Not only were Kern Park Flower Shoppe’s Mother’s Day sales up by double digits over last year, but half of buyers were new customers, says Holly Itami Springfels of the Portland, Oregon shop.
The secret? Heightened online visibility thanks to an increase in the number of Google reviews, Springfels says.
That just one of several strategies businesses with strong Mother’s Day are using to maintain steady sales during the slower summer months.
Curate reviews
Kern Park Flower Shoppe has almost 650 reviews and a 4.9-star rating on Google, and research shows that business with better ratings tend to see more sales. One study from Harvard Business School even showed that a one-star increase can boost revenue by up to 9%.
Experts say the key to getting more reviews is asking for them — strategically. Dan McManus, president and CEO of TeamFloral, a floral marketing and consultancy firm, says businesses need to take control of reviews by sending a survey to customers. The survey automatically sends customers who gave good ratings to a page encouraging the customer to leave a Google review. (Read more about McManus’ tips for getting reviews in this Floral Management article, and see how other florists are keeping up their five-star ratings in this article.)
Lure customers back with special offers
Billy Heroman’s Florist also saw double-digit sales growth this Mother’s Day, and select customers also received a special offer to visit the Baton Rouge, Louisiana shop this summer.
Customers who scheduled early delivery received a coupon for a free dozen roses, redeemable this summer for in-store pickup, along with a discounted delivery fee.
“We’ve used this offer for a few years now, and it keeps gaining traction,” says Ben Heroman, the shop’s chief financial officer, adding that when customers visit the store to redeem the coupon, they buy other items.
The strategy delivered on multiple fronts — spreading out design and delivery work, improving staff efficiency, and freeing up capacity to handle more last-minute orders. Heroman credits it for a 16.5% increase in Mother’s Day revenue — well beyond the 7.5 price increase due to tariffs. Average order value also climbed nearly 10%, to $127.15.
Reach out to customers
At Colonial Bouquet in Lakehurst, New Jersey, staff has been pre-calling past Mother’s Day customers for years. It allows the shop to lock in orders early, control call volume, and build customer relationships through personal conversations.
“We are also able to steer the customers to our best design options or sell a design that is not doing well on our website,” says Heather Cramer.
Florists can spur sales with customer outreach throughout the year, and not just for big floral holidays. Colonial Bouquet emails customers to encourage repeat sales for birthdays and anniversaries. The shop also contacts local businesses and organizations for occasions meaningful to their missions, such as graduations or Memorial Day.
Keep holiday best-sellers
Florists put in a lot of work to create breathtaking bouquets for special occasions, only to shelve the recipes after the holiday. At Billy Heroman’s Florist, the best of the best remain available long after the holiday, guaranteeing customer favorites will still net sales.
“We repurpose the most popular Mother’s Day items into our everyday menu of products by renaming them,” Heroman says. “This allows us to raise our average order value in the slower summer months by offering these higher priced and known popular products.”
Keep flowers on customers’ minds
In the lead up to Mother’s Day, “we made sure to blast our social media with tons of flowers,” says Sheldon Jensen of Flowers by Michelle in Las Vegas. He, like many other retailers who responded to the Society of American Florists’ Mother’s Day survey of retailers credits the shop’s social media marketing, in part, to the shop’s holiday success. Their sales were up by double digits over last year. Florists can use their social channels year-round to provide customers with regular reminders that flowers aren’t just for the holidays.
It’s important to identify your customers’ demographics and focus your efforts where they are on social media, says Renato Cruz Sogueco, AAF, PFCI, vice president of digital strategy and education at BloomNet.
“Some florists make the mistake thinking they need to be on all of them,” he says. “It is possible, but you’re going to run yourself ragged.”
Learn how to leverage your socials for marketing and better results in search engine ranking in this article.
Laurie Herrera is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.
