MOTHER'S DAY PROJECTED BEST SELLERS

Who are your customers shopping for in addition to mom (e.g., teachers, gal pals, grandparents, etc.)?

Have you seen an increase in online orders for bouquets/florals in recent years with your customers? If so, how has that changed your marketing or advertising approach to reach customers?

What are your strategies for bringing customers into your shop to create a sense of loyalty and community (for example, design workshops/classes, events, etc.)?

We’ve definitely seen an increase in online orders over the years. As a result, we’ve really honed in on social media to showcase our work and grow our fanbase. Our focus has been on consistent content and regular posts (about 3x a week) across Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok primarily as we try and adapt to the changing trends. We also update our website to highlight seasonal flowers in order to inspire customers with ideas on what to order.

In terms of building loyalty and a sense of community, we look at this as a three-pronged approach. We present to various organizations in the community as a proactive way to stay engaged and have also been a member of the Edmond Business Association. In addition, hosting in-person events has been really successful at keeping us in front of the public. Finally, charitable support within the community has also gone a long way in establishing us as trusted partners locally.

Barbara Bilke, Madeline’s Flower Shop, Edmond, OK

Our customers are actually shopping for all maternal figures, expanding beyond the direct mom to child relationship. We see orders come through for moms of course, but we’ve also seen gifting for grandmothers, stepmoms, and women that have played a part in helping to raise or take care of the senders.

Online orders have absolutely increased for us and this has helped tremendously in managing lower call volumes during a holiday, which has freed up some time for our staff. We utilize our reminder service that Dove provides and that is really helpful, especially with the holidays. Everyone in our system that has an email address is sent a holiday marketing message to help keep our shop and flowers top of mind. It works, too! I always notice a surge in orders within a few hours of sending out an email!

Rachelle Neal, AIFD, Flowers by Rachelle, Chico, CA

We do see traditional purchases for moms and grandmothers. When looking at additional opportunities, we’ve fulfilled gifting from friends to girlfriends who are in stepmother roles but sometimes are overlooked during Mother’s Day.

Social media is really the primary focus for us in marketing to our customers. We post giftware to inspire them to see what additional product we have to offer. In watching my younger staff members, I’ve noticed frequency is key and if you post enough frequently to engage them, they will. They also love utilizing Instagram to find inspiration for additional gift ideas or ways to create and shoot photography that highlights our product best. Our post content also includes personal touches like our pet Chloe, who lives at the shop, as a way to create a sense of community and personality.

We engage followers with social giveaways as well. Every Friday, we post two random winners’ names online that can come into the shop to receive free flowers. This has been huge for us because people are reposting our posts and tagging friends. This also encourages people to come in (some for the first time), while seeing and experiencing our shop in person!

Additionally, closer to Mother’s Day, we offer Mothers – Daughters Class as a great activity and experience gift to share with mom, sisters, daughters, and grandmothers!

Melissa

Maas,

AIFD, CFD, Bank of Flowers, Menomonee Falls and Pewaukee, WI

MEET THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER DUO IN MONMOUTH, OREGON PETALS AND VINES

When Martha Zuck was going into 6th grade, her mother, Maggie, decided she wanted to pursue a career. Raised by a mother with an extensive garden, Maggie knew she wanted to work in the floral industry, which led to her joining Kimberly’s Flowers in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, owned by Kimberly Oldis, AIFD, CFD.

By the time Martha was in high school, she had also joined the Kimberly’s Flowers team doing prep work in the shop. Once Martha graduated from high school, she pursued a two-year design program. In 1997, Petals and Vines was born as a motherdaughter wedding floral duo in Colorado. Martha and Maggie had been working together for over a decade when Maggie’s husband, Dwight, decided to retire and move to Oregon.

It was at this time that Maggie suggested moving their namesake brand and setting up a flower shop. Martha loaded up her two young daughters at the time and made the move to Monmouth, where they have been happily working together as a family since 2007.

The road for Petals and Vines hasn’t been easy; recessions, fires, and relocations are just a few of the challenges that Martha and Maggie have faced. Luckily, they have a tight-knit community to rally around them, so much so that when Dwight had to step away from deliveries due to his battle with cancer, folks would drop by unannounced to help. Martha has cultivated this relationship through years of community involvement like wreath tutorials with the local library during Christmas, centerpiece and plant classes, as well as participating in events like the annual 4th of July parade and donating flowers to Western Oregon University.

Throughout Martha’s career, her father has consistently said, “It’s not what’s expected of you, it’s the expectation you set for yourself.” This mantra has been a guiding pillar for Martha and can be seen from her constant pursuit of education to teaching her team members the importance of care and handling that goes into creating joy through floral designs.

Martha has found her passion in teaching and loves seeing each individual’s unique vision and is inspired knowing that each person has something different to offer. She has found that coming together with other designers and taking classes has elevated her own design work and kept her moving forward.

As if participating in and teaching design classes weren’t enough, Martha is also finishing her management degree from the Portland Design Institute while raising three daughters of her own. Martha’s oldest daughter, Kaitlyn, is already contributing to the family business in her own way by creating and supplying all of the sweets sold in the shop.

Home to three generations, Petals and Vines is a “mother daughter relationship, it is us,” Martha states. As the years have gone by Martha and Maggie’s relationship has gone through different stages and it has taken time to find balance in their personal and business relationships. Martha wouldn’t change it for the world. As Maggie has started taking a step back from the business, Martha emphasized that she wouldn’t know what she would have done without her. Like the roots in a flower, her mother’s roots are in her.