17V300A

Teleflora’s Swirling Heart Bouquet T17V400A

Be My Love Bouquet with Red Roses T128-2A

Heart and Soul T11Z102A

Teleflora’s True Romance Bouquet with Red Roses T400-3A

Radiantly Red Tulips T11Z104A

Teleflora’s Love Medley Bouquet with Red Roses T400-2A

Teleflora’s Roses and Pearls Bouquet T08M130A

Cupid’s Creation with Red Roses by Teleflora T6-1A

Teleflora’s Kiss of the Rose T65-3A

Visit themarket at themarket.myteleflora.com or call 800.333.0205 option 2 (Canadian shops call 800.668.5770) today to stock up on containers for the featured bouquets above!

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2017 Valentine’s Day Success Guide

COUNT DOWN TO VALENTINE’S DAY SAVINGS WITH FLOWERBUYER.COM SET AUTO BIDS Now or anytime Only buy the product if the price is right for you.

HOLIDAY TUESDAY/THURSDAY AUCTIONS th December 27 - January 26th Auctions held every Tuesday and Thursday at 2PM EST with all of your Valentine’s Day favorites.

BUY NOW Anytime Simple and easy purchasing with competitive pricing 24/7.

BUY THE BUNCH® February 7th Order flowers via Buy the Bunch® and only buy the bunches you need. Choose a delivery date as soon as the next day.

PRIORITY OVERNIGHT February 8th Order flowers from Flowerbuyer.com via priority overnight today and get your flowers Friday!

CALL 877.625.3243 AND START SAVING MONEY ON FLOWERS FOR THE HOLIDAY TODAY!

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2017 Valentine’s Day Success Guide

eFLORIST: GET DISCOVERED BY NEW CUSTOMERS WITH SEA

These days, 8 out of 10 shoppers go online to research before they buy…this means search marketi Search Results page…let eFlorist show you how!

PAID SEARCH ADS:

eFlorist Paid Search Ads Program (OSM) WHAT: Search engines like Google and Bing

put ads first on their search engine results pages (SERP’s). Participate in eFlorist Paid Search Ads Program (OSM) to the top of search results pages!

WHY: Get your shop to the top to grow your business with new customers and get more orders. Florists participating in eFlorist Paid Search Ads Program (OSM) are seeing +22% more orders versus last year. Our floral industry experts optimize every campaign to get your shop in front of 1,000 - 3,000 new potential customers every month. Plus, showing your ad is free because you only pay when someone clicks through to your site.

HOW: Reach new customers who are looking

to buy right now! Call eFlorist at 866.983.3932.

Contact the eFlorist Team at 866.983 to get started this

2017 Valentine’s Day Success Guide

ARCH MARKETING

ing tactics are more important to your business than ever! You deserve to be at the top of the Google

LOCAL LISTINGS:

eFlorist Search Optimizer Program WHAT: Your local business listing in Search is an

online profile that contains your business name, address, phone number, and other details.

WHY: Shops with complete and consistent

information across multiple sites rank highest in search results. eFlorist Search Optimizer improves your search ranking by ensuring your business information is consistent across hundreds of directory sites.

HOW: Improve your business ranking and get

the added benefit of having the ability to monitor and respond to customer reviews across multiple sites like Google, Bing, and others. Call eFlorist at 866.983.3932 to get started.

3.3932 or efloristhelp@teleflora.com s Valentine’s Day!

2017 Valentine’s Day Success Guide

DOVE POS HELPS YOU TO SHARE THE LOVE One great way to increase sales and drive customer loyalty this Valentine’s Day is to use your Dove POS system to your advantage. Every user has access to the Basic Marketing Module, which allows you to send marketing emails for four major holidays, including Valentine’s Day, directly from the Dove POS system.

Sign up for the Advanced Marketing Module, and you can send custom emails — featuring any product you choose — for Valentine’s Day, as well as custom postcards. It’s marketing made easy!

CUSTOMERS APPRECIATE TARGETED MARKETING With the Advanced Marketing Module, you can:

• Target specific customer lists and quickly create and send birthday, anniversary, and holiday reminders.

• Send beautiful, holiday-themed emails from your shop.

• Easily add your own custom bouquet images and messages to your marketing emails.

• Print mailing labels, letters, and postcards directly from your system.

Now is the time to give your shop the competitive advantage by easily staying in-touch with your customers.

Get Started Today CALL 800.615.8229 FOR MORE INFORMATION 14

2017 Valentine’s Day Success Guide

QUICK TIPS TO HELP MANAGE YOUR HOLIDAY ORDERS Got an Order? Respond Within an Hour Unlike other floral service providers, Teleflora doesn’t penalize you for refusing an order, but please reject it within an hour. Not responding to an order results in a “non-delivery” fee.

Need to Adjust Your Delivery Area? Use Flexible Codifications Set up a larger delivery area early, leading up to Valentine’s Day, and then trim it down to just your local city/postal codes when you get busy.

Visit MyTeleflora.com/Edit_Flexible_Codifications.aspx

Order Delivered?

Send a Confirmation Make customers happy by confirming deliveries as soon as possible, and avoid fees by sending a confirmation by 9 p.m. (local time) on the requested delivery date.

HAVE DOVE POS AND DELIVERY MANAGER? Use eDelivery to save time on confirming orders by confirming them as soon as they are delivered. eDelivery allows delivery drivers to mark orders as delivered, clock in and out, and view order info on the road in real time using a Web-enabled mobile phone or tablet.

For more, visit MyTeleflora.com or call Dove POS Support at 866.444.3683

Avoid Non-Delivery Complaints To help avoid non-delivery complaints, please confirm the delivery AFTER the delivery has been made. This will help reduce confusion for the sender and the recipient.

At Capacity? Use Dove Stops When you cannot take another order, use Dove Stop.

Visit MyTeleflora.com/Stop_Dove.aspx for details.

Need Order Information? Send Teleflora a Message Use your Dove or POS System to send us a message.

Use the proper message type to ensure that you get the response you need.

For more, visit MyTeleflora.com or call Dove POS Support at 866.444.3683 15

2017 Valentine’s Day Success Guide

TOP TAKEAWAYS FOR VALENTINE’S DAY SUCCESS MAKE SOCIAL MEDIA WORK FOR YOU

Download Teleflora’s Social Media Kit to better connect with your customers and to help drive more sales this holiday (p. 9).

LOOK OUT FOR TELEFLORA’S “HANDMADE WITH LOVE” CAMPAIGN View and share Teleflora’s “Handmade With Love” ads to promote your shop, by January 23rd (p. 7).

eFLORISTS - USE SEARCH SERVICES TO GET NEW CUSTOMERS Use our guide to learn about search services and determine which are best for your shop (p. 12-13).

SEND CUSTOM EMAILS

Increase sales and customer loyalty this Valentine’s Day with Dove POS’s Advanced Marketing Module (p. 14).

FOLLOW OUR “QUICK TIPS”

Use the “Quick Tips” (p. 15) to help streamline orders. For more information, visit MyTeleflora.com or call Dove POS Support at 866.444.3683.

HELPFUL CONTACT NUMBERS Customer Service: 800.421.2815 U.S. 800.668.5770 Canada Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. (CST) Saturday: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. (CST) eFlorist: 866.983.3932

DovePlus: 800.720.9410

Products: 800.333.0205 Flowerbuyer.com: 877.625.3243

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