Harvard Research Reveals Living with Flowers Strengthens Feelings of Compassion, Decreases Anxiety and Worry

As an industry leader, SAF pioneers research that is changing the way consumers view and understand flowers and plants. Backed by university research, SAF is showing consumers why they need flowers every day and why they should buy from florists.

SAF, in an alliance with the Flower Promotion Organization (FPO), reached out to Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D., who teaches “The Science of Happiness” at Harvard University and is a psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. SAF/FPO challenged Dr. Etcoff to conduct research on the impact of flowers on our home lives.

The results are generating significant media interest, including coverage in major national magazines — AARP The Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Allure, Family Circle and Prevention. Click here for Home Ecology information.

Marketing Tips/Ideas

Contact Local Media

Hometown newspaper and magazine editors and local TV and radio news producers thrive on turning national news into community stories. Present yourself as the local expert who can talk about the research, and you’ll benefit from news coverage.

• Deliver Press Releases & Flowers: Deliver a Home Ecology press release and a small arrangement or bud vase to local TV anchors, style reporters and radio personalities. Make sure to include your name and contact information.
• Request TV Interviews: Offer to fill TV news studios with flowers and plants if you can be interviewed on-air about the research. Or, invite a TV reporter to interview you in your shop.
• Rope in Radio: Ask deejays to talk about the research and your shop on-air. In exchange, give flowers to the first 25 people who mention the station when they visit your shop.
• Tout Testimonials: After deliveries, ask recipients to describe how the flowers make them feel. Include testimonials when pitching the research to media or when talking to reporters, and post testimonials on your Web site and in print materials.
• Advertising Angle: Contact advertising representatives or editors of local publications, such as neighborhood newsletters, real estate guides, community theater playbills, or school newspapers about advertising opportunities. Use the Daily Inspiration Ads and Special Delivery Ads. Point out that the research would make a great article.

Do Promotions and Hold Events

Even a small event or promotion can create big buzz. Here are ideas to get people talking.

• Garden Clubs & Civic Groups: Send a Home Ecology press release to garden clubs and civic groups. Offer to give a talk, and bring flowers and decorating tips. This is a great presentation for them, and a great networking opportunity for you. And, you’ll score free publicity when your shop name appears in the group’s promotions and newsletters.
• Distribute Fliers: Download a Home Ecology flier, add shop information to the bottom and give copies to recipients and customers. Tack fliers to community bulletin boards. Or create your own flier using content from www.aboutflowers.com.
• Host Workshops: During a private workshop, show top customers new flowers, design styles and decorating tips. Use Daily Inspiration statement stuffers or postcards as invitations.
• Target Realtors: Share the Home Ecology results with realtors, and offer discounts for open houses and homebuyer thank-you gifts.
• Before/After Contest: Reward local customers with a chance to win a Home Ecology makeover. You provide flowers and plants. Ask for “before” and “after” photos you can post online or in shop.
• Rainy Day Specials: Offer specials on rainy or gloomy days. Attract passersby with a sign outside your shop that teases the Home Ecology research.
• Visual Vignette: Create a Home Ecology display in your window or in an area of the shop. Use the Daily Inspiration or Special Delivery poster as a backdrop and feature new arrangements each week. Include tips from www.aboutflowers.com for display.

Dive into Digital Marketing

Consumers go online to see a floral catalog of options and prices. Your Web site and e-mails should show consumers what your shop offers.

• Update Web Site: Feature content from www.aboutflowers.com on your Web site or post a link to it.
• E-mail Customers: Send thank-you e-mails to customers. Add value to their purchase by telling them about the research. Include the research in e-newsletter articles.
• Professional Pictures: Include Home Ecology photographs on your Web site and print materials such as fliers, brochures, newsletters, etc.
• Online Contest: Solicit stories and photos that describe why sending flowers is giving the gift of a beautiful, happy home. Post submissions online. Ask Web site visitors to vote for their favorite. Give a prize for the best story or photo, such as a local flower delivery each week for a month.
• On-Hold: Use the Daily Inspiration radio commercial script or the Special Delivery radio commercial script as on-hold or voicemail/answering machine messages.

As a professional florist, you provide a special product and service. The ephemeral nature and beauty of fresh flowers combined with personal advice, customization, packaging and delivery create a unique and easy timesaving shopping experience for the customer and a memorable gift for the recipient. The trick is finding a way to get consumers thinking about giving flowers and most importantly, buying from you.
We hope these ideas — some that are easy to implement today and some that will take more effort — give you the motivation and tools to promote your business locally and build visibility for your shop. Now, go forth and market!