Since first announcing its existence to the world, with its then industry-shaking, “We don’t make a penny until you do!” payment structure, UFN has built a sterling reputation in the online floral industry. Today it announces its latest innovations, along with a new look and name — Lovingly — to florists across the U.S. and Canada.
Aware that, in the online space, expectations, trends, aesthetics and numerous other elements evolve quickly, UFN founders, Joe Vega and Ken Garland, work to ensure that both partner and shopper experience are kept fresh, appealing and secure.
UFN founders, Joe Vega and Ken Garland, work to ensure that both partner and shopper experience are kept fresh, appealing and secure.
“We update constantly,” says UFN/Lovingly co-founder and managing partner, Ken Garland,“and ensure that partner experience is at the forefront of our development. For example, no monthly membership dues, the industry’s best selection guide, AdWords management, topsearch results, of course, and everything else that established our reputation or has been added to our service.”
“When we started, our payment structure was all about turning the tables back in favor of florists,” adds fellow co-founder and managing partner, Joe Vega. “Conventional wisdom wasn’t on our side, so we ran with innovation. After securing great search results for partners, we realized that providing a superior experience for shoppers is the best way to create growth.”
The three innovations that Lovingly is currently proudest to showcase enable florists to:
- Secure business and customer information with encrypted data and visible online security — preventing increasingly prominent “not safe” warnings from Google and others.
- Redirect online stores to a “Designer’s Choice” product page on major holidays, streamlining business activity during high volume shopping.
- Provide shoppers with instant access to recipient addresses with an automated business lookup on checkout.
“The majority of our innovations benefit partners and shoppers,” agrees Ken. “We need both to be successful, so we provide a visibly secure environment, display a broad range of options that are easy to negotiate and choose from, make real craftsmanship come alive on the page and the purchase process smooth and simple. The Lovingly rebrand represents the spirit of the complete gift-giving experience.”
“I’d like to point out,” adds Joe, “that Lovingly shouldn’t actually be in a position to treat data security across all partner site pages as a competitive advantage. The fact that we can, really speaks volumes about improvements still needed in our industry. Florists need to be aware of these things. That’s why Lovingly is here.”