By Nita Robertson AIFD
Wishing all a blooming Valentine’s Day ahead!
Strategies for Success
Set Sales Goals
Estimate sales to guide your supply orders. Plan your inventory carefully to avoid shortages or overstocking. Analyze past sales data from previous years to forecast demand accurately. Remember that keeping good records is very important for your future success.
Develop a Valentine’s Day Gift Guide
Develop a collection of modern, eye-catching holiday arrangements across various price points.
Help customers navigate their choices by creating a gift guide, available both online and in-store. This guide can showcase your holiday offerings and serve as a visual aid to simplify decision-making. Create themed bouquets that resonate with different types of love—friendship, romantic, or familial. This allows customers to choose arrangements that fit the specific relationships they wish to celebrate. But remember to keep your offerings curated to what is doable. A limited menu can help you streamline your design process if you are limited on help. Invest time in taking high-quality photos of your arrangements for social media and your website. To maintain consistency and quality, provide detailed recipes for each design to your production team.
Beyond Roses: While red roses remain a classic choice, many customers are now looking for alternatives that tell their own love stories. Think outside the box by offering mixed bouquets, exotic blooms, or even potted plants that symbolize enduring love.
Order Supplies Early: Ensure you have all necessary materials—containers, ribbons, and flowers—based on your planned designs. Communicate with your wholesalers and get your order in as soon as possible.
Increase Average Order Value
Curate a collection of enticing add-on gifts, such as chocolates, plush toys, and candles. Offering unexpected items, like spa products or artisan goods, can also attract a wider audience. Ensure these items are prominently displayed online and suggested during sales conversations. Consider bundling flowers with complementary products, such as chocolates, candles, or gourmet gift baskets. This adds value and makes it easier for customers to purchase a complete gift.
Creating Eye-Catching Displays
An eye-catching display is a powerful tool to draw customers in, differentiate your business, connect emotionally with buyers, and boost overall sales during one of the most important holidays for florists.
Staffing: It’s essential to arrange for extra staff, particularly for deliveries. Planning ahead to have seasonal or temporary workers ensures smooth operations.
Employee Training
Provide sales training and create work schedules for both permanent and seasonal employees. Equip your team with concise information sheets for each holiday special, including descriptions and prices. This ensures they can confidently assist customers and make recommendations. Equip your staff with knowledge about different flower varieties and arrangement styles to help customers make informed choices. Enthusiastic and well-informed staff can significantly enhance the shopping experience.
Efficient Production Methods
Implementing production-line techniques where several units of each design are made at the same time helps speed up the order fulfillment process during busy times. I also suggest offering a “designer’s choice” arrangement, which allows you to use available stock creatively while reducing inventory pressure.
Marketing Strategies
Start Early with Pre-Holiday Buzz
Begin your marketing campaign as early as December or January to build anticipation and encourage early orders. Customers love planning ahead, and promoting your Valentine’s Day collection early can help you manage inventory and spread out the rush. Post sneak peeks of your Valentine’s Day arrangements on social media, your website, and via email. Offer incentives for early orders with discounts or free add-ons like a personalized greeting card. You can also create a countdown on social media and your website to build excitement and keep your brand top-of-mind.
Build a Stunning, Mobile-Friendly Website
For many customers, your website will be their first impression of your brand, so ensure it’s visually appealing and easy to navigate, especially on mobile devices. Most Valentine’s Day purchases are emotional, so your site should evoke feelings of love and romance. Create a specific landing page for Valentine’s arrangements and gifts. Use high-quality photos and descriptions to showcase your bouquets.: Make it easy for visitors to place orders with visible “Buy Now” buttons and streamlined checkout processes.
SEO Optimization:
Use Valentine’s-related keywords (e.g., “best Valentine’s Day flowers,” “romantic flower delivery”) to improve your site’s visibility on Google.
Social Media Strategies
Social media is a powerful tool for engaging with your audience and creating a buzz around Valentine’s Day. Visually driven platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are perfect for showcasing your floral designs
Valentine’s Day Countdown: Post daily Valentine’s Day tips, flower facts, and countdowns to encourage early purchases.
User-Generated Content: Run a contest where customers share photos of their past Valentine’s Day bouquets from your shop for a chance to win a prize. This helps build social proof and shows off your work.
Instagram and Facebook Stories: Use these to give behind-the-scenes looks at your Valentine’s preparations, showing the care and detail that goes into each bouquet.
Hashtags: Use popular Valentine’s hashtags like #ValentinesDay2025, #SendLove, or #ValentinesFlowers to extend your reach.
Email Campaigns:
Email marketing is essential for driving sales during Valentine’s Day. Reach out to both your existing customer base and new leads with targeted campaigns.
Gift Guides: Provide customers with a Valentine’s gift guide, offering ideas for different types of recipients (e.g., romantic partners, friends, family members).
Reminders: Send a series of emails as Valentine’s Day approaches, reminding customers to place their orders in time for delivery. Use urgency, like “Last day for Valentine’s orders!” to motivate action.
Offer Exclusive Valentine’s Day Packages
Create special Valentine’s Day bundles that combine flowers with complementary products such as chocolates, candles, or jewelry. Offering packages can make gift-buying easier for customers and increase your average order value.
Ideas:
Luxury Bundles: Include premium flowers like orchids or lilies paired with luxury items like gourmet chocolates or wine.
Customizable Packages: Allow customers to choose add-ons such as balloons, stuffed animals, or personalized cards for a more tailored experience.
Limited-Edition Arrangements: Offer exclusive designs or colors only available for Valentine’s Day to create urgency.
More customers are gravitating towards experiences rather than just products. Consider offering workshops where couples can create their own arrangements or hosting a “date night” event that combines floral design with a romantic atmosphere.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT GALANTINE’S DAY!
Galantines’ Day is all about women celebrating women. It is celebrated on Feb. 13, in the name of friendship. This holiday was originated from a 2010 episode of Parks and Recreation during which some of the show’s female characters (“gals”) gathered to celebrate each other on the day before Valentine’s Day. The “made-up” holiday took on a life of its own because the message resonated with women, and since then, it has gained momentum and become a real holiday in some areas and among some groups of people. Galantine’s Day is all the fun of celebrating Valentine’s Day with friends while leaving Valentine’s Day open to enjoy with one’s significant other. Take advantage of this opportunity by adding one or two Galantine’s Day arrangements to your Valentine’s Day offerings—and be sure to promote them! It may inspire several of your customers to make purchases they hadn’t planned on.
