If the name Administrative Professionals Week has you down, use Secretaries Week, said Kevin Keser, who employs both names when promoting the holiday on his website, through emails, in-store and on social media.
Kevin Keser has a message for florists who write off Administrative Professionals Week as a non-event: Don’t give up — there are plenty of sales to be won, but you have to start the momentum early in the week.
At Keser’s Flowers in Glastonbury, Connecticut, Keser and his team focus a lot of energy on Monday sales. (APW is a weeklong event, although Administrative Professionals Day falls on Wednesday.)
“It is the last-minute, impulse purchase that we hope to get out early on Monday and create a ‘monkey see, monkey do’ effect,” he explained.
APW has become a harder sell for some florists, many of whom blame the decline in consumer interest on the 2000 name change from Professional Secretaries Week to APW. Last year, about 35 percent of respondents to a Society of American Florists survey said APW sales were on par with their 2015 results. About 33 percent said sales decreased, and 29 percent saw an increase. (Many respondents noted the
Some florists also complain that APW falls at a busy time, during prom and wedding season and sandwiched between Easter and Mother’s Day, but Keser argues that can be a marketing advantage. In an email to customers last week he promoted both APW and Mother’s Day.
A few tips from Keser for florists who are late to the APW game, but still want to get in on the action:
Ask for the business. Unlike Mother’s Day, some consumers aren’t aware of APW, or they might be confused by the name. On your social media pages, website and email promos, remind customer of the weeklong celebration and make it clear who recipients can be. (Ahem, anyone that makes your professional life easier.) And if APW is confusing your customers, call it Secretaries Week, or use both names, suggests Keser, who uses the following language on his site: “Whatever you call it, Administrative Professionals Week, Secretary’s Week or Administrative Assistant’s Day, don’t forget to show your appreciation for their hard work by sending them a delightful flower arrangement. Keser’s Flowers has just the right flower bouquet to show your gratitude!”
Make the right connection. A big challenge of APW is getting to the boss, who often tasks an assistant (an ideal recipient) with manning phones and emails, said Keser. This year he used a Chamber of Commerce list to gather direct email addresses for decision-makers. (Too late to take that approach this year? Make a note for next year.)
Serve it up. Next week Keser’s also is offering expanded hours, to allow for early-morning shopping, lower price points to encourage people who want to buy multiple gifts to choose flowers and expedited delivery to accommodate procrastinators and impulse buyers.
SAF has many (MANY) resources to help you promote APW to both consumers and the media. Check out those tools.
