Simple, sophisticated designs help you satisfy a broader demographic of customers for Valentine’s Day — and make good use of roses unsuitable for more traditional arrangements.
A dozen red roses may reign as the most popular Valentine’s Day request, but if you only offer this standard design, you may alienate some customers — and miss out on potential sales.
Imagine a man has just placed an order for his wife and asks if you have anything he could give his young daughter to celebrate the holiday, as well. It’s wise to have some simple, age-appropriate options on hand, said Judith Blacklock, owner of a London-based flower school, during the FloralStrategies Valentine Boot Camp webinar, Thursday, January 11. Her suggestion for the aforementioned customer? A festive, delicate corsage.
As a bonus, corsages make good use of roses with broken or simply “too short” stems, minimizing shrink. In the days before the holiday, designate an employee or two to focus on corsage design.
Another cost-effective and appealing design: single stem roses. Ideal for teenage customers with a limited budget or millennials living in tiny, urban environments, the single rose is timeless as a symbolic and sentimental gesture. In the webinar, FloralStrategies President and Floral Management columnist Tim Huckabee shared how one of his clients, Bond and Bloom in England, wowed customers by cradling a single rose with a heart-shaped metal hanger. “They sold like crazy,” Huckabee said of the simple, yet sophisticated design. To replicate this idea (pictured), place a shorter-stemmed red rose in a water tube and attach it to the hanger using decorative wire.
“It’s so important for retail florists to keep bringing innovation and new designs in,” Huckabee said. “People are always looking for something new and different.”
