Florist News

Ok, there seems to be a lot of us on here who have recently opened new (not taken over existing) florists.

How long, for all you 'been there done that's' and had the shop a good few years, would you say it was until you felt that the shop was well known in your area and became a major player with people considering to get flowers.

I feel that i am getting there with gift bq's after 6 months, still really slow on funeral stuff. I still have people who drive past every day come in and say 'how long you been here, never noticed you before' even though my shop is quite large and the front display is quite big as well.

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Never say never.

Well, unless your sure.

Totally with you on the funeral front lou! Unless its friends or regular customers I just dont seem to get much of a look in! Ill be two years open in July, not a big town, but still very surprised at the amount of people that don't know im here - Ive done adds in local paper, local internet site etc...

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www.AmandasFlorist.co.uk

It's strange isn't it, maybe people walk around with thier eye's closed hehehehe
Advertising is soooooooooo expensive, can't decide which route to take

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Never say never.

Well, unless your sure.

lol i have that to lou..." didnt know there was a florist in the village!!"
and with the funerals, the lady who had my shop b4 me did loads and i think its because in not gray and been here for ever...lol

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So what if I put on a grey wig and paint wrinkles on my face? Think that would work? Then when business is spirling to dizzy heights, ill take the wig off and the paint off and people can gossip that ive had loads of plastic surgery with the mountains of money im making!

I just wanna stand in the middle of the street and scream at people to come in and buy flowers!

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www.AmandasFlorist.co.uk

hahaha i have the wrinkles and some grey hair. no joy. might just start giving it away till peeps get used to me, saves chucking it away doesn't it grrrr

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Never say never.

Well, unless your sure.

My shop has been here 25 years and still people say...how long have you been here.


So youv'e got a while to go yet Lou..

that's funny

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Never say never.

Well, unless your sure.

I took over my shop almost 2 years ago, and the lady before me had been here 3 years - I STILL get people come in and say 'I didn't know you were here!', so yes people do walk round with their eyes shut!!!

I've done quite a bit of advertising, and most of it doesn't seem to work. I find that most people say they've recieved flowers from me, or seen flowers that someone else had had, and liked them - so i've decided that word of mouth and a exceptional standard of work is the best way to go (also, make sure you put 2 or 3 business cards in each envelope, then people have got 'spares' they can pass on to friends or family!)

we also find that when we change the window, lots more people notice us, so we try and do this regularly too.

Do you have any contract work? thats also a brilliant way to get noticed (make sure your card in fixed on to the vase, or stuck in on a spike) and you get a regular source of income too. We do pubs, hairdressers and a bank, so it doesn't have to be just big hotels and offices you approach.

Hope some of this helps

s

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thanks arum. i too believe that word of mouth is the best advertising.

contract work is also slow, but hey these things take time.


i was trying to figure out how long it was before you all stopped feeling like the new kid on the block really. i suppose you will always have peeps saying they didn't know you were there. if it was a takeaway or something you could understand it as there are so many and the turn around on premises is so fast, but a florist. hayho, never mind hehehe

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Never say never.

Well, unless your sure.