Two florists shared their tips for ensuring customer success with plants in the latest issue of Floral Management.
Year after year, houseplants have a growing mass appeal. But when it comes to caring for them, many people are clueless. In the latest issue of Floral Management, contributing writer Julie Martens Forney spoke with two florists about how they set up new plant parents for success.
Tymonee Wilburn of Blumen Meister’s Flower Market in New Braunfels, Texas and Tanner Wheat of Lafayette Florist, Gift Shop & Garden Center in Lafayette, Colorado, emphasize the importance of sending customers home with care and handling sheets for their new green bundle of joy.
“It might be something like, ‘Before watering, check the soil to see if it’s dry.’ Or ‘It’s okay to water on a schedule but also check the soil to see what it’s like’,” Wilburn says.
Lafayette Florist’s sheets include directions specific to caring for the plant in a home in Colorado, along with the shop’s contact information and plenty of blank space. “The most important thing with these care sheets is to leave some room for notes,” Wheat says. “Maybe when you’re selling the plant you’ll jot down, ‘This is for your west window. Bring it inside early in fall.’” He advises against simply copying and pasting generic online search results. “You want to keep verbiage similar with all the care sheets you make,” he says.
For more tips on enhancing your plant customer service, read “Grow Your Customers’ Green Thumbs” in the March/April issue of Floral Management.
For loads of ideas, inspiration and advice to grow indoor plant sales, check out The Great Big Plant Event in the Society of American Florists’ Career Connection. For insight into consumer’s plant buying habits check out a recent series of SAF Now articles.
Katie Vincent is the senior contributing editor for the Society of American Florists.
