Manny and Clara Gonzales, owners of Tiger Lily Florist in Charleston, South Carolina, used the shop’s milestone—20 years in business—as an opportunity to celebrate and connect with customers.
Tiger Lily Florist in Charleston, South Carolina, turned 20 this week and owners Manny and Clara Gonzales have invited customers to celebrate the milestone with them.
In a feature article on Tiger Lily’s history, The Post and Courier announced the Jan. 8 festivities, which included free champagne, cake, organic cotton candy, door prizes and a second installment of #PetalItForward.
Like many SAF members, Tiger Lily participated in the nationwide flower giveaway in October and watched the emotional reactions of people unexpectedly receiving flowers and the joy that accompanies giving them to others.
“It was a great reminder for us as to the power of flowers,” said Manny Gonzales. Eager to replicate those feel-good feelings — which many locals shared online — the Gonzaleses decided to make the charitable event the cornerstone of the anniversary party and give away two bunches of flowers to each attendee, one to keep and one to give away.
“It’s resonating with folks much more than a message like, ‘Come in for a 20 percent discount,’ and this time, they’re coming to us instead of us hitting the streets,” he said. “We want a traffic jam in front of our store.”
At press time, Gonzales anticipated the shop would get 100 to 150 guests. The intent of the event, he said, is to thank customers for keeping them in business. He’d also like to get at least 50 good social media posts from guests to circulate for a couple of days.
“Hopefully people will appreciate the 20 years and our generosity and remember it with Valentine’s Day around the corner,” he said.
To hype the anniversary, Clara Gonzales created a short video using an app called Animoto, and changed the shop’s cover picture on Facebook to read, “Celebrate 20 Years with us on January 8.”
Manny Gonzales pitched the story to local business writer Warren Wise, whom he met a year ago for a story about the value of Tiger Lily’s building. “We were candid and gave him good info — no corporate speak,” Gonzales said. “Then, stealing a tip from (former SAF president) Shirley Lyons, we built a relationship and kept it going. I ran into him at a hotel opening in October and made sure I said hello and complimented some of his recent articles.” Consequently, within an hour of receiving Gonzales’ latest press release in late December, Warren wrote and published an article. The story ran in print Thursday, January 7, the day before the party.
