1-Day Profit Blast attendees will learn from industry experts in Boston about sympathy work, managing their online reputation and strategies for providing top-notch customer service.
A one-day investment can equal lasting results for your business all year-round—that’s what happened for Amber Micciche of Main Street Flower Market in Parker, Colorado after attending SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast in Denver last year.
“It’s an invaluable experience because it’s is an opportunity to network, learn, and improve your business in just one day,” says Micciche, who upgraded her pricing strategy as a result of what she learned at the event and has seen a bottom-line improvement in her business as a result.
Retailers will have the chance to soak in new strategies to inject into their business this summer at SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast in Boston, on July 23. The event is co-sponsored by Jacobson Wholesale and Flower Shop Network.
During one of the programs at the 1-Day Profit Blast in Boston, seasoned retailer Sam Bowles, of Allen’s Flowers and Plants in San Diego, will share how to satisfy shoppers through every step of their buying process, during the “Extraordinary Service in Your Shop Every Day” session.
Sam Bowles, Allen’s Flowers, San Diego
“We’ll discuss ideas and best practices for offering a five-star customer experience that leads to happier customers who spend more and keep coming back,” Bowles says, “from making sure our website and images are accurate representations of our brand to ideas about how to elevate our in-store experiences.”
Bowles shared some of these strategies at SAF’s Next Gen LIVE! event earlier this month in Miami, where young floral professionals got together for three impactful days of education and networking. During his session, he stressed the role of a shop’s staff in elevating those in-store customer experiences.
As an example, Bowles shared how he handled his delivery drivers not following shop protocol, such as delivering out of order from the route sheet, marking deliveries as completed after they’ve finished their whole route. Instead of simply telling the drivers they were doing their jobs incorrectly, Bowles said he explained why he had certain procedures in place and the impact they have on customer satisfaction.
“I told them, ‘Customers want to know the second their flowers are delivered, so if you mark it appropriately and accurately on your phone at the moment you make the delivery, they’re happy to get that email’,” Bowles told Next Gen LIVE! attendees. “Then I said, ‘If you look at your route and there’s something that doesn’t make sense, come talk to the dispatcher about why it’s in the order it’s in. Some people paid extra money for their arrangement to be there by a certain time, so maybe there was a reason why we said you needed to do these three first.’ When I made it about us all working as a team to achieve our objective of not just having quality flowers, but also offering a great customer experience, it was a more effective way to communicate with them.”
In addition to Bowles’s presentation, the 1-Day Profit Blast will feature “Online Reputation is the New SEO–How to Make Your Brand Bloom!” from Greg Peck, strategic sales specialist at Flower Shop Network, and “Celebrating Life Through Design” by Patience Pickner, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, owner and creative director of The Picket Fence in Chamberlain, South Dakota. Attendees will also get the opportunity to network and participate in a supplier showcase.
Click here to learn more about the 1-Day Profit Blast, as well as how you can take advantage of early bird registration pricing and discounts on multiple ticket purchases.
Kenya McCullum is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.