Imagine a client who chooses high-profit designs, embraces creative expression and orders regularly. Pretty dreamy, right?
For these reasons and more, the staff at Beneva Flowers & Plantscapes in Sarasota, Florida makes a concerted effort to grow its corporate business. (The shop recently added “Plantscapes” to its name to reflect its ability to beautify restaurants, gyms, shopping centers and offices.) And the approaching holiday season provides ample opportunities to pitch this particular segment, said owner David Shuel.
“There are so many reasons business clients could use flowers this time of year,” he said. “Maybe it’s a tree and festive décor for the lobby, or centerpieces for the company party, or floral gifts for their VIP clients. Corporate customers let us encompass all of our services.”
One of Beneva’s primary goals? To communicate that the shop can provide businesses with more than the standard weekly or holiday flower services — delivering something new and exciting that impresses corporate clients’ customers.
To get on businesses’ radar, Shuel runs ads in several city magazines and uses e-mail marketing. He also hires an outside sales person to call office managers and talk up the benefits of professionally-styled holiday décor.
The shop has placards that read “Designed by Beneva Flowers” to accompany its work, “but we don’t put it up unless the client wants it,” Shuel said, adding that most businesses post photos on social media and give credit. “Signage really isn’t that important, because there’s so much word-of-mouth exposure.”
Shuel primarily leans on his wedding staff for corporate holiday services.
“They’re used to dealing with our high-end clientele and have that aesthetic they crave,” he explained. Furthermore, holiday parties often use the same venues as wedding receptions. “These people know the layout, the look of the facility, the people in charge, and so on.
Each new corporate client gained during the holidays could have a huge windfall in 2018 and beyond.
“If we get their business for Christmas, chances are they’ll use us during Administrative Professionals Week, for starters,” Shuel said. “They might also buy flowers for employees’ life events, have us style flowers for marketing photo shoots (especially with real estate agents), hire us for fundraising events or ask us to install a plantscape.”
